After another beautiful buffet breakfast, we needed to check out of the hotel for our trip to the region of Chiang Dao. On the bus, our tour guide, Chai, talked to us about what to expect in the village and we discussed some of the traditions, customs and history of the people of the village we were to build a house for. After around two hours on the bus, we stopped at a local market to purchase some snacks or other supplies we might need for the upcoming days in the village. Once we had reached the final point that the big bus could take us, we had lunch at a restaurant and ate some authentic Thai dishes that we all enjoyed. When we had finished our lunch, we all got on a Thong Soi which is a Thai style taxi with no door on the back that seats ~10 people. The Thong Soi allowed us to travel along the bumpy road to the hill tribe and take in the beautiful scenic views. At this point we all felt a bit tired and run down, but very excited to meet the villagers and begin the long awaited house build.
While the village is located in Chiang Dao, Thailand, the villagers are actually Burmese from the Karen Palong tribe. In the late 1980s, hundreds of poor Burmese people decided to illegally migrate to Thailand as the believed they would be safer and happier there than in Burma, where they were poorly treated and facing problems within the government. As they arrived on the Thai border, they asked the King to grant them access into Thailand and he agreed on one condition: that the villagers would not be granted ID cards and therefore could not leave the valley that they live in and would not have the same rights as the Thai people – such as voting or driving. They agreed as it was a better option than living in Burma and they have been living here for more than 30 years. Unfortunately, due to a lack of ability to move around the country freely, they are unable to build wealth for their families and remain impoverished.
One of the Community components of the Big Experience is to build a house for a family in the Karen Palong tribe, so we were all excited and nervous to see the village and work out exactly what we had to do. The village is larger than we anticipated and surprisingly more comfortable. We found out that we would be building a 2 room, 10×5 metre house, consisting of mainly concrete bricks. The house will be given to a widow with two daughters.
We split up the jobs, some people began lifting the bricks and stacking them near the walls, while others lay them with cement. The work was hard in the heat and humidity but we were all motivated to get as much done as possible. The group worked well together, with everyone pitching in and helping out; not one person stood back, everyone took on a role and tried their best.
We continued for 4 hours, laying layer after layer of bricks, working in teams of 2 or 3. By the end, all the walls were at least 6 layers high. Spirits were high as we returned to the long houses where we would be sleeping. Everyone felt as if they accomplished as much as they could have.
The next challenge was to get 33 people showered and ready for dinner using only two “showers” (aka. a hose). Luckily, the rain started and it rained torrentially for the remainder of the evening. Shower problem solved!
We remained in the long houses throughout the evening, as it was raining too heavily to do anything else. Dinner was nice and filling, cooked by Chai and the some villagers. We settled in for the evening, reading and talking with rain pouring steadily on the roof above our heads.
By Dax and Mia
