Introduction

Track of the Tiger T.R.D. (Tourism Resources Development) Co., Ltd. has entered into a 10-year development contract with the villagers of Ban Mae Lai, Amphur Mae On, Chiang Mai, Thailand under which it assists in the creation of a nature trails network of world class standard within their community forest.

Under this unique private sector/CBET concession style agreement, Track of the Tiger T.R.D. also contributes to the educational development of the village’s school aged children, the goal being that they will eventually be able to operate, manage and further develop the attraction on behalf of the village community – in a sustainable and equitable manner.

During the 10-year development phase, Track of the Tiger T.R.D. will base its ecotourism, outdoor education, corporate training and adventure racing programmes from Pang Soong Lodge, Outdoor Education & Research Centre (PSL), which it co-owns, and is ideally situated as an access point to all six of the community owned trails.

Under the agreement, visitors using the nature trails contribute by paying ‘trail fees’ to a community managed fund that currently subsidises:

• School transport - Daily to and from Huay Kaew school some 14kms away.
• Hospital transport – To the Mae On Hospital 25 kms away.
• Village ceremonies – Funerals etc., for those who cannot afford them.

The suggestion has been made that once funds permit, the village should set up its own fund to loan finance the start up of small business projects for the community of for groups of villagers (Microfinance).

The company uses its non profit arm, Volunteers Without Borders (VWB), to source development funding for the project, and to provide a channel through which paying volunteers play a ‘hands on role’ in helping the villagers with the physical development of the attraction they own, and in developing their capacity, over the duration of the contract to operate and manage the attraction for themselves.

The volunteer component is therefore key in the development model as it provides the funds and skilled labour that neither the private sector partner (without ownership) nor the village community (without the funds) could afford to invest.

This volunteer input covers the physical development of the trails, the collation of detailed trail guide materials, the development of a low impact agro-forestry projects alongside the trails aimed at providing an alternative source of income to the community, and in the English language, environmental studies and basic tourism industry skills education to the children from the surrounding area.

Overview of volunteer programmes being offered

Volunteers Without Borders (VWB) projects are based from the Pang Soong Lodge Outdoor Education and Research Centre (PSL), located just a hour’s drive away from the ancient walled city of Chiang Mai. PSL is surrounded by some of Northern Thailand’s most pristine community owned forests where the villagers of Ban Mae Lai have been cultivating fermented tea (chaa mieng) for more than 200 years.

In and around the Pang Soong Lodge, and the nearby villages of Ban Mai Lai and Ban Huay Kaew, a variety of volunteer driven projects have been established by VWB. These include:

• The development of world class nature trails as a sustainable ecotourism project.
• Specific environmental or socio economic based research tasks.
• The operation of quality Environmental English Camps for Thai students.
• The undertaking of English language classes for the Ban Huay Kaew School.

VWB operates half day, 1-day, weekend, 4-day, 7-day and 14-day or individually tailored volunteer programmes, giving participants the option to focus on or combine the best of our volunteer programmes according to their availability and interests.

These programmes offer diverse and interesting workloads that may include hands-on labour, teaching, material development, running Environmental English Camp activities and more. The work completed by volunteers in any or all of these ongoing programmes will go a long way in assisting VWB achieve its goals of establishing sustainable ecotourism and poverty alleviation projects in the area – on attractions owned and operated by the local community.

Long term volunteers

We are always on the lookout for experienced outdoor educators, experts in scientific related fields, nature lovers, individuals or husband and wife teams, either retired or just taking a sabbatical and willing to give of their time in assisting the VWB Initiative reach its goals.

We do not at this stage have a budget for salaries, but can subsidise the basics – transport (local), meals, accommodation, and modest expenses, for the right people.