Clean Water for Maw Pii Village

Maw Pii, a Red Lahu village in Chiang Rai province, recently held the Grand Opening Ceremony for their new irrigation system.  This marks an important step in the work being done in this village. 

It is a long journey from Chiang Rai to Maw Pii, over bad roads, that are difficult to traverse, especially in the rains.  The road winds through the jungle, chasing the chocolate river towards its source in the mountains. The air becomes clearer, thinner and crisper as the road continues up the mountains.  The oppressive heat of the city is left behind and the cool mountain air welcomes newcomers.

On the day of the ceremony the sun was shining brightly, exaggerating the endless shades of green.  Reflected in the terraced rice paddies, the greens contrasted with the blue of the sky and white of the clouds. Over an hour into the journey the road leads to a small village, Phanasawan.  Here Boo was waiting for the rest of the MMF staff who would be continuing with him up the mountain.

Boo is a part of the Mae Yao team, and has been working with Maw Pii village for the last two years, making the journey about once a week. He says that on his first trip to the village, he was scared.  Maw Pii means Spirit doctor, named in honor of its founder, who is buried in the middle of the village.  So in a very real sense, the spirits are the center the village.  The idea of sleeping in a village with so many ghosts was not appealing to Boo.  He says he was so scared that he didn’t sleep at all that first night.  But as he talked with the people and they shared their experiences with one another, he soon found them to be good people and he has since become friends with many of them. 

Two years ago the Mae Yao field staff team met together with the people of Maw Pii to assess the village’s problems, the causes of those problems and to determine a plan of action. They found that there was not enough land to grow rice, partly because the government wanted to protect the land as a nature reserve.  They also found that there was not enough clean water. The people are poor and cleanliness is difficult, especially when there isn’t enough

Once Boo met up with the other MMF staff members, they continued on past the village of Arkaer, and finally came to the bamboo gate at the perimeter of the village.  The gate is part of a fence that encircles all 400 rai of Maw Pii.  The poles must be slid individually through slots in bamboo posts in order to allow vehicles to pass through.  Once through, the bamboo was slid back into place and they continued on into the village.  They drove past the 18 households that make up the village, with a total of 80 residents.  They continued up to the top of the hill, where they found the little Christian Church. Most of the people of Maw Pii practice the worship of their ancestors.  The only two Christians who attend the small church are the pastor and his wife. 

Near the church stands a large white cement basin that now supplies the village with water.  The four Mae Yao team members, as well as MMF director, Scott Coats, had gone to Maw Pii to help build the water tank.  The Thai government also helped in the irrigation project. Now that it is completed, the people have enough water to grow their vegetables and rice.  Previously, they had water, but it was not enough and what they had was dirty.  The people are happy that they now have plenty of clean water that they can use for years to come.  When problems arise, perhaps a leak or a broken pipe, the people are equipped to take care of it themselves. 

Much has already been accomplished here, but there is still much work to be done.  The Mae Yao team plans to begin using organic fertilizer that will help the people to grow healthier and tastier food, such as lynchee, corn and various vegetables.  In addition, they hope to start a savings group for the people of the village.  This will enable them to help one another in their times of need.  Another purpose of this group will be to discuss gender roles in the community.  Often times, women in the village earn most of the money, but the men control the majority of the spending.  They want to empower the women to become more involved with management in the community.  Maw Pii village has already gained so much from the involvement of MMF and they will surely continue to benefit from the work of the faithful Mae Yao team.