Project Success in Northern Thailand!
The Details
Location: Northern Thailand
Northern Thailand had two separate goals, One: increase the number of grow beds in the existing aquaponics farm constructed in 2014. Two: spread the knowledge of aquaponics to various hill tribes in the region of Northern Thailand. These two goals reinforce the crux of our mission—putting power in the hands of the powerless by giving sustainability to children in danger of child trafficking.
Date: May 2016
Work completed: We installed new grow beds to the farm for greater vegetable yields. We also installed a small training-model farm which holds 50 tilapia and 100 plants. This farm will be used to train other homes and villages. Additionally, we built a new steel structure to cover the storage area where this new small training system will be.
The new additions to the farm now boast fruits from over 1200 plants and will harvest over 10,000 tilapia each year.
Serving: Hard work pays off. Coming back to the original farm established in Fall 2014 resulted in many successes. The plan was to drain and wash out the grow beds of the existing farm while adding key components to enhance plumbing and cultivate more produce. Absent from the game plan was the reality that members of the team were faced with 106 degree temperatures on multiple occasions! This didn’t phase the team as they persevered, knowing that the work they were doing would provide a better future to the 163 children who live at the three safe homes in the area.
The farms now feed the harvested tilapia and vegetables to the 200 children and staff at the homes. These children will be provided sustainable livelihood resulting from these new aquaponics innovations! Seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter from the children at the homes makes the trip worth its weight in gold. We are so thankful for the efforts of the fly-fishing community in making this trip to Northern Thailand possible.
Finishing the Trip at the Hill Tribes: A great narrative echoes in the jungles of Northern Thailand. Much of this region is sparsely populated. Gas is sold in plastic water bottles, food is farmed as opposed to purchased at a store, and medicine is grown and dried. These are the regions most susceptible to deceptive schemes of child traffickers and are in most need of virtue from the atrocities of sex slavery. Deep in the jungles, not far from the border of Myanmar, exists the tale of young girls who sell beautifully made, traditional clothing and hand crafted jewelry. The girls use the income they can spare to pay school fees and assist in support for their families.
Providing an opportunity for livelihood through these smaller, innovative farms and preventing these girls, and many others like them, from a dismal future is our mission. The farms constructed will equip the Hill Tribes with the skills necessary to remain sustainable for years to come.
It’s miraculous to see justice being spread to the far reaches of the globe, funneled by the passions of the fly-fishing community and other supporters. Through collaborative efforts we can give the gift of sustainable resource to those who most deserve it.
