Reforestation mission

In the past, northern Thailand was rich in virgin forests, an abundance of wild animals and good climate all the year round. These factors make this region famous, luring tourists from all over the world for trekking holidays.

At the beginning of the rainy season, I had an exciting opportunity to join the Green Mountains Projects reforestation team along with a group of volunteer tourists who were hiking to Baan Par-Khao-Larm, a Karen village located in the highlands of Muang Gued sub-district.

Since 1980, the Mae Taeng district of Chiang Mai has been a major mountain trekking area because of the variety of hill tribe villages in the region - It is a rafting and elephant camp centre.

Trekking is top of the list for thousands of tourists who need a challenging experience. It is a wonderful outdoor activity in which humans can have the opportunity to get close to the elements, so I personally believe that this activity will give all that try it some fond memories of being at one with nature. I had been trekking in the north of Thailand many years before on elephant-back and bamboo rafting, but this time I would be doing it on two legs!

I talked with Miss Saengduen (Lek) Chailerd, the owner of Green Mountains Project and the President of The Northern Thailand Jungle Tour Club, and she said " the forest environment has been changing rapidly since the trekking business started booming not long ago. Sadly, most of the forest areas were destroyed by the local people. From now on, the problem has to be solved. Its time for the trekking companies to start giving the forest back to nature." Said Lek

We visited Wat Chedi Luang temple for Merit Making and collected some outer monks robes that were donated by the monks and novices for us to tie around the trees at the forest ordination ceremony in the jungle.

We departed Chiang Mai for Mae Taeng district by pick-up truck with 14 volunteer tourists and project officers. For the tourists - they were excited about their first trek. One point you must keep in mind is that trekking is not always suitable for everyone - you must be physically fit enough to walk up and down hills and inclines.

We started walking from the rendezvous point to the village headmans house, he was also a local guide; I was struggling with the pronunciation of his name.
Initially, the track was broad and flat but we soon came to the first hill. Everybody was vigorously walking along and the members of the group were friendly and enjoyed chatting. The old village headman was a good lecturer and he told me about the wild plants and animals and details about the jungle.

After two hours of trudging along a steep track, we stopped at a small creek for lunch. Someone bathed in the cold, clear water as another man prepared the lunch boxes. I had time to converse with the village headman about the Karen tribe (they called themselves Pa-Ka-Yaw) who have lived very close with the forest for a very long time and were a conservation-aware tribe.

We are very aware of environmental issues, taking the trees away leads to flash floods that ruin crops in the valleys, and some of the creeks have dried up. I never used to believe what we were told, but now I have seen it with my own eyes. You know - the Karen tribe is different from all the others, they will not engage in business and they respect nature, he explained.

By mid-afternoon after three hours of trekking, climbing up and down hills, we finally reached a planting and protection area near by Baan Par-Khao-Larm village. Everybody joined in to cut down the undergrowth and prepare the land, we didnt worry about the water problem during this season as the main problem is how these young trees can survive after we have left.

"If each trekker comes along with a tree, within a month we can increase the number of trees by more than a hundred. But the problem is after planting, who will take care of them? - The villagers will look after these trees. We will give the tourists knowledge about how to protect the forest. In the future these same tourists will come back to look at their trees. This is the projects concept", said Lek

I was puzzled by the occasional grove of trees that we passed with saffron (orangey-yellow) coloured cloth tied around them."They have been ordained by the previous trekking groups.The monks have blessed them and the local people now will not cut or burn them" said Lek

We arrived at Baan Par Khao Larm, a peaceful village, hidden in the jungle. I, and my companions reached our simple accommodation, perched on a dusty plateau. After a good wash under a village tap, I decided to wander around the village and visited a primary school, one room of which the local police patrol unit uses for a radio control centre. There was a vegetable plot in front of the school and a man-made lake with a lot of ducks. I had thankfully seen no sign of opium growing.

In the late evening, Lek had a serious meeting with the village leaders around the open fire. Eight oclock I went to bed. I woke at 5 am. to the familiar sound of roosters crowing. It was a couple of hours until sunrise, but the village was already stirring.

Breakfast was like a scene from Masterchef as rival teams prepared dishes over separate fires. Bamboo canes were being used for cooking rice, sticky rice and boiled eggs. Then there was mushroom soup and two different curries. They were tasty but someone said a bit strong for breakfast!

After that big meal, it was time to set off. We made a short trip to the tree ordination area. Everyone was given a yellow robe to tie around the big trees.

"The people have low education, actually, they're usually not afraid of anything but they are afraid of the monks robes because the yellow colour is a religious symbol. They dont want to touch the trees that have been tied with robes." Lek explained.

We said goodbye to the villagers and thanked them for their hospitality. I do hope the people in the village can look after our trees. We walked back along a different route, following the riverbank. It was easy walking down hill; we dont need elephants or a bamboo raft!

I passed through a deforested valley and an abandoned Lahu village. I was told that this is an example of the selfish slash-and-burn method of farming taking from nature and giving nothing in return! After their crops are harvested, they move to another hill and do the same thing, repeatedly.

Trekking with the Green Mountains Project gave me more experience with lots of fun. This is one of the advantages of attractive trekking.

Note: - Green Mountains Project was established in 2000. The projects action plan has been approved by the Forestry Department to allot reforestation areas. The Northern Thailand Jungle Tour Club has added the reforestation project into their trekking programs, and they also organize a pilot project named Forest Ranger Volunteer for locals to look after the reforestation areas.