[Sdpg] NATURAL BUILDING IN THAILAND

Wesley Roe and Marjorie Lakin Erickson lakinroe at silcom.com
Wed Oct 23 07:37:56 PDT 2002


NATURAL BUILDING IN THAILAND
                 November 2002 - February 2003

                 You are welcome to join in any or all of the earthen 
building projects that are
                 happening in Thailand this winter, whether you are an 
experienced builder or not.
                 Starting this November, hundreds of people will be coming 
together from different
                 parts of the world to work with a widespread people's 
movement of villagers,
                 grassroots activists, students and others.

                 Since last winter's collaboration between Kleiwerks 
Natural Building (USA),
                 Spirit in Education Movement and Wongsanit Ashram 
(Thailand), earthen building
                 in Thailand has spread like wildfire. This year there are 
a number of exciting
                 projects in the works, including the building of a whole
                 village. The materials and techniques we will be working 
with throughout include
                 adobe, cob, earthen plasters and paints, bamboo, thatch, 
stone and other readily
                 available natural materials.

                 OTHER EVENTS:
                 There will be 3 Interfaith Solidarity Forest Walks, 
organized by the
                 Hilltribe People of Northern Thailand and Spirit in 
Education Movement
                 (details below). There's also opportunity to participate 
in classes and make
                 side trips, visiting different parts of Thailand, 
including national parks,
                 meditation retreat centers, Thai massage and Thai cooking 
schools, islands,
                 cities and village communities.

                 OVERALL SCHEDULE (More details below):
                 *Building Thailand's First Earthen Village; all of 
November, 2002
                 *Chiang Mai University, Building an Art Home; December 1-10
                 *2 Interfaith Solidarity Forest Walks; December 3-11
                 *Dhamma Park, Building a Community Gallery; December 18-28
                 *Interfaith Solidarity Forest Walk; December 28-January 5, 
2003
                 *Building a Small Cottage; January 9-14
                 *Jo's Place, Building a Small House and Finishing Details 
on Last Year's
                 Project; January 17-26
                 *3rd Global Community Gathering and International 
Children's Festival;
                 January 31-February 11
                 *Vipassana Center, Building a Meditation Space; Mid-February
                 *Natural Building in India; March

                 GETTING THERE:
                 You will have to make your own travel arrangements. The 
sooner you book your
                 flight, the better. Depending on when you fly, fares can 
be as little as
                 $600-$800 from the West Coast, and $750-$900 from the East 
Coast. You may

                 even find cheaper ways to get there than this, in which 
case let us know!
                 Prices are highest between December 8-26, and its pretty 
slim-pickings
                 anywhere near those dates. Again, the sooner you get your 
ticket the better,
                 as far as fares and availability. So far we've found 
www.orbitz.com to be a
                 good source for low fares. If you are coming from NYC, 
October 28th, contact
                 janell at kleiwerks.com for details on flying with a group of 
us. If you can
                 arrive on October 29th, you can join a group of us who 
will be travelling
                 together to the village project. This is not necessary, 
only more convenient
                 for you.

                 VISA:
                 All you need is your passport and a roundtrip ticket and 
you will
                 automatically be given a 2 month visa at the airport when 
you arrive. If you
                 plan on staying longer than 2 months you can get an 
automatic one month visa
                 extension by crossing a border, re-entering immediately if 
you wish. You can
                 do this every month for as long as you stay in Thailand. 
You can also get a
                 3 month visa ahead of time from the Thai consulate in the 
USA. No
                 vaccinations are needed to enter Thailand. For more 
details check a
                 guidebook.

                 COST:
                 The cost of travelling in Thailand can range dramatically, 
depending on how
                 you go. As for the building projects, no one will be 
turned away for lack of
                 funds -AND- everyone is encouraged to contribute what they 
can, within the
                 suggested sliding scale. Your contribution covers the 
program, healthy and
                 delicious Thai meals (vegan with fish and chicken 
options), accomodations
                 (camping or cabins according to the project), as well as 
providing
                 scholarships for Thai villagers and activists. Sliding 
scales are as
                 follows: (for the whole month) November Village Project 
$300-$1,200; ten day
                 projects $200-$800; six day project in January $95-$495. 
Again, no one will
                 be turned away for lack of funds.

                 REGISTRATION:
                 If you are planning to come please send your address, 
phone number, email,
                 which project(s) you will be joining, and a non-refundable 
deposit of $100
                 per project, in the form of a POSTAL money order only, 
signed to 'Janell
                 Kapoor.' Again, no one will be turned away for lack of 
funds AND please give
                 what you can. Your contact info and deposit will then be 
transferred over to
                 the folks in Thailand and you will be sent further project 
details. The
                 remainder of your contribution can be given in cash at the 
project site.
                 Email your registration to: janell at kleiwerks.com

                                             -AND-
                           Send: the same information WITH YOUR DEPOSIT to:

                                           Janell Kapoor
                                      Kleiwerks Natural Building
                                        57 Clearwater Drive
                                       Willingboro, NJ 08046.



                 FOR MORE INFORMATION:
                 Email Janell Kapoor (USA Contact) at janell at kleiwerks.com. 
For further
                 questions about Thailand you can also refer to guide books.

                 PROJECT DETAILS BY DATE:
                 This is the most exciting of all the projects...

                      THAILAND'S FIRST EARTHEN VILLAGE (November 1-30,
                      2002)
                      Chaiyapoom Province, Thep Sathit District, Northeast 
(about 5 hours
                      north of Bangkok)

                      In 1999, a group of Thai villagers were displaced 
from their land because a
                      dam project flooded them out. After several years of 
struggle,
                      demonstrations and extensive media coverage, they now 
have land on a
                      cliff-side next to a beautiful National Forest. They 
will re-build their village
                      this November, with the help of about 500 friends...

                      The "Mun yuen" community is a unique group of 
villagers who are creating
                      a self-reliant sustainable community in Northeastern 
Thailand. One way to
                      reach this goal is to use earthen building techniques 
for housing. We invite
                      you to come help and share in this learning project. 
It is bound to be an
                      extraordinary experience.

                      In total we will build 1 main meeting hall, 21 
houses, 2 saunas and 1
                      storage building for rice. The efforts under this 
program will yield a
                      prototype for other communities wishing to live in 
harmony with nature.

                      Participants will have the opportunity to not only 
learn about natural
                      building, but exchange on community, culture and 
ideas with villagers and
                      each other. Special guests will be there from 
Thailand and abroad,
                      including experienced natural builders, community 
organizers and activists,
                      architects, researchers, Buddhist meditation teachers 
and monks,
                      musicians, artists and others.

                      Along with the building, there will also be guided 
plant walks in the forest,
                      swimming in the nearby lake, meditation, dancing, 
music, ceremonies, as
                      well as a number of special presentations in which we 
will look at earthen
                      dwellings from different perspectives including: 
education,
                      environment, community, spirituality, health, local 
wisdom, society and
                      economy, gender roles, art and aesthetics and natural 
architecture for the
                      21st Century.

                      Please note that the camping is primitive and the 
weather can be chilly in
                      the evenings. You will need to bring your own tent.

                      BUILDING AN ART HOME AT CHIANG MAI UNIVERSITY
                      (December 1-10, 2002)
                      Chiang Mai, North (about 12 hours north of Bangkok)

                      Join a group of students, villagers, researchers and 
architects, as we will
                      be build an Art Home on the campus of the University.

                      2 INTERFAITH SOLIDARITY FOREST WALKS
                      In Support of the Indigenous People of Northern Siam 
(December 3-11,
                      2002)
                      Samoeng District, Chiang Mai Province AND Pai 
District, Mae Hong Son
                      Province; North (about 12 hours north of Bangkok)

                      These walks started 8 years ago at the request of the 
Hilltribe People. The
                      intention of the walks is to bring an international 
and interfaith moral witness
                      to the struggle of indigenous peoples in their 
efforts to evolve their
                      sustainable way of life and protect their sacred 
lands in the face of
                      modern development. It is also a unique opportunity 
for personal growth
                      through Buddhist meditation and the wisdom of the 
forest dwellers. You
                      will be walking with a group of about 20, 
experiencing wilderness and
                      contemplation in the deep jungle forests. We highly 
recommend these
                      walks, especially if you are involved with 
permaculture, deep ecology,
                      community
                      organizing, ecovillages and indigenous peoples' 
support. Folks from
                      wealthier countries are being asked to contribute 
(raise, if need be) $500
                      to help support the walks happening, which includes 
scholarships for
                      Southeast Asian activists and contributions to a 
village fund. For more
                      information: visit www.sulak-sivaraksa.org; contact 
ashram at cscoms.com
                      or michel at thecourtofeden.org.

                      DHAMMA PARK- BUILDING A COMMUNITY ART
                      GALLERY (December 18-28, 2002)

                      Lampoon, near Chiang Mai, North (about 12 hours north 
of Bangkok)
                      A spiritual education center with an emphasis on art 
and nature. You will
                      need a tent.

                      INTERFAITH SOLIDARITY FOREST WALK (December
                      28-January 5, 2003)
                      Mae Chaem District, Chiang Mai Province (about 12 
hours north of
                      Bangkok)
                      See just above for details.

                      BUILDING A SMALL COTTAGE (January 9-14, 2003)
                      Chiang Mai Province (about 12 hours north of Bangkok)

                      This project has been scheduled especially at the 
request from college
                      students who want to participate during their Winter 
Break.

                      JO'S PLACE- BUILDING A SMALL HOUSE, FINISHING AN
                      OLD ONE
                      January 17-26, 2003
                      Sritan Village, Yasathon, Northeast (about 8 hours 
northeast of Bangkok)

                      Join our original team at Jo's Organic Farm (see 
project photos). We will
                      build a small home and use earthen plasters, paints 
and decorative
                      bottlework to finish the community building that was
                      started last year.

                      3RD GLOBAL COMMUNITY GATHERING AND
                      INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S FESTIVAL
                      January 31 - February 11, 2003
                      Ban Thor Phan, Moo Baan Dek, North (about 5 hours 
from Bangkok)

                      BUILDING A MEDITATION SPACE
                      Mid-February, 2003
                      Nakorn Sawan Province, Central Thailand (about 4 
hours north of
                      Bangkok). Join one of Thailand's leading Vipassana 
teachers at his new
                      meditation center.

                      NATURAL BUILDING IN INDIA
                      March, 2003
                      Further details will be sent at a later date.

                 FOR MORE INFORMATION:
                 Email Janell Kapoor (USA Contact) at janell at kleiwerks.com. 
For further
                 questions about Thailand you can also refer to guide books.




More information about the San-Diego-Permaculture mailing list