Din Dang

For the past week or so I have been working among not one, but two nonprofit organizations.  Interestingly I was searching online for a couple of days in Chiang Rai looking for nonprofit work, sadly most came with a hefty cost.  I then turned south, giving up on the experience in volunteer work and low cost accommodations.  

I looked online for a cheap place to stay, there were two places to choose from in the Ranong area.  I booked two nights at TCDF Eco Lodge in Pak Song, knowing only that it was in the jungle and that the money funded children and education.  Originally staying as a guest and looking more for a job, I was blindsided by the beauty around me.  After I was offered my teaching position, life took hold and pulled me closer to nature.  For the past week and half I resided in a small dorm among a handful of volunteers from all over the world in a large, vibrant tropical jungle.  The dorm has a shared (shared with people, lizards, and geckos), community bathroom with a squatter and shower spout made of bamboo, a Styrofoam-like mattress, and a mosquito net. The shower water is a cool as the mountain streams.

Each night I went to sleep to talking geckos, bugs chirping, lizards shadowing the windows, and the ever so seldom cool mountain breeze under my blue mosquito net.  I closed my nights with some evening yoga and some delicious locally grown Thai food. Every morning I was kicked in the face by a convulsive  or two with raging vocals.  Within time I would make my way up from the valley and  where my rhythm was reconciled by clouds of fog slowly un-curtaining the day with breath-taking views of vegetation, tree blossoms, birds, hills, and skyline. Every shower is shared with at least one giant gecko blue-grey with orange spots.

 

Each day was around 90 degrees with some humidity, but plenty of jungle shade.  A river winds through the trees.  The eco-friendly environment has an organic farm, a compost system, clay work, water filtration, a recycle bank, environmental education projects, organic and local Thai food, several compost-based gardens, pond-raised fish, an educational library, and more.  All money that comes into TCDF stays, I have witnessed it.  There are more volunteers than guests.  A few beautiful guest bungalows are there for those interested in staying for more relaxation in the deeper jungle.

Over the past 10 days, I have slowly explored the premises.  I have seen snakes, several hundred lizards/geckos, butterflies, crimson red dragonflies, palm trees, pineapple plants, a giant toad that cuddles with a teddy bear, a scorpion, and have been chased by a pack of wild dogs. Best of all, I discovered Din Dang.

In Thai, Din Dang means ‘clay red.’  Within a minutes of just watching and observing a few workers in a small clay village in the valley, I felt as though I was family.  From then on I was ‘in.’ My skin is still patched with orange-brown tones of color and my fingers are in need of stronger soap.  The founder, a guy named Bow, started Din Dang to promote sustainable living though eco-friendly living.  He has an interesting history and is only 33 years old.  He was a monk, in the military, part of the 2004 tsunami rescue, and a self-taught eco-engineer, and has dedicated his life to educating and helping others.  He has a two other young Thai men that also work with him casually. Each of them make me smile several times everyday.  They each have a great sense of humor, work ethic, charity, and drive.  Bow’s started the project in 2007, with a specialty in the engineering of clay homes.  His effort also extends into gardening, purposeful farming and gathering, and bringing peace to others.

Day by day, brick by brick I am taken back by natural beauty and the passion of others.  It’s so hard to put into words, but each day my crush on life gets bigger and bigger.  Some of my favorite moments are just, jumping in.. Jumping in a pit of clay! I made my first imprint by landing myself in earthy clay, water, and coffee hulls and mixing it with my feet. It’s cool, it’s sticky, and it’s filled with goopey-sloppy sounds.  I have made so many bricks.  I may have stealthy laughed wet clay wods at those standing still or walking way from the site - those that were too clean for the setting (the explosion makes me laugh, it's a giant splat upon impact and I never got caught). I love it.

 

We had one big rainstorm, my first real rainstorm experience - lightening and thunder included.  Some clays was washed from the drying bricks, some salvageable, others not. Picture on R: post rain.

How does the brick process work? The bricks made are for the building of a 2 story dormitory for future volunteers.  An 8’x5’x4’ pit is filled with clay and coffee bean hulls.  A hoe to mix the coffee hulls into the clay (Picture on the Left with Bow). A small pit is made in the center of the clay and coffee mixture, water is then added.  This is where I came in and mixed the chocolaty earth with my giant feet.  Getting the clay to the right consistency is a matter of mixing water if it’s too dry and stomping around if it’s a bit too soupy - to create air pockets.  Buckets were then filled with the fresh clay and lodged into a wet 3-brick frame. Quick packing and smoothing the surface of the brick is acted on.  Water is splashed on the top of the bricks, the bricks are then smoothed once more, and the frame is slowly lifted parallel to the ground to release the red clay brick. The last efforts are left to the sun. 

The bricks are used more for stability.  The actually walls to the dorm will be made with the bricks by placing wet clay between the pre-made brick.  The walls will be finished with clay slathering and sculpting.  The result, a cool and sustainable home made with the hands of hundreds of passerby volunteers. The great thing about the building is that after the bricks are made, the homes can be build during the wet season.  The reason being that the pre-made dried bricks will pull the wet moisture from the surrounding wet clay.  The goal is to spread clay home living and sustainable agriculture across Thailand.  Other volunteers are currently working on gardening projects.  Beautiful!

Friday morning I headed down the road, about a mile from the accommodation for the weekly Friday market of Pak Song.  It was cute and quaint.  I rather enjoyed it.  The only farang were the volunteers, all others were Thai.  There were foods such as the famous coconut waffles, fresh meat cuts, fruit, vegetables, had tools, coffee, tea, herbs, soups, noodles, curries, and more.  I bought a small waffle for 10 baht, it was so good.  There was fresh coconut in the waffle. Ready for a little more market action?

  

Over the rest of the weekend, I visited the deeper jungle a couple times.  I simply made the comment that I hadn’t seen a coffee tree and one guy said, let’s go now. I quickly learned about palm oil harvesting (two types of palm here – black and green), bananas, papaya, berries, and the coffee production in my own private tour.  There weren’t a lot of coffee trees in the area.  The trees were recently cut-down and pruned to improve production, typical practice. I still enjoyed every moment of it.  Saturday after work, a group of us volunteers went out with Bow to the jungle to gather a leafy fern-like vegetable.  I didn’t try the outcome as I don’t stay in the Din Dang camp, but heard it was tasty.

Young rubber tree. The latex is tapped from the bark of a mature tree. Latex is collected weekly, early in the am. In the picture you can see latex seeping from a pulled leaf.

 Coffee Tree - this one was cut down to improve yield.

BLACK PALM

Unripe Black Palm - harvested when it reaches a crimson red color. 1-2 clusters harvested at a time, taken from the lowest branches first. 

Ripe Black Palm - notice the red coloration. Ready for drying and then the crushing mill.

You can see where lower cuttings have been taken from on this tree.

 

Green palm - when mature, turns orange-red color.

 Medicinal plant, used for food. The pulpy part can be dried and eaten, appreciated in some SE countries for it's hallucinogenic effects.

As far as food, I have had some of the most amazing Thai food in Pak Song.  I eat one cooked meal a day here. It’s so good!  I have been doing vegetarian, I have never had some many great dishes, day after day! Yes, EVERYDAY! I wish I could share it with you.  Each dish has so much color and unique flavor, I am amazed and inspired. Unfortunately I don’t have many pictures to illustrate the experiences; it’s often too dark at night to get a good shot (7pm supper). The great things about the food at Echo was that you could eat as a group for cheaper, more of a buffet of 3-4 dishes, so I was able to try lots of new foods.

     

I have a SECRET. I may have found the recipe book.. I am particularly excited about finding the recipe for Thai-fried pumpkin with egg. Thai pumpkin is different than pumpkins in the US. Sawadee, ka!