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The Pang Soong Lodge, Outdoor Education & Research Centre and their development partners in the project, have determined that to develop the ecotourism industry of northern Thailand to world class standards, to help alleviate rural poverty, and to reverse the trend towards forest and watershed destruction, the only ethical solution is to ensure that the local inhabitants of the area in which the Lodge is located become ‘genuine stakeholders’ in the tourism industry, and thereby be given strong incentive to ensure its sustainable development for their own and future generations.
The Pang Soong Lodge will function primarily as a support base for activities along the ‘Pang Soong Nature Trail’, an ecotourism project owned and by the village of Ban Pang Mano, and built by their development partners.
Stunning in its simplicity, local design and setting. It is based as on a cluster of Kon Muang style wooden buildings, converted to public facilities – reception, lounge with fireplace, restaurant and open sided meeting and/or recreation area, set around a central public area with a natural flow rock pool.
The property is being opened in three phases.
November 2006 – The soft opening with accommodation for 50-60 students and/or voluntourists in the main property’s dormitory style accommodation.
June 2007 – The first 4 units of luxury tent houses (60sq.m. each) set on a slope overlooking the main property.
November 2007 – The student and voluntourists are relocated to their own dedicated centre on a corner of the 50 Rai property, the dormitories revert to their function as reading rooms, research facility, and lecture rooms.
June 2008 – The remaining 12 tented houses are opened to the public.
The VWB Initiative – (Voluntourists Without Borders) A non profit initiative set up by Track of the Tiger T.R.D. as a vehicle to bring in voluntourists to provide both financial and hands on assistance in developing the community based ecotourism industry, as well as additional revenue streams outside of the tourism industry.
Track of the Tiger T.R.D. - (The tourism resources development company) provides an operational platform for VWB, designs, markets and operates tourism related programmes that use both the Pang Soong Nature Trail, and Pang Soong Lodge.
The M.R.V. Project Co. Ltd. – Operators of the Mekok River Village Resort & Outdoor Education Centre, in Ban Thaton – industry leaders who are contracted to provide the educational programme content for visiting International schools.
Voluntourists – Small groups, GAP year students, and those on mid term or post career breaks, who want to play a hands on role in the development of the community based ecotourism product and its supporting revenue streams attending scheduled programmes or programmes customised for them on request.
Individual Voluntourists – Attending customised programmes tailored to suit their specific areas of interest, available funding, and time available.
Visiting International Schools - Studying geography, biology, environmental and social studies, team building, leadership and outdoor adventure – who may also want to include a ‘voluntourism’ component into their programmes.
Universities & Special Interest or Scientific Groups - Studying flora, fauna, birdlife and environmental or ecological based subjects. The programmes are either of their own design or put together for them by our consultants - experts from the Chiang Mai University Herbarium Consultancy Services and elsewhere.
Corporate Clients - For team building activities, nature retreats and hands on involvement in the 'voluntourism' component (fast gaining acceptance as an alternative team building option with added benefits).
Corporate clients may also play a role in sponsoring schools to attend voluntourism programmes, and to use those opportunities to train junior management, and/or rejuvenate middle and senior managers through a temporary change in function.
In addition, they may opt to become ‘a full development partner’ providing funding for materials used on projects that will be undertaken by voluntourist labour and that of their local counterparts.
Eco-tourism / Geotourism clients - Those wishing to get away from the city and to enjoy one of northern Thailand's most beautiful remaining forested areas, and to explore the wonders of the Pang Soong Nature Trail.
VWB’s programmes at Pang Soong Lodge.
Assistance will include but not be limited to:
Pang Soong Nature Trail building and repair – working alongside the villagers constructing path ways, steps, handrails and trail bridges in areas where they are needed to ensure access along the trail is safe for all (especially more mature nature lovers) may to enjoy it. The project includes building Burma bridges, installing a canopy walk, and erecting challenge components to be used on ‘team building, self confidence building and leadership’ courses for schools and the corporate sector.
Forest plant augmentation – working with the villagers to plant bamboo (edible and for handicrafts), rattan, palms, wild pepper, medicinal plants and more that provide the community with a constant (low intensity labour) all year around source of nutritional food and additional revenue in keeping with His Majesty the King’s ‘sufficiency economy’ theory. Planting will take place along the nature trail itself, and on the land surrounding the Pang Soong Lodge.
The project includes the construction and professional management of nurseries in order that plants may be propagated, seedlings can be grown for the community forest and test sites at PSL.
Forest restoration – employing the ‘framework tree species’ system developed by FORRU we will restore areas of damaged forest, and supplement others in order to ensure the return of full biodiversity to the nature trail itself, and to the land surrounding the Pang Soong Lodge.
Teaching English – to the children of the local schools in the area, in order that they may eventually take up positions in the developing ecotourism industry, either as guides in ecotourism or in the Lodge and related operations. It is important that they eventually be in a position to inform the visitors in person of their culture and customs, and well as translate for their elders who are the keepers of an enormous store of ‘local forest wisdom’.
The Research Centre Component.
The importance of having the interventions of the VWB Initiative along the Pang Soong Nature Trail, and to the lives of the villagers scientifically recorded cannot be underestimated.
For the pilot project at Pang Soong to have real value we must be able to ‘prove’ the benefits of our efforts to all interested in expanding the model elsewhere, in Thailand or abroad.
VWB is actively seeking volunteer or institutionally sponsored environmental experts to establish a wide range of ‘baseline studies’, and we are keen to provide ‘research workers’ from Voluntourists, visiting schools and local labour for all follow up data gathering tasks.
These studies will include but not be limited to:
Establishing the level of forest plant cover before, then at regular intervals after financially viable forest crops, and framework tree species are introduced the survey areas.
Conducting a baseline study and establishing procedures for long term follow up data gathering to assess the impact of the ‘increased revenue’ the various components of the project bring to the villagers.
Conducting baseline studies on the animal, insect and bird life, and establish long term reporting procedures in order to track the changes over time.
Recording the difference to a localized ecosystem in an area or areas where check dams have been placed dry stream beds in an attempt to retain rainwater runoff, and revitalise the ecosystem.
Note* Geo-tourism def. (National Geographic Traveler) At its core, Geotourism represents restorative and reconstructive forms of tourism that enhance a destination’s natural and cultural distinctiveness, as well as provide a high quality visitor experience.
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