If you are passionate about sustainability, and are you looking for a once in a lifetime experience, apply now to spend a semester studying with ISDSI in Thailand. Working directly with local communities, students work with small scale organic farmers, backpack into remote tribal villages to learn about forest ecology, and sea kayak and skin dive the islands of Southern Thailand to study coral reefs and mangroves.

Offering a full semester of credit, students on the ISDSI People, Ecology and Development program study intensive Thai, learn about leadership and expedition skills, and spend extensive time in month-long block courses in the fields, forests and islands of Thailand learning directly from community members and leaders in sustainability.

Listen as Annie shares what she learned from Thai farmers during her semester:

An important part of the semester is time on ISDSI’s innovative “Expedition Field Courses” where students will learn leadership skills, work with local community members, and spend time in hands-on learning. Students on the program need to be flexible, ready for challenges (expected and unexpected), and comfortable living in remote settings in villages as well as camping. The program is both personally and academically changing, but worth it!

Highlights of the semester:

• Living with Thai and tribal host families, from urban Chiang Mai to remote mountain villages and costal fishing villages.
• Learning to speak Thai, cook together with your teachers and host families, and dive deep into a culture that most only experience as tourists.
• Learn directly about the most important issues in sustainable food systems, natural resource management, the impact of climate change and other issues — in the field, outside the classroom.
• Remote travel is a core component of the semester, from day-hikes to multi-day backpacking trips as well as sea kayaking.
• Spend extended time based out of Chiang Mai, one of Asia’s most vibrant and interesting cities — a 700+ year old city and a cross-roads of historic and modern Southeast Asia.

Have questions? Want to connect with alumni about the program? Email us today at [email protected]. Applications are now being accepted for Spring 2017!