Last week, students returned from their first expedition field course of the semester, Agroecology. The course took them on a hands-on exploration of sustainable food systems in Thailand, leading students to two specific field sites: The Mae Ta Coop and UHDP.

In the village of Mae Ta, students lived with families who have in the last 20 years transitioned from conventional, chemical-dependent farming to organic self-sufficiency. In Mae Ta, students worked with their families on their farms, met with local leaders to learn about seed saving, and woke up one day at 4 am to travel to the city market to sell vegetables with “Mae” (mothers) of Mae Ta. Students were inspired to see an example of successful sustainable farming and were further impressed by the food culture of Thai people.

One big question left standing is, “How do we bring these experiences and changed perceptions home?”

At the Upland Holistic Development Project (UHDP) in Fang, students learned alongside local instructors about agricultural strategies for improving the lives of Northern Thailand’s hill tribes people. Students explored several different agroforests, learning to identify local species of useful and edible fruits, shoots, and leaves. After a week of learning to make organic pesticide and fertilizer,  a special meal of foraged foods, and a day-long pig harvest, students hiked into several villages to see UHDP’s work among one of the organizations’s focused people groups, the Palong.

Students learned that sustainable food sources for hill tribes people are often entangled in issues of citizenship and land rights. This week, the students are digging even deeper into these topics within the Forests course. In just a few days, they’ll be on their way to Karen villages in Mae Hong Son.

Students hike the local watershed in Mae Ta

In Mae Ta, students talk with Pi Bee at her conventionally-farmed field

At UHDP, Michael and Emily chop neem, lemongrass, & galangal to make organic pesticide

Haley, Rita, and Eli forage tree bark to make a yummy local dish with UHDP instructors

Alex and Andrew survey the biodiversity of the conventional field near UHDP

In Ban Mae Meh, students learn to press the edible fruits from black sugar palm, a valued ingredient in some Thai desserts

"Mr. Bueller," Ban Mae Meh's headman, led students on a memorable hike to pick tea and see naturally agroforested land