The Association for Akha Education and Culture in Thailand - Program from USD 120

  Thailand

• Chiang Mai: 
Chiang Mai
• All Other Areas in Thailand: 
Mae Sot,  Lampang,  Chiang Rai

Durations of Program: 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months and 7-12 months
Typical Duration of Program: 5-8 weeks
Dates: every week

Description: The Association for AKHA Education and Culture in Thailand is the oldest tribal organization in Asia and has been protecting hill tribe culture for 28 years. We offer unique biodiversity eco and cultural tours with biologists and shaman elders in the Golden Triangle Rain Forests and long term volunteer placements through our NGO which are some of the best in Thailand. We work in association with UNESCO and UNDP.

Immerse your life in this award winning organization.

*Volunteering Introduction*

AN NGO RUN BY TRIBE FOR TRIBE

The Association for Akha Education and Culture (AFECT) is a non-government organization and exists solely to help those in need - in our case Thailand's Hill Tribes. We are not a volunteer agency. As a registered charity, we are legally bound that 100% of all monies received are used to promote our charitable objectives. We keep our administration costs to a minimum and provide full in country support for your stay.

We were established in 1981 are we're the oldest and biggest NGO for tribal culture in Asia. We assist rural hilltribe communities to build educational resources, stabilize and regenerate forests, develop and expand health management and preserve hill tribe cultural identity in 268 villages within four northern Thai provinces bordering Burma.

Part of our work as an NGO is bridging the understanding between Hill Tribe Culture and the outside world and we run activities that emphasize the exchange of knowledge between the community and outsiders in order to enhance understanding, reduce conflict and help attune Akha practices with Thai society. Tourism has had an adverse effect on hill tribe culture and without regulation it has caused massive erosion. In response to this we decided to start volunteer programs and an eco school to encompass the context of Hill Tribe Culture to our guests and friends while they can make a valuable contribution to our humanitarian work.

Our Philosophy

Many NGO's do great work and offer exciting volunteer exchanges but often centre on fragments of humanitarian work. Because we are run and managed by the tribe we believe in a holistic and progressive approach to charitable work. Working within the cultural structures of hill tribe society creates a lasting and more sustaining autonomy. This means your stay with us will encompass a dynamic and interactive experience, and a deeper understanding to the tribes intrinsic philosophy to life. Our program promotes cultural exchange and understanding between volunteers and the hill tribe people, while also making a vital contribution to a miss understood, underprivileged and extremely disadvantaged community. What ever you do you can rest assured you will be welcomed into our family and become a creative part of our team, fighting for the fundamental rights of all peoples who deserve a better chance in life.

Where the money goes.

We encourage you to question other volunteer organizations and compare our donation / fees to theirs. Ask where their fees go because many volunteer travel agents are in fact commercial companies that do not support the children, communities or advertised projects financially. Our programs are 100% non profit schemes where all the revenue generated goes directly back into the poor and needy Akha communities to carry out conservation and development activities. Your entry fee helps to educate children and adults, form and strengthen health programs, develop local income sources and conserve natural and cultural heritage.

The Area

Chiang Rai is a 'conflict zone' bordering Burma and Laos and the surrounding area has an influx of refugees escaping the Burmese Military Junta. It is also one of the most beautiful and unspoiled parts of Thailand - the unknown jewel - as few tourists come here. San Jai where our centre is based is a traditional hill tribe village surrounded by pristine eco systems and culturally protected by UNESCO (UNITED NATIONS). An abundance of wildlife; lush rainforests; magnificent waterfalls; great hospitality; these are only some of the natural wonders that the Golden Triangle has to offer. In the heart of S E Asia it is an area which can boast a strong mix of landscapes and cultures, and a population world famous for its friendliness and hospitality.

The Programs

AFECT'S Volunteering is flexible. Volunteers can commit anywhere from 1 week to 6 months. The program fee includes accommodation, meals, english
speaking support, orientation, various excursions to local temples, rain forests and natural attractions and border trips to Burma and the Mekong River.

VOLUNTEER TEACHING - 1 week - 6 months (5 days per week / 25 hours)

Assist local teaching staff and teach English, general education, arts, computers and sports. Location Chiang Rai NGO centre, San Jai Eco Lodge and various hill tribe villages northern Thailand.

Afect provides free education to vulnerable hill tribe children, community support, vocational training and sports and arts. We assist the young and vulnerable and their families to break out of the trap of poverty through education, health care, nutrition and income generation and we have put thousands of children through primary education.The children are very enthusiastic about learning and very much appreciate hearing good English being taught and spoken by the volunteers. You don't have to be a teacher to volunteer on our English Teaching projects. Often you will find that all you have is a blackboard and a piece of chalk in the classroom. Fortunately the main resource you have is yourself. The students will want to find out about you. They will want to know why you have chosen to come and teach in a school in Thailand. Lots of the lessons will give you the opportunity to explain about where you live or your interests and hobbies at home.

CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER 1 week - 3 months (5 days per week)

Reforestation Project

One of the quickest and most cost effective ways to reduce global carbon emissions is to conserve and plant tropical forests. And when we do so we also protect the natural habitat of many threatened and endangered species. AFECT plants trees to preserve the livelihood and incomes of local communities, curb climate change and restore biodiversity to the immediate area by providing a habitat for native animals.

Hill-tribesmen have traditionally used the technique of slash-and-burn for cultivation. After farming the cleared land for several years they move on to new areas and Chiang Rai is strewn with a patchwork of virile forest and infertile areas of soil. AFECT is addressing this problem and provides quality native trees to regenerate degraded areas to build up forest. Our nursery garden provides quality native trees that we use to help reforest the area. In 2010 we hope to transfer around 3000 of our tree saplings to build up forest. The tree planting expeditions are fun and rewarding. Theres nothing better than to spend the day planting saplings. You will also go out with Buddhist monks tying orange bands around trees, to ordain trees thus averting the threat of the tree being cut down. This project will also involve maintaining our nursery garden which is constantly being expanded - planting new seeds to be capable of making a large impact in the years to come.

The conservation volunteer program will also include building the infrastructure for our autonomous health care system which uses canopy medicine as a basis for alternative health. You can help to build our hospital and clinics to serve hundreds of villages in northern Thailand.

WORK CAMP VOLUNTEER 1 week - 3 months

AFECT has an ongoing cycle of general volunteering. You can help on the woman's project or help the villagers in whatever they are doing, like putting water pipes into place or building mud huts. This is a hands on fun experience where you stay in our eco lodges or a family in a traditional hill village.

Learning how creative tribes live will give you valuable life skills which will stay with you for ever, teaching a deeper understanding of interwoven life and ourselves within the natural environment.

THE ECO SCHOOL

AFECT offers a 3 day and 7 day Rainforest Adventure where you learn about Forest Survival, Shamanism, Interwoven Forest Consciousness, Ecology, Naturopathy (herbal ancient medicine) Mythology and Patterns Systems and Relationships found in the Natural World. Interspersed within the school program are fun tours and activities that make this a unique way to engage in a fascinating and ancient culture. Our villages are culturally protected by UNESCO and off the typical tourist track so without other tourists around you can experience customs inherently alive with hill tribe traditions unchanged for hundreds of years. AFECT'S Hill Tribe Rainforest Adventure offers a unique experience of hill tribal culture and the course will give you valuable life skills which will stay with you for ever.

Some of the Topics covered in the courses:

Systems Thinking

Recognizing that learning to think systemically is critical for sustainability because an ecosystem is not just a collection of species, but is a community and communities, whether ecosystems or human systems, are made up of sets, or networks, of relationships.

The Principles of Ecology

NETWORKS - All members of an ecological community are interconnected in a vast and intricate network of relationships, the web of life. They derive their essential properties and, in fact, their very existence from these relationships.

NESTED SYSTEMS - Throughout nature we find multi-leveled structures of systems nesting within systems. Each of these forms an integrated whole within a boundary while at the same time being a part of a larger whole.

CYCLES - The interactions among the members of an ecological community involve the exchange of energy and resources in continual cycles. The cycles in an ecosystem intersect with larger cycles in the bioregion and in the planetary biosphere.

DEVELOPMENT - The unfolding of life, manifesting as development and learning at the individual level and as evolution at the species level, involves an interplay of creativity and mutual adaptation in which organisms and environment co-evolve.

BIODIVERSITY TOUR PROGRAM

We are currently starting an absolutely unique eco tour with scientists, biologists and shaman elders to study the world of orchids, bats, the rainforest canopy and the forest environment. Stay tuned!

Highlights:
Long Term Volunteering

Many NGO's do great work and offer exciting volunteer exchanges but often centre on fragments of humanitarian work. Because we are run and managed by the hill tribe we believe in a holistic and progressive approach to charitable work. Working within the cultural structures of hill tribe society creates a lasting and more sustaining autonomy. We can arrange extremely diverse volunteer packages around our 12 the humanitarian programs we manage. These volunteer packages are some of the best in Thailand.

AFECT'S Hill Tribe Rainforest Adventure in Chiang Rai Thailand offers a unique experience of hill tribal culture.

Qualifications: Not neccesary

Cost in US$: 199 per week short course

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: Enthusiastic, curious about the world, open minded.

Age Range: 16-75

This Program is open to American, Asian, Australian, Canadian, European, Kiwi, South African and Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Thailand Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups of 1-10

Application Process Involves:

• Written Application

Akha Asia's Mission Statement: AFECT - THE ASSOCIATION FOR AKHA EDUCATION AND CULTURE - is the oldest Non Governmental Organization for Tribes in Asia. We work to preserve the rich and diverse cultural ethnicity of the Akha Hill Tribe. Our programs are 100% non profit schemes where all the revenue generated goes directly back into the poor and needy Akha communities to carry out conservation and development activities. Your entry fee helps to educate children and adults, form and strengthen health programs, develop local income sources and conserve natural and cultural heritage.

Year Founded: 1981