In February, Colleen Beck of Seed Aquaponics was asked to research aquaponic
systems in northern Thailand. Two other interested researchers attended the trip to
Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai looking at several different types of aquaponic systems
and their affects on the people surrounding those systems. Click here to read the
monitor and evaluation report written on behalf of MTEC International, a non-profit
in northeast Pennsylvania.
While traveling from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, we had the opportunity to visit
Wiang Pa Pao, a beautiful hidden village along the route. We were welcomed with
open arms by all the villagers. Bo, our travel agent, took us to her family’s home for
dinner. Matt, the host at Treetop Country – the Eco-Resort where we stayed – took
us around the village to an ice-cream store with baby lambs, a traditional pottery
store, and the elementary school next door. The grandfather of the village, Paw, was
so gracious that he invited us to attend the village wedding the next day.
To help give back to such an amazing village, a trip has been prepared for this
summer to build an aquaponic system for the Eco-Resort’s volunteers and the
elementary school children to have more organic produce to eat. This system will
help secure a clean water source for the vegetables and fish to grow organically. The
vegetables will grow twice as fast and the fish eating the mosquito larvae will help
reduce mosquito-born illnesses in the area.
Students from local universities in the Pittsburgh area and three engineers will
attend the trip to help build the system and experience the culture of Thailand. If
you would like to contribute to the fundraiser for the system and give local
university students this once in a lifetime experience, please click on this link: