Thailand
If you're interested, register soon.

Pun Pun Internship
An in-depth experience in hands-on earthen building, organic gardening, seed saving, and community living.

November 8, 2008 - January 16, 2009
Pun Pun Organic Farm, Seed Center, and Sustainable Living Learning Center
Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand

This year Pun Pun will be offering a 10-week internship program to individuals interested in getting an in-depth, hands-on experience in particular organic gardening including seed saving, earthen building, and community living.

The first half will focus on organic gardening techniques where interns will learn through their own experiential garden beds and will also prepare for building. The next half will be focused on building where we will construct an adobe home. This will be a two story structure including adobe and earth bag construction with niches, details, and a second floor. While building we will also continuing tending our gardens. Also included will be detailed finish work on the building and wrapping up on the garden season with a focus on seed saving.

It is an opportunity to learn through doing where interns will learn the techniques we use while actively applying them to projects at the farm. It is also a chance to live with other like-minded Thai and international folks as well as meet various interesting visitors to the farm.

Topics & techniques

 What interns will experience during their time at Pun Pun:
 Garden skills:

• Pun Pun philosophy of living
• introduction and demonstration of tools used at the farm
• making nursery seedlings and a discussion of what plants need to start as seedlings
• garden bed making techniques including sheet mulching and bed with compost adapted for different seasons
• composting including “Bokashi” composting technique and different uses of human and other animal manure
• cultivating micro-organisms for making liquid fertilizers
• garden care including plant observation and problem solving techniques to understand what plants need 
• making natural pesticides
• harvesting for consumption
• seed saving

Building:

• brick making
• design including orientation, environmental factors, usage of building, and aesthetics as well as a discussion of the design for the building we will build together
• foundation principles
• adobe wall construction including putting in windows and doors
• earthen plasters
• earthen starch paints and options for finishing sealants
• earthen benches
• finishing work – relief work, sculptural work, etc
• adding of simple electric lines, plumbing lines

Community living:
Evening activities and exchanges will also be included. A large aspect of the internship also includes the experience of community living in the Thai context as interns will become community members for the duration of their internship. We focus on this relationship in learning how to be mindful, conscious individuals living in community together. We will meet in weekly group check-ins.

Additional Topics:
There will be weekly globalization/localization discussion sessions where topics will be selected, readings selected and distributed for reading and curriculum set up. This is an attempt to put what we are doing here at Pun Pun in the larger context of what is happening globally and to fully understand and explore those topics together.
There will also be weekly ‘Self-reliance in Water and Sanitation Technologies’ sessions to go further into the cycle of using water on our land, collecting rain water, gravity feed systems, and sanitation systems.
(Opportunities for Thai massage, Tai Chi, meditation, rice wine making, forest walks, soymilk and tofu production and Thai cooking are available depending on participants’ interest.)

The Project
The first half will focus on organic gardening techniques where interns will learn through their own experiential garden beds and will also prepare for building. The next half will be focused on building where we will construct a home for Jo and Peggy. This will be a two story adobe structure including stairs, niches, details, and a second floor. While building we will also continuing tending our gardens. We will end with detailed finish work on the building and wrapping up on the garden season with a focus on seed saving and time for conclusions on the internship process.

General Schedule
Morning and afternoon sessions will be held with an extended break after lunch in the hot part of the day. Evening and early afternoon discussions sessions will be held periodically depending on interns’ interest.
Two short breaks will be allotted during the internship. Interns will also have every Friday and Saturday free to rest or do any other errands they may need to do. If you are planning to do other traveling in Thailand we ask you keep that to before, after the program, or during program breaks.

Teaching team
Jon Jandai, Peggy Reents, Josh Kearns, Nathan Reents, and Michel Spaan.

Living situation
Simple room in one of Pun Pun’s earthen or bamboo guesthouses. A thin futon mat, blanket, sheet, pillow, and mosquito net will be provided.
Meals will be shared and eaten in the communal kitchen, vegetarian and fish options will be available and we will try to use the most organic vegetables as possible from the farm.
Bathing options include an indoor cool bucket shower or a dip in the pond.  

Fee
$1,400 US/person for folks from industrialized countries. We offer scholarships for those from developing countries. All proceeds go towards supporting Pun Pun community to grow and continue with our seed center and work as these efforts are not funded elsewhere.

Registration
1) Email your participant survey to Peggy Reents at pareents@yahoo.com.
2) Once you have sent your participant survey and have been confirmed, a $500 US non-refundable deposit is due to secure your spot. The deposit check should be addressed to Margaret Reents and sent to:
Peggy Reents
Re: Pun Pun Internship
3405 El Caminito
Loveland, CO 80537 USA
3) The remainder of your contribution will be expected on the first day of the internship at Pun Pun community in either Thai baht or US dollars.
For more information
Contact pareents@yahoo.com

Pun Pun Internship Participant Survey:
Please respond to the following questions to Peggy Reents at pareents@yahoo.com.
1. What brings you to want to participate in the internship program?
2. What is your direction after the internship at Pun Pun? What do you hope to do with the knowledge gained in the internship?
3. Name one strong and one week point of your “self”.
4. Do you follow a special diet?
5. Is there anything about your physical health you feel we should know about?
6. What are you most excited about?
7. space… for anything else… you would like to share with us… anything…