While staying in Ban Mae Mah village during the middle portion of ISDSI’s Sustainable Food Systems course, many students say they feel like they’re in a dream.  Rightfully so.  Imagine a small village nestled in the mountains with a refreshing river flowing through it, cool nights, blue skies, an oasis of trees and nature, and most importantly, the local villagers welcoming the students into their homes with big smiles, warm hearts and a lot of food.

The villagers of Ban Mae Mah have been growing tea leaves in the forest for 100+ years, and are well known for selling fermented tea leaves.  The village has also been given awards, on multiple occasions, for its sustainable practices, eco-tourism and concern for the environment.  Upon visiting the village and breathing in the fresh air, there’s no doubt those awards are well deserved.ISDSI has connected with this village because we believe in what they are doing, and find it to be a very refreshing place for the students half-way through the field course.  Additionally, the village has a gigantic tree house which is where mid-course seminar is taught by the head professor for the course, Ajarn Jeff.  During the seminar, Aj. Jeff assists students in processing through everything they experienced in the field so far and prepares them for the second half of the field course.  In addition to mid-course seminar this past field course, students met with the former headman, and learned hands-on while catching small fish in the local stream, picking tea leaves and learning how to make a couple varieties of traditional Thai desserts.  They also spent time with their host families, and although we only stayed for a few days, close bonds were quickly formed and goodbyes were very hard.     See you next semester Ban Mae Mah.  You are a one of a kind village!