PROJECT PERMANENCE

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Value of the Bucket

The lack of means for transporting and storing goods has led to an increase in waste throughout the camp. The same bucket is often used to transport water and gather food, along with many other fundamental activities.

Water Supply

Currently there is enough water supply for 75% of the camp's population

Population + Farmland

The current farmland (dark green) is approximately 14 acres (5.6 hectare) with roughly 50 acres (20 hectare) of deforested area (light green).  In order to support a population of 50,000 refugees, the camp needs approximately 252 acres (102 hectare) of farmland (dark green).

Diagram showing the population density throughout the camp.

Overpopulated and undersupplied

The two main issues of Mae La are that it is over-populated and there is a lack of food supply.  The camp is no longer growing from immigration, but it’s increasingly growing from within.  The population is growing from within because a larger family gets larger rations. In other words, a child gets the same ration as an adult, meaning that families with many children are getting more rations and eating better. Thus, having 6-8 children has become the norm.

With an increase in food supply, having large families would no longer be ideal because everyone would be given an appropriate amount of food. This would halt the population growth and allow the camp to focus on issues other than food source and over-population. Ultimately, allowing the camp to self-sustain.

The average farm area per person in Thailand has long been constant at around 1.5 acres (.61 ha), but 50,000 refugees in Mae La are farming from a measly 14 acres (5.6 ha).  That’s the equivalent of 3,570 people per acre (.4 ha) of farmland. Fortunately, TBBC also provides food supply to the camp, but the goal is for the camp to live autonomously.

Mae La  population : farmland  ratio

Thailand is divided in four farming regions, with the overall average farm size being 11 acres (4.51 ha). Farm size in the Central region (5.45 ha or 13.5 acres) is the largest of the four regions. The Northeastern region averages 11 acres (4.51 ha), the Southern with 10.5 acres (4.24 ha) and the Northern with 10 acres (3.97 ha). 

Farmland within the different regions varies according to land fertility and the type of crop grown. Less fertile soil requires more farmland in order to maintain a minimum supply level, but more fertile land will have an increase in supply per acre.  Mae La is located in the Northern region where land is more fertile, thus they don’t need as much area to produce a lot of supply. The fertile soil also means they can produce up to three crops per year.

Thailand produces four major crops: rice, maize, cassava and soybean in the four different regions. Land fertility has some effect on the type of crop grown. Maize and cassava are grown on the least fertile land (the eastern provinces of the Central and Northeastern regions) and are usually produced on fairly large farms. Farmland in the Northern and Southern regions are much smaller, but offset by greater fertility.

It is common, in rainfed areas, to diversify crop production to maintain greater fertility and reduce the risk of a poor growing season. For the same reason, multiple cropping and integrated farming systems were promoted in irrigated areas. A popular integrated farming system is fish culture and poultry raising, combined with field and tree crops.

The Mae La refugee camp does not have the knowledge nor the ability to irrigate an increased area of farmland, but the high levels of rain make for good rainfed production during the rainy season. Irrigation could be a future addition to allow year-round production. For now, we will focus on increasing farmland to improve rainfed production during the rainy seasons.

The second largest component of agriculture is livestock production. Thailand farmers are increasing production in broiler chickens, cows, and pigs whenever crop production has slowed. This is also known as “integrating crop-livestock farming”; which could be valuable in a rainfed area such as Mae La where they are unable to produce crops during dry seasons. Thus livestock could be maintained in “dead” areas and moved as the seasons and crops change.

Read more: Thailand - Location and size, Population, Political parties, Revenues http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Thailand.html#ixzz26gopANmA 

Also look at: FFTC: Food & Fertilizer Technology Center

 

Mae La Housing Strategies

Houses are built with steeper roofs to allow quicker water run-off, and create a stack effect that allows heat to rise and escape

It’s common to build separate roofs for each room of a unit.

 

This image shows the structure for a basic roof of a smaller sized house.  Larger houses require more supports and beams.

 

The ground floors of houses are elevated to avoid the humid ground conditions.  The floors are made with hardwood (2cm-thick, 6 x 25 cm pieces). They are typically installed with fresh tar, sanded and then protected with an oil finish.

 

For partitions, thin pieces of wood are woven together and tied or nailed to support posts.

 

The roofing material is made up of thatch pieces (usually dried leaves) that are tied to rafters.

 

* Refer to "The Barefoot Architect, A Handbook for Green Building" by Johan van Lengen for more information regarding simple home building strategies

 

The population of Mae La, Thailand

The 50,000+ population of Mae La is complete with 40 schools, shops, churches, water & sewage systems, but the community is defined by poverty, lack of ambition, along with alcohol and drug problems. The camp's population is mainly made up of families of farmers and low-income workers, while religions are more or less evenly divided between Buddhists and Christians. 

Although there are 40 schools, education for the massive amount of children is minimal.  Most families living in the camp have between six and eight children. With water and rice rations provided by the Thai Burma Border, having many children is considered practical. This is the main reason the population has grown rapidly and now nearly a third of all residents are under the age of twelve.

There is one college in the camp. Kawthoolei Karen Baptist Bible School and College (KKBBSC) has operated for over 25 years. They currently have over 300 students in their twenties. The students have constructed many buildings (all by hand, from bamboo, wood, metal panels, etc), including dormitories, a cafeteria, and a large church. They have also learned to install electricity and fluorescent lights as well as plumbing systems that pump in rainwater stored outside in large basins.

Housing on a steep slope

Elementary School

Dormitory

"Store" selling snacks

Farmland along the river

Church Interior