PROGRAM LENGTH:                                  4 weeks – 6 months

PROJECT LAUNCH DATES:                      The 1^st and 3^rd Monday of every month.

ARRIVAL DATE:                                         3 days prior to your Start Date (Friday)

THOSE WELCOMED:                                  Men or Women over 20.

SLEEPING:                                                     All volunteers in this project stay in or near the Friends For Asia volunteer house.  Friends For Asia operates out of a large teak wood house, located in a quiet, safe neighborhood in Chiang Mai City.  The house is two stories, can accommodate up to 10 volunteers at any one time, has air conditioning, western style toilets and hot water showers.  If room is not available in the Friends For Asia House, volunteers may have to stay in one of the neighborhood apartment buildings.  If this occurs, your project fee will cover your accommodation costs.  If a volunteer decides to stay in a place of their own choosing, then they will have to pay for their own accommodation.  The apartments are nice, but some rooms may not have air conditioning.  Volunteers have to commute daily by public transportation or bicycle.

EATING:                                                         Breakfast is provided for all volunteers at the Friends For Asia House.  All volunteers are invited to join the women and staff at the home for lunch. Volunteers staying in a shared apartment are responsible for their own breakfast and dinner.  Special diet requirements or restrictions can easily be accommodated.  There are several excellent vegetarian restaurants within Chiang Mai.

PICK-UP INFO:                                             A Friends For Asia representative will be waiting for you at your arrival point and guide you to your accommodation and project location.

TIMETABLE:                                                  Volunteers will be working from 8:30am – 4:30pm Monday through Friday.  Volunteers may occasionally be asked to work on the weekends and in the evenings during special holiday celebrations that occur at the home. 

FEES:                                                              Participation in the Gardening Volunteer Project at the Single Mother’s Home starts at $895 for four weeks.  Each additional week is $100.

Helping single mothers gain the skills needed to survive and prosper is a truly amazing and rewarding experience. However, before this can take place, the mothers, children and staff need a place to sleep, eat and learn how to better the lives of these young women in need. Building, smiling, laughing and sweating will be done by volunteers alongside the Thai construction staff, employees and other volunteers at the Single Mother’s Home. This project is perfect for those interested in hands-on physical work for the improvement of an amazing organization dedicated to improving the lives of young women who really need a helping hand.

Assisting in the hands-on construction, of mostly bamboo structures, that will act as dormitories and work spaces for staff, volunteers and the women and children that reside at the home is the basic role of volunteers in this project. Volunteers will be working outside and assisting in all phases of the construction (the treatment and sealing of the bamboo, laying the cement foundation, assembling the frame and walls, etc.) for training areas, housing for volunteers, staff and the women and children, along with communal areas for the women that reside at the home. The Single Mother’s Home has recently moved to a beautiful new, rural location surrounded by rice paddies, gardens and mountains. Although you will work in the sun and heat, you will be more than welcome to take breaks when needed and allow time to take in the beauty of the northern Thai countryside.

You can often times hear the rattling of a “steel buffalo” (the Thai word for the small two wheeled, hand held rice paddy tractors) in the distance from the gardens and rice paddies of the Single Mother’s Home. Although surrounded by rice paddies and mountains the home is only a 15 minute drive from the bustling streets of Chiang Mai. Working the land with simple gardening tools, helping the single mothers at the home with the development of new and pre-existing gardens is one of the responsibilities of volunteers in this project. Many of the mothers at the home originally came from and will eventually return to the mountainous countryside of northern Thailand. Working with the women and other Thai staff in the gardens, with how to create sustainable and unique gardening and agricultural techniques is something of great benefit to the women during their stay at the home. During a volunteer’s experience, they will certainly pick up from the women and Thai staff, how to work the Earth Thai style and laughing often at the wit that rural Thais possess.

Volunteers will assist in the creation of new and upkeep of current gardens, plant life and overall grounds of the home. Volunteers will assist the staff and women at the home with the upkeep of the plants in the garden, along with the greenery throughout the grounds of the home. Upkeep in the garden consists of planting new seeds and plants, watering and fertilizing the existing plants. Trimming the bushes, cutting the grass and pulling weeds at the home, along with general upkeep are also part of the role of volunteers.

Volunteers will need to have a basic knowledge of tools, building, gardening and working with plants, be 20 years or older, in good physical condition and able to work in the heat. Volunteers should be able-bodied, flexible and enjoy working outside.

Friends For Asia requires all volunteers in this project (and all other projects where volunteers work directly with or near children) to submit a certified police background check before volunteer service begins.