An in-depth experience in hands-on earthen building, organic gardening, seed saving, and community living

November 1-December 27, 2010

Pun Pun Organic Farm, Seed Center, and Sustainable Living Learning Center
Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand

This year Pun Pun will be offering an 8-week internship program to individuals interested in getting a hands-on experience in organic gardening including seed saving, earthen building, and community living.

The internship will be a combination of organic gardening techniques, earthen building, appropriate technology, and self-reliant living techniques. We will learn all of these together through hands-on projects with each. Interns will learn the organic gardening techniques we use at Pun Pun through use on their own experiential garden beds and making compost and cultivating micro-organisms themselves. Interns will learn earthen building techniques by building together a structure and learning all of the stages involved in building your own earthen home. Interns will also get the opportunity to be involved in aspects of living in a community in Thailand and other cultural and sustainable living related practices.

It is an opportunity to learn through doing where interns will learn the techniques we use while actively applying them to projects at the farm. It is also a chance to live with other like-minded Thai and international folks as well as meet various interesting visitors to the farm.

Topics & techniques

What interns will experience during their time at Pun Pun:

Organic Gardening skills:

• Pun Pun philosophy of living
• making nursery seedlings and a discussion of what plants need to start as seedlings
• garden bed making techniques for different seasons and situations
• composting including “Bokashi” composting technique and different uses of human and other animal manure
• cultivating micro-organisms for making liquid fertilizers
• garden care including plant observation and problem solving techniques to understand what plants need
• making natural pesticides
• harvesting for consumption
• discussions on the importance of seed saving, what is happening with our seed biodiversity now, and active seed saving on the farm

Natural Building:

• adobe brick making
• basic sustainable design principles including orientation, environmental factors, usage of building, and aesthetics as well as a discussion of the design for the building we will build together and design activity
• foundation principles
• adobe wall construction including putting in windows and doors
• earthen plasters
• homemade earthen starch paints, lime finishes, and other options for finishing sealants
• earthen benches
• finishing work – relief work, sculptural work, etc
• adding of simple electric lines, plumbing lines

Community living :

Evening activities and exchanges will also be included. A large aspect of the internship also includes the experience of community living in the Thai context as interns will become community members for the duration of their internship. We focus on this relationship in learning how to be mindful, conscious individuals living in community together. We will meet in weekly group check-ins as a community together.

Additional Topics:

Opportunities for Thai massage, meditation, rice wine making, forest walks, soymilk and tofu production and Thai cooking are available depending on participants’ interest.

General Schedule

Morning and afternoon sessions will be held with an extended break after lunch in the hot part of the day. Evening and early afternoon discussions sessions will be held periodically depending on interns’ interest.

Every Friday and Saturday will be break time to rest or do any other errands necessary in town. If you are planning to do other traveling in Thailand we ask you keep that to before, after the program, or during program breaks.

Teaching team

Jon Jandai, Peggy Reents, Justin Sahibdeen, and Nathan Reents

Living situation

Simple room in one of Pun Pun’s earthen or bamboo guesthouses. A thin futon mat, blanket, sheet, pillow, and mosquito net will be provided.

Meals will be shared and eaten in the communal kitchen, vegetarian and fish options will be available and we will try to use the most organic vegetables as possible from the farm.

Bathing options include an outdoor cool shower stall, solar hot showers, or a dip in the pond.

Fee

$1,400 US/person. All proceeds go towards supporting Pun Pun community to grow and continue with our seed center and outreach work.

Community living aspect

People who have thrived here at Pun Pun in the past generally:

• enjoy physical work
• enthusiastic to work as a group on projects collectively to complete tasks at hand
• flexible
• have an interest in experiencing living closely with others, are comfortable living in close quarters with little sound barriers
• interested in experiential learning and a holistic approach to learning
• interested in personal growth
• have an interest in engaging with people of all ages, including children
• willing to participate in the group process
• free to express concerns as they arise
• practice moderate alcohol consumption
• seek to deepen understanding on ways things are done and why
• have a willingness/freedom to express concerns without judgment
• content with simple, primarily Thai, vegetarian food
• happy to find their place in our community
• happy to find ways to be helpful to community
• enjoy simplicity

Registration

1) Email your participant survey to Peggy Reents at pareents@yahoo.com.

2) Once you have sent your participant survey and have been confirmed, a $500 US non-refundable deposit is due to secure your spot.

• If you are sending the deposit from a country that is not the US or Thailand, please do an international transfer to our account. You can email pareents@yahoo.com for information you need to make the transfer.

• If you are in the US, the deposit check should be addressed to Margaret Reents and sent to:

Peggy Reents
Re: Pun Pun Internship
3405 El Caminito
Loveland, CO 80537 USA

• If you are within Thailand,please transfer money directly into our Pun Pun account. To do so, go to any Bangkok Bank and give them our account information. You can also do it from any ATM machine in Thailand.

Account name: Jon Jandai
Account number: 458-0-51390-3
If you have any difficulty, please call Jo Jandai at 081.470.1461

3) The remainder of your contribution will be expected on the first day of the internship at Pun Pun community in either Thai baht or US dollars.

For more information
Contact pareents@yahoo.com

Pun Pun Internship Participant Survey:

Please write us a short letter introducing yourself. This will help us get to know you and also help us prepare the program for your needs. It will remain confidential.

Write a simple, honest, authentic letter about yourself and why you want to participate in the internship program. It does not need to be formal, just in your own style. Please include your age, gender, and an overview of your present life (for example, what brought you to want to come, where you are from, where you are coming from at this point in your life, how you hope to integrate the experience/learning from the program in your life, a few of your strengths and weaknesses in living in community/working with others).

If you have any emotional or health difficulties, please let us know how these are effecting your life now. Please wait for acceptance before making travel arrangements.

Please send your letter to Peggy Reents at pareents@yahoo.com.