Khao Yai Experiences
Stories from Thailand’s World Heritage ParkArchive for Community Outreach
Kangaroo Island to Khao Yai
Australian volunteer Laura Mitchell has been helping the Surviving Together team monitor wildlife in protected areas.
Working closely with field staff and local rangers, our Aussie volunteer recorded signs of numerous indigenous wildlife by examining tracks and setting camera traps deep inside the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex, in protected areas such as Thap Lan National Park.
According to Laura, wildlife conservation in Thailand is an interesting and challenging change from her last job – working with koalas on Australia’s Kangaroo Island, where poaching is non-existent.
When not trapping unsuspecting wildlife on film, Laura found time to visit FREELAND’s community outreach projects in the villages around Khao Yai to see how small-scale agriculture can provide sustainable incomes for former poachers.
Other exciting highlights included the day of the weird white moths, bogged jeeps, ant-riddled camera traps, and encounters that can only be related over a cold Aussie beer.
Laura’s volunteer work for wildlife conservation was made possible by the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development Program, an Australian Government initiative assigning young people to support sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region.
FREELAND’s staff wish Laura all the best in her future travels and hope she’ll come back to visit soon.
Mushroom experts help local community and forest
Organic mushroom farming is a great way for villages around Khao Yai to make a living, as an alternative to cutting trees or poaching wildlife from the park.
Last month, FREELAND brought in a group of experts from the Phra Dabos Foundation’s Mushroom Cultivation in Sufficiency Agriculture Program to help Kok Sa-ard Village, just north of Khao Yai, further increase productivity and markets for its small-scale mushroom growing enterprises, set up with FREELAND’s help.
21 villagers participated in the three-day training, which covered everything from the basics of mass mushroom pack preparation, through to natural preservation methods to create ready-to-eat snack products and extend the shelf-life of produce.
Trainers also explained how to recycle materials to eliminate waste; and provided advice on dealing with changes in climate, such as the current cold snap.
Boonlert Thaitatkul, the lead instructor from Phra Dabos with over 35 years experience in mushroom cultivation, provided villagers with design plans and supervised the first stages of construction of an improved model cultivation house.
As this new knowledge is shared, it is hoped that low-impact organic agriculture will become an even more attractive option for villages on the edges of Khao Yai, ensuring a more sustainable and harmonious relationship with the forest.
FREELAND thanks the Phra Dabos Foundation for their time and expertise, and the Blue Moon Fund for making this training and the projects possible.
Biogas pilot burps its way to success
This week the biogas digester at Kok Sa-ard Village, just north of Khao Yai National Park, suffered a slight hiccup. A faulty seal was identified as the cause and quickly repaired.
The pilot project has successfully reduced villagers’ need to purchase gas for cooking or cut firewood from the forest. Pure liquid and solid fertilizer by-products are also being used on the community’s farms.
The benefits of free and sustainable energy have prompted Kok Sa-ard to plan construction of a second digester. FREELAND’s sustainable biogas pilot may also be expanded to another village, south of the park.
This pilot project was made possible with support from the Blue Moon Fund.
Learning about conservation the fun way at Khao Yai
More than 1,000 local students kept FREELAND’s Khao Yai Education Outreach Team busy between July and September.
With the help of a teaching kit donated by the Point Defiance Zoo, groups of students learned about the biology and behaviour of big cats, such as clouded leopards and tigers. The importance of wildlife and habitat conservation was emphasized through songs and games.
For those who couldn’t trade their classroom for the expansive forests of Khao Yai, FREELAND’s Mobile Education Unit was also on the road.
FREELAND thanks Point Defiance Zoo for helping to educate the next generation of Thai nature lovers.
Khao Yai named as top ecotourism destination
Forbes has named Khao Yai among the Top Spots For Southeast Asian Ecotourism.
Khao Yai was featured in the top ten picks not just for it’s World Heritage listed forests and amazing biodiversity, but also as a place to learn about “regional ecology and conservation efforts.”
FREELAND’s community outreach work in villages around the park was noted as a highlight for eco conscious travellers wanting to see and learn about forest conservation in action.
FREELAND is guiding sustainable development projects in several villages that border Khao Yai, to help former poachers become forest protectors.
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Khao Yai Sustainable Visitor's Guide (PDF 275kb)
