A Northern Thai Sustainable Living Community

In Northern Thailand, two hours north of Chiang Mai there is an ambitious project underway to study sustainable living principles and practices. The Panya project, brainchild of American Christian Shearer and a close group of family and friends, is gaining notoriety as a truly unique social experiment to find earth friendly solutions to some of the fundamental issues facing our society. To learn more or to become involved please check out the Panya Project website at www.panyaproject.org. While a growing number of people are becoming increasingly aware of some of the global issues we all face, there is a small group of people in Northern Thailand who have taken it upon themselves to do something about it. Global warming, thoughtless waste, energy crises, and food shortages are the types of issues that are being tackled by the people of the Panya Project; a group of motivated individuals who are making a conscious choice to seek change by setting an example. Fortunately for me, they are also looking to meet and work with like-minded individuals in their ongoing quest to explore the practical realities of a sustainable lifestyle. This is what drew me to the Panya Project and gave me the opportunity to take the 2 hour journey north of Chiang Mai to the eco-village project and then continue on with the exciting journey as a Panya student and volunteer. The Panya Project is an eco-village literally in the making. I had found it through the global eco-village network (http://gen.ecovillage.org) when I was researching how I might get out of the city and experience a lifestyle change. The project offers certified permaculture design courses, natural building work shops, and lots of great experience and opportunities should you find your mind wandering in that direction. When I arrived, a natural building project was well underway and I was directed to the mud pit to help make mud bricks for a two-story house that was already six feet off the ground. There was no room in the dormitory or any of the huts so Christian (the motivating force of Panya) lent me a tent and I pitched it under a tree for the week I was there. Fittingly, the mud pit is where everyone starts. As the foul smelling goo massaged the areas between my toes, my mind wandered to thoughts of people in Italy crushing grapes to make wine with their feet. Observing the Field-Panya Project First we would dig up the clay, then mix water with rice husks and dance or walk it into a nice thick consistency. You put this into the brick molds and then let them dry in the sun. Within a few days I was out of the pit and had graduated into my first carpentry job, laying the second floor with recycled teak planks. This really is about learning from the ground up and people with NO experience (me) are soon trying to straighten bent nails they've hammered and learn how seal walls with earth and straw. This was all a part of my week long course in Permaculture Design. To understand what permaculture is, here is part of the opening paragraph from Wikipedia: “Permaculture design principles extend from the position that “The only ethical decision is to take responsibility for our own existence and that of our children” (Mollison, 1990). The intent is that by rapidly training individuals in a core set of design principles, those individuals could design their own environments and build increasingly self-sufficient human settlements — ones that reduce reliance on industrial systems of production and distribution that Mollison identified as fundamental to systematically destroying the Earth's ecosystems.” Panya is also about close-knit community living with good food, a healthy lifestyle and family sentiment. A training ground for learning some fundamental concepts that will allow you to go out and spread the word about sustainable living. The people running Panya are open-minded and easy to be around. It may sound corny (organic corn of course) but I could actually feel the love in the village. Things weren't exactly serene and yogic while we were unloading a huge truckload of steaming hot elephant poop for the garden, but there was a sense of togetherness and fun about it that is rare to find in a Western work environment. Take Turns in Cooking at Panya ProjectEveryone takes turns cooking, cleaning and doing chores. The food was great. Fresh organic fruit in the morning and brown rice and veggie stir-fries were common. There's no fridge so forget the dairy and meat unless someone makes a run into the market or nearby store. The workday was very casual. Long lunches included hammock time or heading up to the café on the top the hill at the neighboring property for smoothies or coffee. The view from ‘You Sabai' café is just as delicious as the drinks. Solar showers at the end of the day were a treat in the beautifully designed men's and women's washing areas. At night we talked. Can you believe it? We sat around and told stories, shared ideas about life, played music and laughed. Panya has one electrical line that can hold around 10 amps so there is power for the antiquated laptop (they have internet) and some light bulbs. One night a sheet got thrown up and a projector appeared. Movie night! One day I ran some additional lighting so we could play darts at night in the newly designed ‘hammock cum dart' space. The library is one of the highlights of the common area. You could spend an entire summer reading everything you would ever need to know about building earth friendly environments, as well as a lot of other interesting titles. I have recently been to the website and it looks like things are gearing up for another great year. Please note that this is a place where you come and get involved for a real project. Panya Project is not an ‘eco-tourism' affair. Those are popping up everywhere it seems as businessmen realize ‘ECO' is hot talk at the moment and they can sell more tours by attaching that word to a ‘green' brochure. They are very busy here in high season keeping this place growing and don't have time for touristy day tours. That said if you contact them a visit might be arranged if your intentions are well placed. You'll understand more when you visit the site. Thank you everyone at Panya and I hope to make it back soon to continue learning, sharing, and working to earn my Permaculture Certificate. To learn more about Panya please check their website (www.panyaproject.org) for the latest program information and a comprehensive description of what's going on up in Northern Thailand.