I have a better life now I have more water and I can farm my rice fields all year around. I can grow more crops and help support my family better. I am very grateful to KHT.
– Sarawut, Aged 54, Living in Ban Mae Yuam Luang
Ban Mae Yuam Luang is a small village of around 150 people and although it is close to the main road, the villagers struggled with food insecurity and access to water.
KHT’s Flood Resistant Irrigation System was built in the village of Ban Mae Yuam Luang in 2021. Since then, the village has seen an improvement in livelihoods, food security and quality of life for the villagers. The village has also been benefiting from KHT’s WASH system since 2001, meaning that the village has access to cleaner water and improved health.
Sarawut has lived in the village for over 30 years and is a father of 3 children. His family are subsistence farmers who also rely on selling crops for their income. He told us that the villagers work together to help each other and there is a spirit of cooperation and community.
Before KHT’s help Sarawut and the villagers were reliant on mini-dams for irrigating their land with wood and bamboo dams and these would wash away in any flooding or bad weather. This meant that their fields would also flood and their rice wouldn’t survive, leaving them without enough to eat. He also told us that said that without enough water, growing crops was difficult and they also didn’t have enough to drink for themselves.
After KHT supported the village, they have been able to access cleaner water in their village for drinking and other uses. With our FRIS they can farm better and manage the irrigation of their fields more efficiently. Cutting trees can cause issues for villagers with local authorities, so our FRIS also helps to ensure they do not need to damage their own local forests.
We don’t have to cut down as many trees and spend a lot of time building the dams that would wash away. We aren’t taking trees from the forest and that is very good for our environment and future generations.
– Sarawut
Sarawut is hopeful that in the future he can learn how to raise animals, and also fish and improve his livelihood and income for his family. Sarawut’s youngest child is now 16 and is a student in high school. He is the only person in the family to have continued onto high school and Sarawut hopes his son will be able to go onto university and hopes KHT will continue to help the villagers. We are grateful to Sarawut for welcoming us to his home and telling us his story. With your help, we can continue to help fathers like Sarawut who work hard for their family and future.
You can visit: Donate – Karen Hilltribes Trust to donate to our Livelihoods Programme and help us reach more Karen families!