| Kuankatcha | |
|
Kuankatcha UpdateThe July 2001 (and earlier) Treks to Kuankatcha Village A few days ago a team of North by North-East personnel returned from a trek into the Central Laos (Khammouane) Limestone to our "Adopted Village" of Kuankatcha, where we donated 300 USD worth of medicine, sporting equipment, and school supplies to the village headmen, teacher, and children. These funds came from donors in the USA (Texas), namely Jeannie Frazier, Sam Schock, Martha Freitsch, Barbara Runge and Mary Needham. Thank you very much! Since last November, North by North-East (NXNE) & Thaisouth.com have been trying to assist this remote mountain village improve their quality of life. We first visited there during a mapping exploration undertaken by NXNE under the leadership of explorer Ezio "Max" Archangeloni for & with Conde Naste Traveller Magazine. During that month-long expedition, the explorers found their way to Kuankatcha and stayed in the village for 10 days or so, using it as a base of operations. The findings & fotos of the expedition were displayed & updated every 3 days on the www.thaisouth.com website. Since the original exploration took place, members of our company have had several different opportunities to pass through Kuankatcha when making the difficult passage over the jagged limestone to the 7 KM Khonglo cave, which is the starting point for an excellent eco-trek & boat ride thru limestone canyons & down the Nam Hin Boon River. This expedition was made up of Montri, one of his assistants, a new guide in training, and Ms. Emily Tomkins, an American Graduate Studies student who had spend a semester in Thailand. Leeches & protection against them This trip was especially difficult as July /August is rainy season in the Limestone. Climbing the steep rocky path to Kuankatcha during this time is very treacherous. Jungle leeches can smell human flesh, and will "inch-worm" their way forward to position themselves to fling themselves onto their victim. Such worms can leap up to 3-4 feet. Montri - our best woodsman - is used to such creatures, but the rest of us life in mortal fear of the horrid pests. Many a time Montri had to burn one of these pests of someone's of our legs with a cigarette. There is infact a local remedy for this which Montri has now taught us: take a handful of very strong local tobacco, dribble in enough water to wet the tobacco, and mush it up to almost a paste. Then spread the strong smelling concoction all over all exposed limbs. This is the only preventative measure we know to foil the bloodsucking leeches. Other than this, the worst obstacle faced by the group was the slippery & treacherous climb up the mountain to the high valley where Kuankatcha is located. How we determine needs in this and other villages Our best "local hero" bush-guide - Montri - is a born & bred Isan farmer. He can lead small groups thru the limestone because he so competent in his woodsmanship. A sideline benefit, Montri's farming background allows him to understand the problems in villages such as Kuankatcha quite well. He for example brought to our collective attention the fact that farming methods here are 30-50 years behind those in the lowlands. Montri maintains that a reservoir here would double the yearly rice yield. Such knowledge is just one of Montri's many valuable contributions to us. We now feel that once we are able to enlist the services/abilities of an irrigation expert, that it will be the first step in helping the villagers realize their need of growing more rice. However, we found from our own observations & many conversations with villagers, that there are many other ways in which NXNE could make contributions to the villages we visit when trekking through the high limestone. Most villages in the limestone are not accessible by car. Many can be reached only by river, but most can only be accessed by walking small trails & climbing very steep limestone mountains. It means therefore that since North by North-East representatives visit this area regularly, that we are in some case more able & equipped to be of assistance in a village than even the aid organizations of the National Government of Laos. Details of Needs The most pressing needs in all the villages we pass or visit in the limestone can basically be summed up as follows: Simple medical assistance - aspirin, antibiotics, anti-malarial medicine are just a few examples. School supplies - schools here are rarely more than a wooden shack with a dirt floor. Some do not even have a blackboard. None of the children we have met in the limestone area villages had pencils, notepads, paper or school uniforms...all of which are mandatory according to the government policy. Sporting equipment - all children love to play ball of one kind or another. No village we have visited had a soccer ball or any such equipment. The Latest Contribution Two months ago donors in Texas gave 300 USD and earmarked this amount for use in improving Kuankatcha village. When we received this money a group of us from North by North-East Tours discussed how this amount could best be used to improve the overall life of the village. Along with a 3-man team, Ms. Emily Tomkins (who is a graduate studies student from the USA) made the difficult rainy-season trek to Kuankatcha. Ms. Emily's monetary contribution was sufficient to cover some of the costs of transport and food for our team to make the trek back and forth. Therefore NXNE had only to supplement this to allow the group to go. Here is how we spent the 300 dollars of donated money We purchased: 2 volleyballs & a net for the school girls, 2 soccer balls for the boys, 2 Sepak Takraw balls for the boys, One manual bike tire pump for the balls, 4300 Baht (about 100 USD) of medicine (aspirin, cold medicine, antibiotics, bandages, suture thread & needles, disinfectant,etc) Laos regulation school uniforms (28 sets), One dozen sets of melamine plates, cups, bowls, spoons, forks for use with visiting eco-tours. Summary The challenge of development assistance is to assist in bettering the lives of those not as lucky as ourselves, but with minimal impact to the local traditions and culture. This was a successful initiative to assist the villagers of Kuankatcha because now the village has a supply of basic medicine, and many items which can be used to make a difference in the lives of the Kuankatcha children. for more information on this project and how you might be able to contribute, please contact us. We also welcome criticism & suggestions for improvement to the project.
Please make
your views known by contacting either:
|
