Thailand
Living Sustainably, Thailand
Meepu: "I have already seen the difference after planting fruit trees and bamboo."
Meepu, mother and spouse to six children, is a farmer and cook in the MaeTaChang Watershed of Thailand. She felt hopeless because of how expensive and unsuccessful her plant's growth was due to old monoculture farming techniques. She tried countless experiments cultivating different seeds that all died due to lack of knowledge of how to […]
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Environmental Restoration, Thailand
Seeding Change
Planting trees and helping farmers grow more crops is part of Plant With Purpose’s core work, but these activities depend on the health and availability of seeds. Right now, the global seed supply faces a number of problems. There is currently a lack of access to diverse and locally adapted seed varieties. This is due […]
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About Our Work, blog, Burundi, Dominican Republic, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Mexico, Our Response, Tanzania, Thailand
In the voices of our partners
One of the more complex nuances of working across different countries and cultures is storytelling and communication. When done poorly, organizations run several risks: from dehumanizing the people they seek to help to diminishing the role local actors play in advancing progress. In this post, CEO Scott Sabin shares how to allow our partners to […]
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About Our Work, blog, Burundi, Dominican Republic, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Mexico, Tanzania, Thailand
LET THE LOCALS LEAD
While having country-based leadership in all of our programs is important, we take it a step further and the advantage of local leadership is undeniable. The importance of having local ownership over our mission and program activities has been emphasized at Plant With Purpose from the very beginning. Back in 1984, Plant With Purpose was […]
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About Our Work, blog, Dominican Republic, DR Congo, Haiti, Sustainability, Tanzania, Thailand
The Value of Multilateral Partnerships
Plant With Purpose partners are autonomous but interdependent On the day that Plant With Purpose was established in 1984, two organizations were created as partners. Floresta International was founded in San Diego, California, and would later become known as Plant With Purpose. In the Dominican Republic, Floresta Incorporada was launched, where it continues working to […]
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All, Thailand
The danger of drought: How Thailand’s farmers are coping with an unending dry season
The rains aren’t coming when they should Weeks go by and Thailand moves further into what is supposed to be its rainy season. Except it hasn’t rained. The people still wait. Especially the farmers, for whom the arrival of rain is needed to feed their families and to bring in an income. This drought isn’t […]
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All, Thailand
Why is Bok Chee smiling so much?
Bok Chee radiates joy and contentment In his village of Huay Lu Luang, Bok Chee stands out for his easygoing nature and warm smile. It isn’t uncommon to find him joking with his neighbors or playing with his granddaughter in between taking care of the family farm. For most people in Bok Chee’s village, life […]
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All, Thailand
Keep making small improvements
For Jing, the road to a better life seemed daunting. Jing lived with her husband, Tan, in the hills of Northern Thailand. They endured much together, and cared for one another, even at times when this was very difficult. “Our family had no money in savings,” she said to describe their earlier situation. “We had […]
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All, Thailand, Updates
The wisdom of Jah Cho
Jah Cho’s smile is contagious If you catch Jah Cho among his neighbors in Northern Thailand, you won’t have to wait very long before he offers up some jokes. His many stories, told in his Lahu dialect, are always accompanied with a big smile and belly laugh. Jah Cho is a happy soul, and he […]
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All, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Living Sustainably, Meditations, Thailand, Updates
This is what gratitude looks like
At the end of each year, many of us try to turn our focus towards gratitude. We reflect on what really matters in our lives. We take inventory of blessings. We go around the table at Thanksgiving to share what we are thankful for, then reinforce our gratitude in family newsletters shortly afterwards. We are […]
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All, Thailand, Updates
Statelessness, Status, and Solutions: A unique challenge in Thailand
Statelessness is a serious issue for many populations in Northern Thailand. Last month, the world’s attention turned to Northern Thailand, as a difficult and bold rescue operation sought to free a boy’s soccer team that had been trapped in the Tham Luang Cave for over two weeks. After surviving for weeks on a diminishing supply […]
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All, Thailand
From Myanmar to her own backyard, Na Kuh creates change
Conflict drove her family from Myanmar into Thailand. “We walked from our village into a border area, then into Thailand,” Na Kuh recounted to us. “There were two or three families together, with our children. It took us about a week to enter into that border area. While we were walking on the Burmese side, […]
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All, Thailand
For these hilltribes, change begins in the backyard
In Northern Thailand, ethnic minorities are creating much needed sustainable change by starting right at home. Life isn’t easy for the hilltribes in Northern Thailand. As ethnic minorities, many of them are subject to various forms of persecution and discrimination. Many of them are refugees and can remember a time of having to flee to […]
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All, Thailand, Updates
Sustainability means giving beyond our own lives
Jah Cho has seen how hard life can be. In Northern Thailand you'll find dozens of small villages where several ethnic minorities live. Many tribal groups have never been granted national citizenship. Many have faced persecution from the state. It isn’t uncommon to find older adults willing to talk about how they once had to […]
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All, Thailand, Updates
Farms, Food, and Family: Khamsee’s Transformation
For years Khamsee was unable to put food on the table. Much of Thailand has grown internationally familiar as the country has boomed as a tourist hot spot in recent years. Cities like Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai see the bulk of visitors. Many of the country’s rural areas, however, garner far less attention. In […]
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