Part of our decision to stay at Joy’s House in Chiang Mai, Thailand was based on the fact that the house is associated with the ‘Children’s Shelter Foundation’. The Foundation provides the primary source of funds required to run Joy’s House, which consists of the guest house (where we are staying); the Tamarind Gardens cafe; the Yellow House which is where the older students come to stay while they are at university or preparing to move on…these are all next door to each other in Chiang Mai. Then there is the Farm! This is where the younger children come to live, they go to school in the local village school; learn to have a deep appreciation for earth and nature, including growing their own fruit and vegetables, raising chickens and recycling; cooking and cleaning; respect for their peers, teachers, leaders and the volunteers who come to stay…and learning how the financial side of living needs to be considered and valued.
Located near a village about 45 mins north-east of Chiang Mai, the farm is run as an organic farm withbthe produce used to feed the students first, with surplus being sold. There is a full time farmer in residence to ensure the day to day running of the farm stays on track, even when there are no volunteers or the students are away.
Fhe dropped us off at the gate to the farm and Chiangmai walked with us explaining what was being grown and how they care for the environment, recycling and making compost. It is currently summer, their dry season, so much of the garden bed area was bare and the ground under the trees covered with dry leaves. Given the current bushfire situation in the area it made me wonder what would happen if the fires came near here…
We came across a reasonably new looking building which was brightly decorated. It was their library, which had been funded and painted by students from a University in Singapore. There were books in Thai, English and German, tables & chairs, dvd’s and games. It was a lovely little room.
We had stopped at a stall on the way and bought some vegetables for lunch. By the time we walked up to the living and kitchen area, the students had prepared a lovely lunch for us. We all sat down together and ate, though some were reluctant to speak much…yet.
After lunch, we moved down to a little rotunda where it was a little cooler and relaxed…it was decided that we would all go to the waterfall…it was too far to walk, so we all piled into the ute and Fhe drove there…it was quite a way up into the mountains, along the way we passed a few roadside fires, there was a fire truck there and it all seemed quite under control, I think it may have even been intentially lit by the firemen as a controlled burn.
Arriving at the waterfall spot, I wasn’t sure what to expect, however it was pretty much like going to a small forest waterfall at home, there were steel steps leading down to it and a bridge crossing the creek to get you over to the picnic area on the other side, large boulders on which to put your gear, a small waterfall leading down to a swimming hole at the bottom. The kids were straight in, clothes and all, though that didn’t surprise me this time…what did surprise me, was the amount of rubbish left behind…it was everywhere. I decided not to actually swim, but put my feet in the water which was kovely and cool and watched the kids playing, some of them braver than others…they used the rocks as a waterslide…Dave went in and tried the slide too…they also had a pair of goggles and took turns looking at the big fish swimming in the hole…it was a lovely spot (if you ignored the rubbish). I asked Chiangmai about the litter, he said it was disappointing, though even if we picked it all up, the next week it would all be back again…I am not so sure, but we had nothing to put it in today anyway, so there wasn’t much I could do…
One of the boys ran off, then came back minutes later with a bag of snacks and drinks to share…I learned that roasted sunflower seeds should be cracked open and only the inside eaten…oh well, they didn’t kill me…
When we got back, we again sat around in the rotunda and attempted to chat…though most of these students were younger, maybe around 12 – 17 and not confident with their English….I understand the reluctance to try to have a conversation in a foreign language with a stranger…I am trying to learn French at home and it is very hard to listen, think and speak, even very basic sentences…a word or two is usually the best I can do without planning it out beforehand and practicing it several times.
The leader, Che, came up and sat and chatted with us. I would guess he was about 30 and he was quite willing to talk about his journey and the Children’s Shelter. The kids all drifted away during this conversation.
After a while, one of the older girls, Nam walked past us with a basket of vegetables she had picked to use for dinner. Nam had been very shy earlier, however cooking is one of those things that you can do with someone easily, without needing to speak full sentences, so I went and joined her on the walk back to the kitchen. It was lovely to get to know the kids this way, we went through the names of the vegetables, colours, utensils, cooking terms and flavours….they really already knew many of them…someone would generally know if no one else did, though they didn’t know ‘cauliflower’ and seemed to find it funny to try and say it…
We cooked pork with carrot and cabbage, then battered vegetables, such as carrot, corn, morning glory and banana flowers, then a noodle and vegetable dish…it was hot work cooking on a wood fire and several times the smoke got in my eyes…but it was lots of fun.
While the last of the vegetables were being fried, I went to help another of the quieter girls, Oh…she was cutting papaya fruit into small pieces and carving patterns into the tops…it looked easy enough…so, I offered to help. Turns out it takes a bit of practice to hold the slippery fruit and carve patterns, but I got there, though mine weren’t as neat as Oh’s.
We all sat down and ate…the chatter flowed much more freely as a blend of Thai and English…it was all delicious…
After dinner it was time for us to head back to town…we got lots of hugs from the kids and before we left they made a circle around us and sang a thank you/farewell song…it was lovely…