Solar Power and Regenerative Agriculture in Burma

Since we completed our new Training Center in July, we have had several opportunities to test it out and see if it lived up to our expectations. I’m delighted to say that the design has proved to be very practical and we have received many compliments on the comfort and beauty of our facility.

Fittingly, the first group that we hosted was our own Natural Growers Association. We usually have a meeting at least monthly and in August we had the opportunity to invite all our “organic” friends to join us and show them our new work- space. The Training/Workshop space is open and airy, which is fine on a hot day, but when the up-valley breeze gets a little too cold, I’m thinking that some curtains would be a good upgrade.

Next we had a group of 42 students from Karenni State, who were in Pyin Oo Lwin as part of a nationwide tour of sustainable farms and projects. I gave them a tour of my worm farm and Thida showed them her rice and mulching technique.

Then suddenly it was Diwalli – India’s Festival of Lights – and our Nepali neighbors came round to dance and celebrate. It’s been fun this year as we have gotten more integrated into the Nepali village where the Solar Roots Center is located. I had a ball dancing with my Nepali “Auntie”, who actually, is the same age as me.

Then we had a group of six students from the Lisu Sustainable Development Center, who stayed in our newly-available bedrooms – our first overnight guests! The next day they helped to harvest some worm castings and also plant garlic, using the self-same castings.

Finally, in November and December we held two Solar PV Trainings, which went off very smoothly. It was actually a time of reunion, as three of the students had attended a training that I had given back in 2013. It was gratifying to hear about their experiences during the intervening years.

Of course, in addition to the training activities up on the ground floor, we also have an ever-thriving worm farm located in the basement. But, I’ll safe those details for a future report!

If you like our work and find it worthy of your support, please consider making another donation. Thank you. Bruce and Thida