*  Nearly 6000 bricks were made by villagers and volunteers  *  Over 100 volunteers – with groups or individually, lent a helping hand  *  Cost of the school came out to around $15,000 USD (about 35% less than a 3-room standard cement school)  *  7 new families moved to the village during construction  *  One new teacher was assigned to the school by the Nambak Education Department  *

As of 7 April 2012, the primary school of the village of Naluang in Nam Bak District of Luang Prabang was deemed completed!!  Along with the villagers of Naluang, Tiger Trail Fair Trek organized a grand opening of the first clay school in Luang Prabang Province (maybe even in ALL of Laos)!

See the progress…

The villagers worked hard preparing for the event.  They made a structure to house the school sign, made minor repairs to the school so it would look pretty, created a covered area next to the school to house the event, cooked for 2 days, made many preparations for the baci ceremony, cleaned the village, borrowed tables and chairs from other schools, and PROUDLY invited surrounding villages.  You could tell from their anticipation and hard work that they felt a sense of fulfillment and were so very happy that the school is finally completed.

Tiger Trail had the sign made, rented a sound system, arranged for media (television, radio, & newspaper) to record the event, and hauled in as many Tiger Trail staff and family members as we could fit in a Hyundai, a minivan, and one truck.

The night before the grand opening, it rained particularly hard and long, which made us all worried about how everyone was going to get into the village.  As the way to Naluang requires passage through a narrow, dirt road alongside a cliff, we were not sure if the vehicles would make it in.  Regardless, the ceremony of handing over the school to the village was going to happen rain or shine!  In the end, some dedicated folks walked in while others were driven in by the only 4WD vehicle that we own.

The ceremony was emceed by one of the Nam Bak Education Office officials.  Speeches were given by the Naluang village head, Tiger Trail’s own Markus Neuer and Mr. Khamchaen, and an official representing the Nam Bak school district.  Gifts and awards were exchanged in representation of the gratefulness of each involved entity.

The baci ceremony was AMAZINGLY done!  The pha kwan was beautifully decorated with flowers that were picked by the children from local fields.  Around the base of the pha kwan were boiled sweet rice covered in sugar and fresh shredded coconut alongside fresh bananas. When the mohkwan (ex-monk) finished his chanting, everyone spread out to give well wishes to each other.  At the end, our wrists were about 2 inches thick with blessing strings!!

Finally, the eating, drinking, and dancing started!  This celebration is likely the biggest of its kind that the village has ever experienced.  That is why they put so much heart and soul into making it successful.  They wanted everyone to know that their village could pull together to make something great happen!

Thank you again for everyone involved!!!  This includes Lao Project Group, a local organization that helped us fund and build the foundation and roof AND provided 6 groups of volunteers.  Along with 2 groups, World Volunteer brought in funding for materials and labor, which ensured completion of the school.  Incheon Center for International Cooperation and Exchange donated a lot of practical supplies to the village with their group of volunteers from South Korea.  We also received generous donations from Friends of Lao and the German Lions Club International.  Last, but NOT least, we (and the villagers) would like to thank Ms. Non of Earthen Adobe for her creativity and expertise on clay building.

Active participants in building the school… Pictured here is Ms. Non, the clay wizard, and three of our trusty guides (Bounhome, Kor, Bounsou):

Some group pictures of volunteers that we managed to capture during their time on the project:

Should you meander over to Luang Prabang, our Fair Trek Culture Lodge tour includes an overnight stay in this clay school village!  Everyone is invited to come over and check it out!  Pound on the walls to feel its stability.  Breathe the cool fresh air of the room when you step in from a long journey in the sun!  Although it resembles all other schools in Laos, you will know that it is something special the moment you step inside and smell the dirt walls!

If you would like to see more projects like this happening, contact us and let us know how you can help!  In the future, we’d love to do more of these sustainable building projects.  Alternatively, maybe the village of Naluang has taken something away from this experience and one day we’ll see some clay houses pop-up in the village!!

For the final plastering, we’ve decided to hire a local professional to clean the lines, make the walls look straight, and smooth them out.  Mr. Bounsai has had experience building with international clay experts and actually helped to build the clay house of the director of Tiger Trail!  Mr. Bounsai has hired local villagers and continues to work with volunteers.  Though we are not getting as many volunteers as we approach low season, with the help of Mr. Bounsai, we are confident that this school will be finished before the crazy down pour of the rainy season begins.

The finishing touches to the school include the following:  Plastering, painting, putting in protective awnings for the sides of the school, paneling for the sides, installing doors & windows, wood fixtures to close the openings between rooms & the exterior.

Below are some recent pictures of the progress made by Mr. Bounsai, his small crew, and the volunteers.

“Seeing the progress makes the work more rewarding than it is difficult.” -Liz Doernhoefer, World Volunteer participant

After the success of the first group of World Volunteer students, we were all pumped to GET THIS SCHOOL DONE!! World Volunteer had rounded up a second group – a group of adults associated with their organization as well as their own family members. It was very cool to see impassioned young adults give up their time for our cause and to see families working side by side. Altogether, the two groups from World Volunteer put up enough walls to make a classroom! Anxious to see the fruits of their labor, they also moved the tables, chairs, blackboard, and students into this new clay room. This room now serves as the official new classroom and classes are held there every school day! The primary school kids were very very happy to see that so much progress had been made in 2 weeks. World Volunteer volunteers: thank you so much for helping us kick-start building the walls and we commend you for your motivation and hard work!

We had three more groups in the month of December! The first two groups were high school students from Australia. These groups were organized in conjunction with Lao Project Group and World Challenge. The challenge for them was to get us back on track with brick making. In total, we had estimated a need of around 6000 bricks to complete the structure of the school, an average of 2000 bricks per room! Holy Bricks! Though these groups focused their time on making more bricks, collecting more straw, and other preparation, they were also involved with wall construction. LPG/World Challenge volunteers: thank you for ALL THE BRICKS and for engaging the children of Ban Naluang! With the production of more bricks on hand, our third group of adventure volunteers, organized by Incheon Center for International Cooperation and Exchange , arrived just before Christmas day. Despite their rough journey from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, this group of 13 from South Korea were jolly and ready for their own challenge. During their stay, they completed the construction of the second room and got a head start on one wall of the third and FINAL CLASSROOM!! ICICE volunteers: thank you for giving up your Christmas holiday to CELEBRATE with the villagers of Naluang!  Thank you as well for all of your kind and very PRACTICAL donations.  The villagers were extremely grateful for your thoughtfulness.

So… ONE MORE classroom to construct followed by some finishing touches, fun stuff like plastering, painting, and prettying!  If you want to help, contact us!!

Volunteer in Laos – Experience, Care, Learn, Help…Enjoy!

World Volunteer Clay School project Laos from Adri Berger on Vimeo.

- Link to FAIR TREK – CLAY SCHOOL PROJECT -

At the end of October 2011, Tiger Trail Fair Trek, along with World Volunteer, and Earthen Abode Project welcomed from Sweden, 11 young volunteers and their fearless leader.  After a long, but beautiful hike through the limestone karst mountains, they arrived ready to work on a Saturday morning!

Getting to work right away, the student volunteers were introduced to the clay building expert (Ms. Non), who kindly accepted our invitation to help with our school project.  The volunteers were put to work stomping in the mud pit and getting the muddy feel for what the consistency of the clay should feel like.  Lots of water, lots of straw, and lots of stomping!

The second day in the village, construction of the FIRST WALL began!  We learned how to connect the mud bricks to the cement columns.  Make sure the wall is straight and don’t be stingy with the mud!

Tasks were distributed on a daily basis.  These included collecting and cutting straw, making bricks, filtering sand, filtering lime, making mud for plastering, making paint, collecting sand…  Everything was made from local, natural resources.  This made it a very interesting process and everyone can say they learned something from this experience.

Despite it being rice harvesting season, the villagers gave up a couple of hours in the morning to help with the school before heading out to the rice fields.  School was in session during the weekday, but during the weekends or their lunch break, the young children would run over to the other side of the school building and help out for as long as they could before school resumed again.   How happy they will be when this school is completed!

Check out the pictures for progress made on the school from October 29 – November 4!

]]> http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/clay-walls-going-up/feed/ 0 http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/clay-school-first-phase-completed/ http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/clay-school-first-phase-completed/#comments Fri, 09 Sep 2011 05:10:30 +0000 Fair Trek Team http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/?p=1149 Laos Clay School Project moving forward…

Join & become a Volunteer

The clay school project in Ban Naluang (a small village in the Nam Bak District, Luang Prabang Province, Laos) is still in progress.  After the first group of volunteers, Tiger Trail had hosted 3 more volunteer groups came in to help us finish the basic structure.  The last group left in mid-August 2011.  Things didn’t go quite as planned… The situation was challenging with the rainy season significantly hindering our progress.  But in the end, the volunteers and villagers did a wonderful job!

Despite the language barrier, communication between the volunteers and the villagers was happily managed either by sign or body language or help from the English speaking guide.  There was certainly bonding and understanding of the goals everyone wanted to achieve!

When the last group left in mid-August, the foundation and the roof were finished! With the help of the villagers and the volunteers, temporary bamboo walls were built to create some protection from nature.  At this stage, even without proper walls, the school can be used!  The local government Education Office has also found a school teacher and classes are meant to start this month!

Next steps on this project:

The villagers are starting to make more clay bricks needed for construction of the clay walls.  We are looking forward to hosting another group of student volunteers in late October to come help complete the walls, windows, doors, and final touches!

Thanks for visiting our blog and please return for more updates!

Join & become a Volunteer

]]> http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/clay-school-first-phase-completed/feed/ 0 http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/%e2%80%8ethe-travel-word-just-published-published-a-great-article-about-tiger-trail-and-fair-treks-clay-school-project/ http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/%e2%80%8ethe-travel-word-just-published-published-a-great-article-about-tiger-trail-and-fair-treks-clay-school-project/#comments Fri, 12 Aug 2011 03:58:53 +0000 Fair Trek Team http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/?p=1123 Go to “Lao Clay School Project” by VICTORIA OKOYE, The Travel World

]]> http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/%e2%80%8ethe-travel-word-just-published-published-a-great-article-about-tiger-trail-and-fair-treks-clay-school-project/feed/ 0 http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/the-clay-school-project-is-started/ http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/the-clay-school-project-is-started/#comments Thu, 07 Jul 2011 07:32:42 +0000 Fair Trek Team http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/?p=1108 The foundation is ongoing…and the roof is coming soon.
The adobe bricks are waiting to dry.
The 1st group of volunteer students had arrived and helped to work with the foundation.

This school in Ban Na Luang is an example of how easy it is to have a school for children.

More funds are needed to make this a success. Please help by contacting:

projects@laos-adventures.com

THANK YOU!

12►

]]> http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/the-clay-school-project-is-started/feed/ 0 http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/adobe-school-about-to-be-started/ http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/adobe-school-about-to-be-started/#comments Mon, 09 May 2011 10:10:53 +0000 Fair Trek Team http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/?p=977 We need YOUR HELP to built this school – sponsor material and learn more about it here.

]]> http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/adobe-school-about-to-be-started/feed/ 0 http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/lao-happy-new-year-2011/ http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/lao-happy-new-year-2011/#comments Tue, 12 Apr 2011 06:00:08 +0000 Fair Trek Team http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/?p=959 For all visitors we hope to enjoy the water festival, the Phi Mai Lao. Good luck for the new year!

]]> http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/lao-happy-new-year-2011/feed/ 0 http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/our-designer-did-a-great-job/ http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/our-designer-did-a-great-job/#comments Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:35:48 +0000 Fair Trek Team http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/?p=703 Thank you Floris, this is really nice!!  http://www.floriz.nl/ can help you realize your web-dream, check them out!

“Fair Trek” Head office

Ban Muang Nga, Rd. 13

Luang Prabang, Lao P.D.R.

info@trekking-in-laos.com

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