Sae Lao Project

For the past month I have been in Vang Vieng at a farm called Sae Lao. Vang Vieng is a popular tourist destination in central Lao. Over the past few years it has become a popular place for travelers to come and go tubing down the nam song river that runs through town. The mission of Sae Lao is to have a place where you can learn about Lao culture and the earth. 

The farm is 8km outside of Vang Vieng in a village called Nathong. 

This is the community center. It has dorms where the volunteers sleep and downstairs is the classroom. 

This was my class

My kids were 13 years old and the most basic English. It was very inspiring to teach these kids because they were very keen to learn. After a full day of school they ride their bikes or walk 1-2 hours to come to Sae Lao. It's really amazing because the kids want to be there and I wanted to as well, so it creates a great environment. The kids all come from farming families but if you ask them what they want to be they will say doctor, lawyer, teacher, nurse, etc. These four students would come to class every day Monday - Friday. This picture was taken on a Monday. Normally only these four kids came to class on Mondays then 6 kids on Tuesday, 8 on Thursday, sometimes by the end of the week Id have 14 kids. Advertising is done all word of mouth so if they like a teacher more show up. I was very suprised at how much I enjoyed teaching. We played games and sang songs. Most of my classes were taught outside running around!

Gardens 

The job I enjoyed was taking care of the Bio Gas. Here is a picture of what biogas is. 

At sae Lao we use the poop from humans and pigs. It is put into that under ground tank. The gas rises and goes through a pipe at the top then to the kitchen stove. The extra waste is spills out into pools. Every 2-3 days we would clean out the shit pools and make compost. You take out the old staw and put it into piles and add new staw to soak up the poo water. 

One of Sae Lao's missions is to have the volunteeres involved with the community. We were always invited to parties in the village and because I was there during New Years (Pi Mai) there were loads of parties (basie's). Basie's were party's to bring good luck to the family. There were many triditions that took place during the basie. A priest had to be present and he conducted the ceremony. After prayers of good wishes the kids would ask the parents for forgiveness for all their wrong doings over the year. Then the parents would tie a string around their wrist say a prayer and tie 3 nots. Then everyone would tie strings around everyone's wrists. Then we would eat and drink Lao Lao (wiskey) and beer Lao. 

During New Years was some of craziest partying iv done! I danced for four days straight! Lao people really know how to party. We would wake up around ten and go to the blue lagoon (2 min walk). 

This picture was taken before New Years. During New Years they had set up a stage and there were so many people. The parking lot turned into a carnival. It is tradition to splash water to wash away the year. You  couldn't move with out someone drenching you with a squirt gun or bucket of water. Another tradition is to throw baby powder- I'm not sure why they do this but it was very fun. After the blue lagoon ended around 6 we would go back to Sae Lao with the hopes of resting and drying off. Nope. More dancing, more water, more beer Lao. One night I went into the village for some more dancing, water and beer Lao. The next night I went into vang vieng to a local dance club called the moon. They had sprinklers pouring water down on us!  When Pi Mai was ended I was happy to be dry again! 

Here are some pictures during Pi Mai:

Me putting on a hula hoop show! I actually got to dance on stage while my friend was singing. Unfortunately we did not get pictures! 

Some selfie's with one of the locals Bo who worked at the blue lagoon. 

After a swim enjoying some more beer Lao! 

I went to a Mong village with my friend Bee. 

 It was a seven hour journey on motorbike through the jungle on a little dirt road. The views were amazing:

I spent six days at the village. There was no electricity, running water or proper bathrooms. It was interesting to experience Mong life! We spent the days fishing, hunting, hiking and helping in the gardens. 

Bees sister just had a baby so there was a celebration/rititual to bring the baby good luck. This rititual took place at night. They had killed a pig and it was laying on the ground in the kitchen. There were candles and rice with eggs in them all over the room. Bees mom, step mom and grandmother sat infront of a table. They wore traditional clothes with black face masks. They were holding bells and shaking while they said a prayer. All the boys lined up behind the women and performed a prayer. The chanted and moved from standing to kneeling to standing to kneeling over and over.

One day we went to the waterfall near his village. 

I left the farm yesterday. I am going to explore southern Lao. Stay tuned for more adventure to come!