Other Project Activities

[Making a Fire Break]
Every dry season there is the risk that forest fires will get out of control and cause serious damage. Villages need to work together to build fire breaks to keep fires contained in the event of a forest fire. In Maeto village, Pro-Con-Net helped villagers make the fire break.

[Planting treesﾓ]
Pro-Con-Net supplied several varieties of local saplings to support students in planting trees in Nafan village, Sameung District. It was the selected village development project to mark National Thai Agriculture Day.

[Rotating Market]
Farmers from the Chiang Mai Organic Producers Association (COPA) members sell their produce at regular ﾒrotating markets.ﾓ Every Saturday they sell at the Imboon Market located at the Pro-Con-Net office in Chiang Mai city, on Sundays they sell in Lampun city about 30 km from Chiang Mai city and on Wednesdays, as shown in the photo here, they sell at Dara High School in Chiang Mai.

[Study Visits]
COPA farmers and other Pro-Con-Net supported activities receive many visitors from within Thailand and internationally. Here Canadian CUSO volunteers are visiting a farm in Hatsunpoi village.

[Consumer Group Activities]
B.6 Pro-Con-Net works with various consumer groups as well to raise awareness about the problems faced by farmers and the dangers of pesticide use and consumption. The main philosophy of Pro-Con-Net is to bring consumers and producers, i.e. farmers, together so they can build relationships, not relationships just based on money. Here Chiang Mai consumers are on a field trip to visit a COPA farm in Maeta village.

Another activity that producers and consumers do together is testing chemical pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables, both in what COPA farmers grow and whatﾕs generally available in local markets. Through this activity consumers can see first hand whatﾕs in the foods they normally eat and it builds confidence between producers and consumers to test COPA produce as well.

[Imboon Centre]
Imboon Centre for Health and the Environment, located below the Pro-Con-Net office, is run as a cooperative selling dry goods of COPA members. To increase product diversity, the coop also sells natural goods promoting health and the environment from other NGOs and local income generating projects.

[Students farm tour]
A high school consumer group club from Chiang Mai visits an organic farm to meet and talk with COPA farmers and to pick some organic strawberries.

Sustainable Agriculture consepts and principle

Pro-Con-Net director, Chomchuan Boonrahong, is conducting the first workshop with farmers in Bangderm village on the concepts and philosophies behind sustainable agriculture.

This is the Sustainable Agriculture Concepts workshop in Maeto village.

Getsuda Buddah, the head of Pro-Con-Netﾕs Producer Section, is conducting the Sustainable Agriculture Concepts workshop in Donjeang village.

Farmers from Omlong village go on a study tour to see one of COPAﾕs founding groups in Maeta, established in 1993.

Farmers from Donjeang village on a study tour to Maeta, one of COPAﾕs model farms.

Organic farming Mrthhhods and Technical Training

[Training on Farm Planning]
Farmers from Maeto are learning how to prepare their land for organic agriculture in the highlands. Here they are using A-frames to make measure and make contours for planting beds to grow upland dry cultivation rice.

[Training on Soil Improvement]
E.2 Villagers from Donjeang, Omlong and Bangderm have collected eggshells from Baetago, a company that raises chicks in Lamphun. The eggshells are crushed and then mixed into the soil to raise calcium levels. They can also be mixed with natural fertiliser to improve calcium content.

Farmers are learning that they need to mix various kinds of natural fertilisers, composts etc. into their soil to replace minerals, micro-organisms and other nutrients to improve soil quality. For example, here farmers in Donjeang are mixing in rice husk charcoal to increase potassium levels.

[Seed sewing and germination monitoring]
In order to collect and germinate seeds themselves farmers need to learn a variety of skills, e.g. when to collect, what to look for, the best time, how to store seeds, various methods for germination and watching to decide what works best, etc.. Here farmers are sharing with each other what techniques they have used and the success theyﾕve had.

[Ecological Pest Management (EMP) Training]
As an alternative to chemical pesticides, farmers can use various locally found herbs to repel problem pests. Here farmers are making a mix of neem, galinga and lemon grass. One kilogram of each herb is pounded together then the total mixture is put into 1 liter of water and left to sit overnight. The next day, the liquid is squeezed out and the extract can be mixed with water, at a ratio of 1:10, to be used as a natural insect repellant.

[Indigenous Micro-organsim (IMO) Training]
There are many different mixes that can be made to grow micro-organisms to improve soil conditions. Fish, fruits, vegetables can all be used with different results. Here chopped banana tree stalk, 1 kg, and 1 kg of cane sugar are mixed and left to ferment for 1 week to a month. Water is then added to the fermented mixture at a ratio of 500:1 part fermentation (if fish is used the ratio of water to fermentation is 1000:1).

[Compost Teaﾓ quick compost]
Various quick and slow composts can be made to aid soil fertility. Farmers from Bangderm and Omlong are learning how to make ﾒcompost teaﾓ which is a good to add nitrogen to the soil. Cow, buffalo or chicken dung and organic waste material are mixed together at a ratio of 1:3. The mixture is then put into a big and submerged in water for 1 week. Afterwards it is mixed with 10 parts water to be used for fertilisation.

[Making Bio-fertiliser or bokashi]
Animal dung is mixed with rice husk, coconut meat ﾔcakeﾕ, peat moss and water. The mixture is kept in a watertight container, 4 meters by 1 meter, and is stirred everyday for 15 days. About 5 kg is made at a time.

[ Fermented Mature Compost]
One slow, or mature, compost farmers can make is from equal parts of cow dung and peat moss mixed with 3 parts hey from rice, bean, etc.. The 3 ingredients are layered, then mixed with water, then layered again, with more water added, etc. The compost will now increase in temperature. Every 15 days, for about 3 months, the mixture must be inverted to ensure even temperature distribution.

Installing Irrigation system in Donjeang, Rueng family farm
E.10 Using the electric pump, water is drawn up from the pond into the irrigation pipes.

The water is bought to Mr. Ruengﾕs orchard where he is growing longan, banana and lemon grass. Soybeans were also planted to improve the soil. On the far left are the water storage tanks that stores water for the sprinklers (the vertical pipe in the picture). The irrigation is so he can irrigate his young plants during the dry season as well. Picture: Ruri Kitadai (far left), Mr. Rueng (far right).

[Irrigation pipes in Omlong, Boondong family farm]
E.12 The Boondong farm is located in a valley. Pipes and sprinkler system were installed to irrigate their strawberry fields which are inter-cropped with a variety of fruits and vegetables: bananas, passion fruit, lemon grass, mango, guava, cabbage, broccoli, etc. The barrel in the right of the photo is compost tea.

Follow-up and Ongoing Support

After training sessions, villages receive regular visits from Pro-Con-Net staff field workers to discuss any problems they may be having and to give ongoing support, particularly during the most difficult first 2-3 years of switching to organic methods. Here farmers in Maeto are sharing their experiences with project staff.

Monthly meeting in Donjeang village.