We’ve had a busy and eventful few months with group after group coming to contribute to the Eco-Bungalow project.  The project is located in the village of Long Lao Mai in the Luang Prabang District of Laos.  Everyone brought with them their creativity, imagination, and an eagerness as only seen in the likes of volunteers!

With that, all the walls have been plastered twice over, creating a lovely earthen color, which is defined by the amount of lime that lightens the natural red of the dirt.  The outdoor showers have walls, the bathrooms have plumbing and toilets.  The lofts have been realized with the construction of its floor and bamboo hand rails.  We’ve even started working on lighting and electrical!

 Read on for the intriguing details of life in the village along with the Eco-Bungalow construction….!

After the walls went up, our next biggest hurdle was to get two layers of plaster on the walls in order to smooth them out while adding a little color to them.  Our team experimented with a few colors and voted on what we liked for the exterior and interior walls.  As with anything mud, drying time is important before the next step or next layer.  There is shrinkage and touch ups will have to be made as needed.

Tiger Trail Fair Trek and World Volunteer have teamed up with a multitude of volunteers to build a 2-room mud bungalow structure in Luang Prabang, Laos.  This is a unique tourism project for community involvement and poverty alleviation.

A loft, an outdoor shower, wide bi-folding front doors, and several hundred more bricks!!  Those are some of the latest developments on the design of the eco-bungalows!  The first group of international students did an awesome job of preparing the grounds, making more (even better) bricks, cleaning up the village, and of course, finding time to play with the local children.  They paved the way for the World Volunteer groups that followed (and are still following)!

TOURISM BENEFITING COMMUNITIES!

The progress so far….

Student Group From Sweden

The group of 16 students and one tour leader from Sweden started their journey with a rigorous 2 hour hike from Ban Nongheo to Ban Long Lao Mai just 25 km outside Luang Prabang.  As they entered the village, sweaty, tired, and hungry, they were greeted by children and villagers alike.  The first day was a day for acclimating and introductions.

It was with this group that the Eco-Bungalow Team decided on the addition of a loft.  But where would it be?  How would we access it?  How will it affect the layout of the room?  Many questions, but these are fun questions to answer!  Before long, the wall between the two rooms was constructed along with the adjoining stairs that ran along the wall on both sides leading up to the soon to be loft.  This team also started on the walls for the bathrooms with the idea of an outdoor shower in mind.

A lot was accomplished in a week.  Mid-week, the volunteers had a well-deserved break with a trek to the nearby Kuang Si waterfall.  They had time to enjoy a wonderful 2 hour hike (sans heavy packs) through beautiful scenery, jungles, and past hidden caves.  They could splash around in the water, have a picnic lunch, and relax in the sun or shade before heading back to the village.

Even back in the village by mid-afternoon, they RESUMED WORKING!!  We are so lucky to have such hard-working, amazing volunteers!

Let’s Build an Eco-Bungalow!

The Fair Trek Team & World Volunteer Founders welcomed our first group of volunteers last week!

 The  group of 19 young adults and 3 expedition leaders came from the International School of Kuala Lumpur. They discovered our project through World Challenge.  The enthusiastic team of hard workers contributed their blood, sweat, and tears from the 22^st of October to the 25^th.  

The first two and a half days were spent on multiple tasks mostly related to organizing the work site.  Tasks for each day included: separating the good clay bricks from the cracked ones, cracked bricks were smashed into bits and thrown back into the mud pit to make new bricks, half bricks were separated from full bricks, chopping straw, making tool handles, shaping bricks, cleaning up the area, clearing a trail to the bungalow.

Everyone worked hard in a good team ambiance! 

On the 24^th afternoon, the Kuala Lumpur students gave collective games (balls, badminton net and racquets, playing cards, etc), clothes and hygienic products to the local school. Then we all spent the afternoon playing with the 150 Lao, Hmong and Khmu students! We had fun explaining to them how to play UNO!  It was very nice sharing time with the children!

The last day was more dedicated to collecting rubbish all around Long Lao Mai with the village children. In the morning, we installed fifteen bamboo dust bins near the water stations. It was a good opportunity to educate the locals on environmental preservation.

Enjoy Nature in a Hmong Community

Ban Long Lao Mai is a Hmong community of 95 households (about 670 peoples) that is located about 40km outside of Luang Prabang, Laos.  The village is set in a valley between many large karst limestone mountains.  There are a few caves in the area that are fun to explore as well.  It is an ideal location for tourists to stop because of a nice walking trail from Ban Long Lao Mai to Kuang Si waterfall.

It used to be a very isolated village. In 1975, there were about 30 families totally immerse in the Hmong traditional way of life. Only 30% of the villagers could speak Lao. They were totally autonomous “with cows and pigs everywhere”. They would go to Luang Prabang once a year for the Hmong New Year. Until 1992, it took them two hours – one way – to get to Luang Prabang. Then a road appeared which allowed cars and motorbikes to reach the village. Electricity arrived in 1996.

Kor Vue, one of our tour guides, was born in Long Lao Mai village. He told us that since roads and electricity were introduced, the way of life has changed a lot.  The new generation is slowly losing interest in Hmong tradition.

Living in Harmony with Nature !

The bungalow will be a 2-room structure with an outdoor private bathroom and one loft upstairs per room.

The walls and some furniture will be built from the natural clay taken from the property.

We estimated a need to shape about 2,500 bricks for the eco-bungalow construction and each brick needs about two weeks to dry! The roof is constructed from wood and bamboo which were also sourced in the village (Ban Long Lao Mai) area. The foundation and columns are made from cement to guarantee solidity to the structure.

Local people have cleared the land, set up the foundation with red bricks and cement and collected bamboo for the roof. They have also made about 1800 clay bricks which involved maintenance and keeping a close eye on them to protect them from rain and animals.

To our great fortune, our project was able to secure the time of Ms. Non, our clay expert/building supervisor from Chiang Mai! She is an adobe nomad, traveling around, sharing her sustainable living experiences and knowledge with smile and so much patience.  See what she is up to here on her website !

The Eco Bungalow construction is a community-based tourism project.  It is based on a partnership between Tiger Trail Fair Trek, World Volunteer, and the village of Long Lao Mai.  World Volunteer has fund raised money for materials and labor while Fair Trek has managed on the ground logistics of preparing for volunteers and working with the village and local government and tourism department.  The villagers have provided materials for the bungalow and will be hosts to volunteers who come to work on the project.

We are all collaborating to erect an eco-friendly building which at the end, will belong to the village.

When the structure is completed, the rooms will be integrated into a tour developed by Tiger Trail.  The servicing, maintenance, and grounds-keeping of the bungalows will be the responsibility of the village.  Payment associated with use of the bungalow will then go directly to the villagers either through direct compensation for services or through a communal village fund.

Villagers who opt to partake in the construction of the adobe two-room structure will learn an alternative method of building: one that is less invasive to the environment, more easily accessible, more affordable than cement structures, and will maintain comfortable temperatures during the year.

Thanks to everyone for their participation and hard work to help achieve a mutually benefiting goal!

For more details :

Eco Bungalow Community Project

Overnight in a Cozy Bungalow

Village Description

Estimated time line of events

]]> http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/eco-friendly-building/feed/ 0 http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/overnight-in-a-cozy-bungalow/ http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/overnight-in-a-cozy-bungalow/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2012 08:02:23 +0000 Fair Trek Team http://www.trekking-in-laos.com/?p=1834 The idea is to build a cozy, private accommodation that is constructed primarily from eco-friendly materials.  We believe the eco-bungalow will attract tourists who are interested in village life, but for various reasons may not be interested in the traditional home stay.  They will have the option to sleep on a comfortable bed and have a private bathroom.

Check back for more information as we develop the program and activities for this upcoming tour.

Community Project in Laos, New material for the Clay School Project

Last week, the Lao Fair Trek team made a trip to visit the clay school; it had been three months since the opening ceremony!  We were curious to see how the school was holding up and if there were any changes.  The bottom 500mm of the exterior of the school was painted with a brick red finish to protect it from rain; this finishing touch made it looked like every other school in Laos (happiness for the education department).  When we stepped inside the adobe/clay school, we were met with a welcome coolness.  And with the windows open, a fresh breeze flowed through the room that also helped dry the sweat off our faces!

Additionally, from a generous donation raised by a group of volunteers from World Challenge Australia, we were able to purchase new desks for two classrooms, enough for 20 students per class and a nice new desk for the teachers.  As there is currently only one teacher, the Education Office will be assigning an additional teacher for a second classroom for the coming school year.

Old desks                                                                 New desks

With the help of a few volunteers that came to visit Laos last month, new shelves were made for what will eventually be a library in the third classroom. Right now the villagers have a small box of old, donated books.

Book donations are kindly welcomed! We can purchase books through Big Brother Mouse and deliver them to the village.

Please contact us at info@trekking-in-laos.com.

In the end, we spent some time chatting with the villagers and village chief. Since the grand opening of the school through this project, media attention (newspaper, TV, radio) stirred the curiosity of nearby villagers.  As a result, Ban Naluang had many visitors come by to check out the clay adobe school.  Possibly more young families may relocate to Ban Naluang because of this new school.  However, the most common question asked was, “Why did you decide to build the school with clay?”  Their response:  “Because the material came from our village!”

A big step towards future eco-building in a village!!

Laos Clay School Community Project
WE DID IT!!!

*  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 progressof the Lao school project…

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!!

Lao School Project
Clay School volunteer project getting it’s finishing touches

That’s right!  The walls to the third and final room were completed with the help of 5 Adventure Heart students along with AWESOME volunteers that were touring around Luang Prabang and stumbled on our project.  Being so close to finishing is quite an exciting feeling given that this project was started in July of last year.  Now, the rainy season is approaching quickly and the children are waiting anxiously (not to mention patiently) for the school to finally be a completed structure.

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.