UPLift--Poverty Alleviation For The Ultra-Poor

UPLift is a program designed to empower communities on the Thai/Burmese border that lack food security, opportunities for income, and education. Through the use of small grants and skills trainings, these families receive the opportunity to pull themselves out of poverty without having to rely on external aid indefinitely.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Integrated Farming Project at Thoo Mwe Khee School

Students taking an active hand in planning the first portion of the project!

UPLift staff had a great time at Thoo Mwe Khee migrant learning center from June 7- June 10 working on an exciting expansion of the natural farming pig project!  With a strong first visit, we are looking forward to the second round of activities at the end of June. (To see full photo album, please click here.)

Thoo Mwe Khee is a primarily ethnic Karen school on the Thai/Burmese border in Tak province, Thailand.  It is home to over 500 students in total, with an estimated 300 students boarding on the compound during the school year.  With support from Spinning Top, a great organization that focuses on effective methods for helping migrants and refugees on the border, the school has put together a fantastic garden program.  With the incoming pig project, they will soon have tons (literally) of compost for use inside of the school itself!

Win Ko, our Agricultral Officer, teaching basic lessons on IMO to the grade-12 students at TMK school

We helped the grade-12 students with three main objectives during our visit: planning and implementing a banana planting project on the school grounds, making eight different kinds of organic fertilizers (or IMOs) for use in the project, and also getting a good start on building the pig litter.

Choosing and transplanting "gluay nam wah" banana trees onto the school grounds from the surrounding forest

The students are motivated, smart and very capable at these types of activities!  They are also not shy to ask questions and have their voices heard.  Throughout ther visit we were able to share a lot of fun times together, and I can't wait to return again!

Stay tuned for our next visit, which coincides with the pigs arriving! :)