The Y Rock Movement: The Seeds Project: Shade Shelter

In Kendra's post she introduced you to our five new friends who, following an intense outreach project in Indonesia, are trekking across Thailand. While they were with us here in Khao Lak (staying in the Homestay houses, providing valuable feedback and financial support for the program), they did a great job helping with the Seeds Project. Joining Maew and Anne, they drove to a bamboo forest and chopped down some bamboo to use as the structural framework for the shade shelter we're building. The shade shelter will serve as a protective shield against the blazing sun that hits the Taptawan village. Not only is the soil sandy, but trees are sparse and this results in direct sunlight that's too intense for the more fragile cash crops we're trying to develop.

A shot of the skyline from the Seeds Project Site. This is why we need to create shade.

I arrived at Taptawan (the sea gypsy village) to find the framework almost fully built, with a pink plastic ribbon material being used to lash the bamboo poles together. Larger poles were used for the vertical and horizontal beams, while smaller poles were laced between them to support the roof of coconut palm fronds.

Lashing the bamboo pole framework. The Thais, out of a cultural preference for light skin and self-protection, often wear long sleeves when outside

Doing some lashing myself. My height makes it much easier to reach. Comically, I can easily see over the aisles in the local grocery stores.

One of the lashes frames Maew, Jai, and Bong working in the background

After lashing some remaining pole segments together, we drove to collect the dried fronds.

View of the jungle where we gathered some of the fronds

Using the machetes as necessary, we cut and collected 6-12 foot long fronds and transported them back to the Seeds Project (SP) site. The site itself is a clearing next to the house of Bong, the local woman who Step Ahead is assisting in developing this little agricultural area. Step Ahead works towards empowering the local community to work towards bettering their situation and so we're working alongside the villagers in getting the SP established. The hope is that, as the villagers see the success of Bong's site, they'll incorporate similar agricultural sites at their own houses.

But that's the long-term goal. The task at hand is to lay some coconut tree palm fronds. The surprisingly heavy fronds were carried from the truck and laid alongside the shade shelter, where they were then placed on top of the bamboo pole roof framework and lashed in place. Small fronds were then added as necessary to keep a nice smattering of dappled sunlight on the ground below.

Cutting a notch in the stem of one of the large fronds to facilitate lashing it to the roof framework. And an excuse to use a machete.

Kendra always reprimands me for being obscured by shade in photos. In this image, that's the whole point.

Working in the direct sun with your hands constantly at head level wasn't exactly strenuous but it also wasn't quite a party either. A break in the shade with an icy glass of coca cola was quite refreshing, though, and had me ready to hit the shelter again.

A refreshing coke in some shade. I'm kneeling in this picture, using a cup cleverly cut from a plastic bottle.

The finished result, for now at least. This shot includes about a quarter of the roof.

We ended the day with about 40% of the roof covered in fronds. We'll need to collect some more to cover the remaining segments and then lace smaller sticks between them to keep the frond strands from hanging down. The result should be a sturdy, organic structure that will protect the little crops as they grow.

One other aspect of the shelter that I think is interesting is the coconut husk basin at the base of some of the vertical poles. The husks will retain fertile soil that will be added and the pole will provide support for vines that will be planted. The vines will havce two main benefits- they'll produce fruit that can be used for consumption, and they'll add a nice spritz of green color to offset the tan of the structure.

After the couple hours of work in the heat, we had some fun driving over to one of the villagers houses and following some local women down a long path to the beach where they were gathering clams. The remote beach was well away from the reach of tourists and low tide made for long sections of clear, shallow water. Taking my shoes off and walking through the warm-water on the soft, white sand was a pleasant reward for an afternoon of hard work.