Na Nong Bong Village Activism

Introduction:

Recently, we visited Na Nong Bong Village in the Loei Province, a mountainous region in northeast Thailand. This village is home to a very interesting organization. Former Council on International Educational Exchange students helped this community start a group called the Radical Grandma Collective. This group sells handwoven scarves and fanny packs on their website, RadicalGrandmaCollective.com, and in person when people visit the area. This organization was created to raise funds and awareness of the issues the community faces in relation to gold mining in this region. The "Radical Grandmas" are currently planning to start building a learning center to bring more revenue into the community and pass down their weaving skills to another generation.

What community need did I learn about?:

I learned that the Na Nong Bong villagers need funding for a learning center that they are trying to start building in 2020 and that they are fighting to keep the mines from continuing to pollute their farmland and water sources.

Why does the community have this need?:

About 10 years ago, this village started to be negatively affected by gold mining in the surrounding area. According to the Radical Grandma website, gold mining in this region is done in three main steps:

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