Logo primary
Logo secondary
The Panya Project
The Panya Project
Details
Commenced:
01/08/2005
Submitted:
29/01/2011
Last updated:
07/10/2015
Location:
Moo Bahn Mae Jo, Mae Taeng, Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, TH
Phone:
+66 87 181 8821
Website:
www.panyaproject.org
Climate zone:
Wet/Dry Tropical





Followers
A. Yaren  Köse Adam Dusen Adam MacLean Adam Shand Alex Ivanov Alexandra Gooch Ana Garcia Ana Loichot Andrew Perlot Anita Fernie Anna Real Annie Sloman Antares Reisky Armando Simon Astrid-Nathalie Pearce atika ikram Baan Thonglaanglai bank supannapop Carly Gillham Cecilia Macaulay Chelsea Wong Ches Kanno Chilly Daisy Chowgene Koay Clara Mota Claudian Dobos Dada Yogananda Daniel McGough David McNamara David Muhl David Williams David Rivera Ospina Donna Hansen Dustin wallerwork@gmail.com Elaine Codling Eliza Honan Emil Moldovan Emre Rona Ethan Roland Evelyn Bishop Federico Lavarias filipa leal Floyd C. Constable Gordon Williams Gurjeet Kaur HADI NASSAR Hannes Dettmann Harry Campbell Howard Story Ian Weatherseed iqwan hardi Jackie Lehn Janta Wheelhouse Jasmine, Pan Jeff Kraus Jeff Mcneill Jeremy Bensimon Jesse Leavitt Jessica Robertson Joo Wei Lee Justin  Robertshaw Kai Lindenblatt kamuran kestek Karyn Maher kathe welch Ken Bird Kevin Thien Kristen Gravelle Lauren Hosie Lauren Ingram Laurent Kappler Leah Galvin Lia Ju Lilly Zeitler lily aagren Lonneke Zinkstok Madeleine Le-Fort Marcin Gerwin Marco Tosi Marilyn McHugh Marty Miller-Crispe Mary E. Johnson Matthew Green michael thevenet Mustafa Fatih Bakir Myrto Castanas Nadja Shah nithin muralidharan Olga Vita Omar Hajji Oriol Ferrando Patrice Clarke Paul Tan Paul James Dempsey Pete Blake Peter Brandis Prabina Shrestha Rad Kirk Richard Perkins Robert Grau Rodrigo Quiros Ronell  Mostert Rosie Harding Sahainan Sandot Saif Abu Ulya Sarvesvara Dasa Sean Cassette Seco D. Sedef Gunes Señor Pavitra Seval Ebru Yıldız Shafqat  Ullah Shahid Badshah shaun plumtree Shelley McClure Simha Bode Stephanie Garvin Stephanie (Vetiver) Blennerhassett Steven Le Blanc Tamatha Kocher Theresa Fischer Theron Beaudreau Timothy Gorski Tracy Bazarko Tuong Le Vanessa  Jarvis Vanessa Monge Augusto Fernandes Viktor gruber William Childs William Park Yamana Tarng yashpal arya Yoshikazu Eri
View Updates

The Panya Project

Project Type

Rural, Intentional Communities, Community, School Projects, Demonstration, Educational

Project Summary

The Panya Project is a permaculture, natural building and sustainable living education center in Northern Thailand. Panya is operating as a volunteer-run, profit-sharing education center and hopes to inspire change!

Project Description

The Panya Project

Location: Mae Taeng, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Start Date: August, 2006
Expected Completion Date: Ongoing

Project Concept:

To experiment with and model an integrally sustainable way of living in the wet/dry tropics. This project aims for sustainability not only in the physical environment, but also in the social environment, our physical bodies and the spiritual, emotional and intellectual realms. Permaculture is the system that will primarily inform how the project moves forward in the physical plane.

The 10-acre (four hectare) site is situated in the low hills of northern Thailand, between the conventional rice/soy/corn farms of the local village and a beautiful expanse of second growth national forest. It features demonstrations of humanure composting toilet systems, earthen buildings and a medium scale water harvesting system, including a 2-million liter dam and about 500 meters of swales. The project also is host to  production gardens and a diverse food forest, with over 40 varieties of fruit, established in 2007-2010. The project serves as an education center, hosting frequent PDC courses on site and a number of building workshops and internships throughout the year. Adjacent to the project are two other sustainable living projects, including Pun Pun Educational Center, a seed saving center and education center for SE Asian activists as well as international sustainable living enthusiasts. As a group of communities, these three projects aim to be as self-sufficient as possible, model a joyous, integrated, healthy way of life, continue to learn as much as they can along the way, and to share what they can with all.

Detailed Project Description:

The project was proposed in 2002, and received sufficient funding for the purchase of land in 2004, and then a second installment of funding helped to get the project officially rolling in 2006. In all, 12 individuals each donated $4,000 toward the project, and since then it has not needed any more outside funding. It has been able to become economically self-sufficient within a two year period through the hosting of Permaculture Design Courses, internships and natural building courses.  At the end of 2010, Panya took another step into the unknown, becoming the first volunteer-run, profit-sharing permaculture education center of its kind.

Education:

The model of starting as an education center worked very well for this community, and is highly recommended, as each workshop works in three important ways: it helps to build the infrastructure of the project, it helps to fund the project, and it shares the knowledge and enthusiasm with others.

The first PDC, in November of 2006, was taught by Geoff Lawton and Thai permaculture teacher Loong Yoot to a mixed crowd of 30, including Local Thai students, Panya Project community members and international students.

Since then the Panya Project has hosted courses taught by Cam Wilson, Ethan Roland, Chris Shanks, Melissa Breed, Christian Shearer, Richard Perkins, and John Champagne. The courses at Panya always receive high accolade, and the students regularly give the feedback that they come out of the courses feeling very inspired to make change in the world. Along the way, the Panya Project has also hosted school groups, including a yearly week-long educational immersion for high-school students from the International School of Bangkok.

The construction of many of the structures on the property has taken place as part of workshops or internships as well, including a two bedroom adobe house. There are plans to continue building using earthen techniques until all students and community members have sufficient space to thrive in the environment provided.

Permaculture Outreach and Consultation:

As an extension of the education aspect of the community, one of the community members, Christian Shearer, is an active Permaculture Design Course teacher, having taught in Thailand, Malaysia, India, Taiwan and the US. He is also a lead designer for Terra Genesis International and does design work out of Panya.

Earthworks:

The first course culminated in an integrated final design for the site, and within two weeks the earthworks were in, leaving a 2-million liter (500,000 gallon) dam at a high point on the property, and about 500 meters of water-harvesting swales. In truth this dam did not hold water.  For five years the community has struggled with water, especially in the dry months of March, April and May. In the winter of 2010, Panya was generously donated a bentonite clay / fibre pond liner, which should transform this situation. As of this writing, it has yet to be installed. In the coming years, this water system should make Panya Project water independent, using the abundance of the monsoon rains to carry them through the hot, dry months. It should also help to build the water table for the benefit of the entire local ecosystem.

Food Forest:

The site was previously a conventional mango plantation with about 350 young trees. As the project moves forward, it has slowly been diversifying the broad acre to a diverse arrangement of edible perennial food crops. In the summer of 2007, Panya started planting out its diverse edible forest gardens, adding banana, papaya, passion fruit, Macadamia nut, avocado, mangosteen, guava, coconut, jack fruit, sopadilla, bread fruit, Jamaican cherry, Surinam cherry, Malabar chestnut, pomelo, orange, lime, star fruit, salak, black sapote, pomegranate, longan, longsat, lychee, and others. Over time, as resources and energy become available, the food forest will expand to cover more area.

Vegetable and Herb Garden:

During the first PDC held at the site, a veggie garden on contour was put in place near the kitchen. Each year the garden expands, and though the community is not yet self-sufficient, each year brings them closer to achieving that goal. By the winter of 2010/11, Panya had 37 annual garden beds complete with drip irrigation, and full of food.  This in addition to all the perennial vegetables on site.

Animals:

The Panya Project hopes to integrate animals into its systems as well. Fish, prawns and ducks in the ponds, cattle and water buffalo for dairy and meat as well as grass management and fertilizer, pigs for food waste recycling and compost turning, and chickens for eggs and meat. Because of the turnover of volunteers at the Panya Project, the members have stuck to chickens and fish.

Natural Building:

The Panya Project uses two main forms of earthen building in constructing its infrastructure. Adobe is well known throughout the world, using sun-dried bricks. Wattle and cob is a technique that is believed to have started with Jo Jandai at Pun Pun Educational Center. It uses a combination of stick-frame and earthen materials to sculpt the structure. Panya also uses eucalyptus wood, bamboo and second hand materials that are readily available for timber framed structures. By the summer of 2008, two years into the project, there are six earthen structures, two bungalow style huts, and a large open-air “sala” where the courses are taught, meals are cooked and enjoyed, and where the library and office are currently located.

It is vision of the community that additional small earthen structures would be built so that all students and community members could have a more-than-adequate place to stay for their time at Panya. They hope that each person can thrive in all of their endeavours, and a wonderful place to sleep is important for that.

The addition of a ferro-cement sauna at the top of the hill, has added to the human sustainability of the site, and being all wood heated from prunings off the mango trees it is zero cost to operate as well.

Personal Development:

The community imperfectly strives to encourage each individual to explore their own beings, using whatever wisdom tradition, rituals, or practices that work for them. It is important to the community at Panya that each person be aware of how their own beliefs and attitudes shape and define the world they experience. Physical health through yoga, swimming, working, and good nutrition are encouraged and practiced, as are meditation, contemplation and reflection for the well beings of the spiritual, emotional, and psychological aspects of each person. Compassionate communication and supportive interactions are also important parts of daily life.

Another goal of the community is to continue to learn and grow, which is often addressed through guest teachers, evening discussions, and diving into new projects. In this way, even the intellectual aspects of each individual are kept fine-tuned.

Project Duration & Schedule:

Each year the Panya Project is broken into two distinct periods:

  1. November to May, the dry months: These months are devoted to teaching courses, building earthen structures, working on vegetable gardens etc.
  2. June to October, the wet months: These months are devoted to working on the broad acre. This is the time to plant trees, mulch, and work on any earthmoving project.

2006-2010: Build the infrastructure for the project, including all the water systems, buildings, access (roads and paths), food forests, and gardens. Plant the fruit trees, the timber crops, and the perennials. Dig and establish the fish ponds and aquaculture systems. Set up infrastructure for animals including barns, movable pens, fences, and milking stations. Spread the news! Use the site as a vehicle for the spread of ideas including permaculture, natural building, integral living, and the importance of balance for a joyous life.

2010 and into the future: Expand the education facilities and capabilities of the project. Focus more on outreach, consultation and service. Fine-tune the systems, and welcome the coming of fruit from the wide variety of food crops on the land. Research and implement new and creative ways of becoming ever more self-sufficient, and sharing the bounty we harvest.

The Panya Project has a detailed design laid out to be implemented, but the people of the project have also realized the importance of being open to change in every moment, as well as being unattached to where they are going, where they have been, or where they are at the present time. The future is unknown, and that is exciting!

Project Needs:

The project is doing very well, thriving both in the educational aspect as well as in the ecological aspect of the site.  The money the farm uses is kept to a minumum and this has allowed Panya to thrive. 

In the coming year (2011/2012), Panya will be rebuilding their main building facility, and this will take a large influx of money, the whole project is expected to cost the community about $7,000. And though they were donated the pond liner for their dam, the project will still cost them $1500 to complete. Most likely the community will have to borrow from friends and supporters to make this happen.  If anyone would like to donate toward this effort, please contact them at: [email protected]

Additional Photographs:

Updates

Focus on food - A Panya Project Initiative

In response to the call for the international permaculture community to reclaim our food freedom the Panya community has decided to launch an initiative called 'Focus on Food” designed to enable us to reach our goals of food production and promoting perm

Posted over 10 years ago (0 comments)

Late 2013 / Early 2014 Course schedule

Come and learn about Permaculture at Panya Project. Read through a list of our upcoming courses and sign up!

Posted about 11 years ago (0 comments)

Seeds of Permaculture, A tropical documentary

This tropical permaculture documentary needs to raise the money to finish editing and production, then the super high quality doco will be given away for free!

Posted over 12 years ago (0 comments)

Permaculture Managers wanted for Project in Thailand

We are looking for two more managers who can commit a year in Korat Thailand to and incredible project. A US$3000 stipend will be paid.

Posted about 13 years ago (3 comments)

Raising Money For New Facility

We are launching a fundraising campaign aimed at raising enough money to build a new teaching facility as well as the filming and production of a permaculture in the tropics film.

Posted about 13 years ago (0 comments)

A whole slew of courses available

The winter of 2011/2012 is full of courses at the Panya Project. From PDC's to sustainability Internships to a Clowning workshop!

Posted over 13 years ago (0 comments)

Our Courses and Internships

A list of our upcoming courses and Internships!

Posted almost 14 years ago (1 comments)
Courses Taught Here!
Project Badges
Rural Intentional Community School Demonstration Educational
Administrators
Brian Newhouse - Co-consprirator Christian Shearer - Administrator Kyle  Smith  - Co-conspirator Leah Galvin - Web Administrator
Team Members
Adam Dusen - Garden Manager 2015 season Adam MacLean - Garden Manager 2015 season geoffroy godeau - Garden Manager 2015 season Gregory Crawford - Garden Manager 2015 season Leah Galvin - Garden Manager 2015 season Richard Perkins - Garden Manager 2015 season Shelley McClure - Garden Manager 2015 season

Report The Panya Project

Reason:

or cancel

Hide The Panya Project

Reason:

or cancel

Legend of Badges

Note: The various badges displayed in people profiles are largely honesty-based self-proclamations by the individuals themselves. There are reporting functions users can use if they know of blatant misrepresentation (for both people and projects). Legitimacy, competency and reputation for all people and projects can be evidenced and/or developed through their providing regular updates on permaculture work they’re involved in, before/after photographs, etc. A spirit of objective nurturing of both people and projects through knowledge/encouragement/inspiration/resource sharing is the aim of the Worldwide Permaculture Network.

Member

Member

A member is a permaculturist who has never taken a PDC course. These cannot become PDC teachers. Members may be novice or highly experienced permaculturists or anywhere in between. Watch their updates for evaluation.

Male memberFemale member

Permaculture Matchmaker

One of these badges will show if you select your gender and the "I'm single, looking for a permaculture partner" option in your profile.

unverified

PDC

People who claim to have taken a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course somewhere in the world.

verified

PDC Verified

People who have entered an email address for the teacher of their PDC course, and have had their PDC status verified by that teacher. Watch their updates for evaluation.

pri_verified

PRI PDC

People who’ve taken a Permaculture Research Institute PDC somewhere in the world.

pdc_teacher

PDC Teacher

People who claim to teach some version of PDC somewhere in the world.

pri_teacher

PRI Teacher

With the exception of the ‘Member’ who has never taken a PDC, all of the above can apply to become a PRI PDC Teacher. PRI PDC Teachers are those who the PRI recognise, through a vetting board, as determined and competent to teach the full 72-hour course as developed by Permaculture founder Bill Mollison – covering all the topics of The Designers’ Manual as well as possible (i.e. not cherry picking only aspects the teacher feels most interested or competent in). Such teachers also commit to focussing on the design science, and not including subjective spiritual/metaphysical elements. The reason these items are not included in the PDC curriculum is because they are “belief” based. Permaculture Design education concerns itself with teaching good design based on strategies and techniques which are scientifically provable.

PRI PDC Teachers may be given teaching and/or consultancy offerings as they become available as the network grows.

pri_teacher

Aid Worker

The individual with this badge is indicating they are, have, or would like to be involved in permaculture aid work. As such, the individual may or may not have permaculture aid worker experience. Watch their updates for evaluation.

pri_teacher

Consultant

The individual with this badge is indicating they are, have, or would like to do paid permaculture design consultancy work. As such, the individual may or may not have permaculture consultancy experience. Watch their updates for evaluation.

community

Community Project

Community projects are projects that help develop sustainable community interaction and increase localised resiliency.