Isaan, in the North East, is the poorest region of Thailand. 70% of the population is classified as poor. The overall population is about 25 million or one third of the whole Thai population. Most people in Isaan are farmers (about 85%). Rice is the main crop besides manioc and sugar cane.
Despite its dominance, agriculture in the region is extremely problematic. The climate is prone to drought, while the flat terrain of the plateau is often flooded in the rainy season. The tendency to flood renders a large proportion of the land unsuitable for cultivation. In addition the soil is very poor, infertile from overuse and highly acidic, saline. Water buffalos are still used for farm work, but small tractors are becoming more common, while water buffalos are kept as status symbols. Farm implements are fairly rudimentary.
The region’s poverty is also shown in its infrastructure. While main roads are satisfactory, roads leading to villages are often in poor condition and not paved, requiring a large or four wheel drive vehicle. Water is often gotten from wells or collected from rainfall in large ceramic jars. Villagers usually use charcoal or firewood for cooking. The region has the fewest physicians per capita and the fewest hospital beds per head.
In July 2008 our project featured in a global CNBC documentary . Click on the title to see the result.
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In less than a week our installation team installed three additional computer classes.
On a volunteer trip to Thailand, Klaas Vandeweerdt gives a tour of one of the schools that received free computers from Fund Isaan. Click on the title to see the video..jpg)
