Solar Power and Regenerative Agriculture in Burma

As mentioned before, I am moving my home from California to Thailand and that means that the operational headquarters of Solar Roots are moving too. I have bought a piece of land in the town of Chiang Dao, about a 1.5 hour drive north of Chiang Mai, and hope to build a house on it next year. Chiang Dao is a small town with a big reputation, due to the huge mountain, Doi Luang, that dominates the surrounding valley. The mountain has been declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve due to it's unique sub-alpine flora and fauna and is much revered by the local people and visitors.

I am already beginning to meet local activists and generally, creative people. One is Nikom Putta, who operates the Chaing Dao Youth Camp, where he can host up to 300 children for extended periods. The kids go on forest walks around the mountain and learn about conservation and respect for nature. He also works with local indigenous communities to reduce forest fires.

A longtime and respected project in our area is Pun Pun Organic Farm. It was founded by Jon Jandai (Pi Jo), and his wife Peggy. This year they are celebrating their 20th year in operation and they held a small 2-day festival last week to mark the occasion. The organiser was a young man who lives at Pun Pun, called Big and I happened to run into him at the Chiang Dao Hot Springs. When he heard that I taught Solar, he immediately invited me to give a demonstration during the festival. Of course, all my solar demonstration equipment is stranded back in Myanmar, but I was able to pick up most of the required items in Chiang Mai without difficulty. About 20 to 25 people attended my talk and expressed much interest and delight at the new (to them), information. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to teach and to take photos at the same time, so no photographic evidence exists!

The next day I returned to give an Introduction to Vermiculture talk which was again very well received. People in SE Asia generally don't have an immediate affinity with worms, as they are rather reminicent of snakes in their minds. However, once they hear about the benefits of worm farming - the worms work 24/7, they live on scraps and they produce the richest soil ammendment - the local people become much more interested. This time, a "photographer" was on hand and we got a couple of documentary shots. It was interesting to meet so many urban dwellers who have given up the stressful life in Bangkok and have moved the peace and quiet of Northern Thailand. Interestingly, there was also a contingent of folks who have fled Singapore and who are now learning organic gardening and mud- house building at Pun Pun.

Although this was only a short event, it was my first venture since Covid and I feel that it went well. I am scheduled to vist a project in the Philippines in April and I have high hopes for that. They found Solar Roots on the web and asked if I would consider helping them with their cyclone-recovery projects. Of course, I jumped at the chance. Hopefully, the next report will contain an epistle from the Philippines.

And so the world turns, sometimes in scary ways, but I am delighted to be back in the Solar Roots saddle and if you find our work interesting and worthwhile, please consider making a donation.

Best wishes,

Bruce

Links:

• Pun Pun Sustainable Living Center