Update on our Thai Muang Beach Project

Our President just recently visited with the local government, Khoa Lampi National Park Service, and Phang-nga Coastal Fisheries Research and Development Center in Thai Muang District, who are all stakeholders of Thai Muang Beach, and they are all very anxious for our beach clean-up to start. They will be joining our clean-up day and will be providing guest speakers to give a speech to the students and local community members who participate in the clean-up. The local government will also be broadcasting our event over the local radio and we will be planning for it least 200 participants.

We are looking at raising around $3,000 to fund this project and so we are now looking for donors who can help us purchase garbage bins, recycle bins, no littering signs, and informational signs about the ecology and biodiversity along Thai Muang beach. Tentatively we are planning to hold the clean-up day on Saturday, Jan 23rd, 2010.

Registered 501(c)3 Nonprofit

Great news! We are now an IRS approved and registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization meaning any donations made will be tax deductable to the fullest extent of the law.

We are also registered on MissionFish and Ebay Giving Works. This is one way to donate to our organization. Rather than donating money you can sell something (like a garage sale item) on MissionFish or Ebay Giving Works and the money can be donated directly to our paypal account with minimal fees. Sellers on Ebay can also elect to give a portion of their profit to Sustainable Smiles.

Questionnaire Results

This week we started handing out questionnaires to local businesses, home owners, and people recreating along Thai Muaeng beach to find out if locals will support or beach clean-up proposal. Our questionnaire results showed that 40 out of 41 people would like to see Thai Muaeng beach free of trash. 39 out of 41 people think if there were trash cans and signs along the beach less people would leave their trash on the beach. 20 business owners think a clean and healthy beach would bring more customers to thier business along the beach. 38 out of 39 people said they would support or participate in a clean-up day. 38 people said they would like to see trash, recycle bins, and signs along the beach. Our results also showed that only half the people who filled out the questionnaires think that marine debris kill or injure thousands of marine animals every year and that marine debris is a major pollution problem. 16 out of 41 people think that toxins from trash enter our food chain and 33 out of 41 people think that trash takes away from the natural beauty of Thai Muaeng beach. 29 out of 41 people think that the reason why so many people leave their trash along the beach is because they don't know the negative impacts it can have on the environment.

The gentleman below who owns a house on Thai Muaeng beach says that he has to pick up trash that is blown by the wind onto his property everyday. He says at the end of every week the place where he stores the trash behind his front walkway is full. He then has to take it to the dump every week. At the age of 73 he says this job isn't so easy for him anymore.

Teaching Thai and Burmese Students

In April, Sustainable Smiles put on a program to teach 30 high school students about recycling and environmental issues Thailand is facing. The students were at a three week camp put on by Peace Building and Integration in Andaman, which brought students of different ethnic and religious backgrounds together to learn various things about themselves, nature, arts, meditation, equality, and the power of teamwork.

Our first activity introduced students to environmental problems Thailand is facing. Students were surprised to learn that only 15-17% of Thailand remains as natural forest. The other 83-85% has been cut down for agriculture, plantations, resource extraction, and rural and urban develpment. Students worked in groups of 4-5 to create environmental posters which represented environmental devestations and sustainable practices which they presented to the class at the end of the activity.

We also taught the students about the effects littering has on the environment, and the importance of reducing wastes and recycling. In the end, the students participated in a recycling race and decided that they didn't want to have lunch until every recyclable material was in the right bin. We all had a lot of fun!!

Sa Wa Dee Ka Friends, Family, and Visitors,

I am working on starting a non-profit organization, "Sustainable Smiles", which will operate in the land of smiles, Thailand. Sustainable Smiles will promote environmental, social, and economic sustainability in local communities in Thailand. Our goal is to protect natural ecosystems and bring awareness to the public about environmentally-friendly practices. Our focus will be educating children and working with communities and volunteers to clean-up trashed areas, as well as support organizations and small communities that aspire towards sustainability.

Projects that we are currently trying to develope are:

1. Educate children at local schools and workshops about the environment and sustainable practices.
2. Organize community clean-up projects, the first being Thai Muaeng Beach, and provide awareness about the importance of keeping natural ecosystems free of trash.
3. Help support Home & Life, a home for children who need a safe and caring environment, in its move towards self-sustainability.

Right now we are looking for new ideas and volunteers.
Here is a list of things we could use your help developing or researching:

1. An environmentally friendly and cost efficient water pump/system that Home & Life can use to transport water from a creek 40 meters uphill to use for organic gardening.
2. Organic, healthy, and easy baking recipe's the children at Home & Life can make to sell at their cafe.
3. Environmentally friendly craft ideas to teach children that use recyled items.
4. Small craft items the children at Home & Life could make and sell.
5. Environmental lesson plans and activities to teach children about the environment and sustainable practices.
6. Ways to educate small communities about the importance of taking care of the environment and preventing areas from being trashed.
7. Environmental posters, teaching materials, or other visual aids.

Thai Mueang Beach Clean-up Project

Thai Muaeng Beach is a place where many locals live and come to visit. Locals and the occasional foreigners come to picnic, visit the Turtle Sanctuary, eat food at the local restaurants, go jogging underneath the shady canopy, and enjoy the many festivals that are held here each year. It is a beautiful long stretch of beach continuing for over 10km where you can always find a place to relax away from the busy streets. It is also home to endangered sea turtles that lay their eggs on the soft sandy beach.

The Problem: There is trash everywhere!
People do not dispose of their trash properly. They often come to picnic and just leave their bags of food and drink on the beach. People do not seem to understand the effect this can have on the environment. Thai Muaeng beach has special habitat for turtles and other aquatic life and many animals die each year from human carelessness.

Initiative:
1. Clean-up the Beach
2. Provide trash cans for recycling and waste disposal
3. Teach children about the environment and importance of not littering.
4. Organize environmental programs and activities in local Thai communities.



Thai Muaeng Beach connects to Had Thai Muaeng Marine National Park which is free of trash once you cross the gate. It’s unfortunate that you have to pay to see a clean beach. Sustainable Smiles hopes the results of this project will be a clean, safe beach for all to enjoy, free of charge.

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Cultural Learning

Thailand has a creative history of using natural materials for construction of a variety of tools and crafts. Unfortunately, many of these practices are not being passed on to younger generations. Sustainable Smiles would like to develop a program where children and volunteers can come and learn from elders about how to make natural products to ensure that Thai culture and environmental practices are preserved.

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Special Thanks Donators

Thanks to everyone who donated items for the children! The children are very creative and have made some beautiful craft projects with the items donated.

At Home & Life we like the idea of recycling so if you have items you or your children don't need anymore please consider donating them to the children at Home & Life and we will arrange to get them to Thailand.

Suggested items to donate would be:

Arts and Crafts: paints, brushes, pens, pencils, color pencils, crayons, art paper, stationary, unfinished coloring books, beads, string, ext.
Sewing Materials: extra lengths of fabrics, ribbon, thread, needles, ext.
Clothing: we would like to bring back nice used clothing for the children that they can wear when they go on field trips and when selling their craft items at the Saturday market.
School Backpacks
Umbrella's: collapsable is better
English learning books or games: beginner level with lots of pictures

Contact us by email or by phone.
kfranklin@sustainablesmiles.org cell phone 1-406-370-0226 USA/(66) 084-8411234 Thailand