No, it isn’t just laying around the Institute drinking herbal tea and reading poetry…
This last month as been PACKED at ISDSI.
The students finished up their course on sustainable food systems and agroecology, and are now mid-course on the political ecology of forests course. Currently both groups are up in the mountains of Mae Hong Son Province, living with and learning from the Karen villagers.
For the instructors, they’ve been all over the world.
Last month Ajaan Laura and Ajaan Abram went to India to present and participate in a conference / workshop on sustainable agriculture and sustainable development with ECHO Asia, including local and international grassroots NGO partners.
Then, Mark and Ben went to the US to present workshops at two conferences, one at the AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) in Denver, and the Wilderness Risk Management Conference in Colorado Springs. At the AASHE Conference they taught a workshop on Experiential Learning and Sustainability (read more about it here) and at the WRMC they taught a workshop on International Risk Management (learn more here). Great conferences, good visits with alumni, faculty, and prospective students. Even with meetings every single day (including the days we flew in and out!) we managed to sneak in a couple of brief hikes up into the mountains, so it was a great trip.
Snow on the mountains in October? We must not be in Chiang Mai...
Ben barely arrived back in Chiang Mai before going down south with Pi Am and Pi Pui to check the logistics for our Oceans course that starts in a month. We’re combining the best of the former Islands and Coastal courses (hence “Oceans”), and we need to check in with the village homestays, and confirm the logistics for the islands section of the course. Moving 30+ students, instructors, sea kayaks, and all the associated gear (snorkels, fins, tents, etc.) around Southern Thailand by train, truck and boat can be complex!
Ben, Pui and Am flew back the Chiang Mai, paused for about a day, and picked up Aaron and Ajaan Abram and left for Laos! They are there now, and are setting up an incredible addition to the Spring Semester course on Rivers. Rivers and trans-boundary issues are critical to resource management and sustainability in Southeast Asia, and we are now, after several years of planning, able to make the Mekong River a bigger component of the course.
They get back, and next week Ben and Mark fly to Sydney Australia for 4 days of training (see cfcnx.com to learn what we’re up to)… and get back in time to greet the students for the set up and start of Oceans!
Fun!
