Work

As a secretary of the Chin Relief and Development Program (CRDP), Mr. Uk gives information on sustainable agriculture to his own native Chin people.  He identifies problems in the Chin community, such as deforestation, decreasing water lever, declining agricultural production, and destruction of crop fields by domestic animals.  He understands all these are due to their method of agriculture called Shifting Cultivation.  In order to bring his people a better way of farming and to uplift their living conditions, he would like to gain theoretical knowledge and practical skills of sustainable farming methods at ARI.  After ARI, he will disseminate his knowledge throughout the Chin community and teach them to work together to establish sustainable agricultural practices.

Sending

Organization

Thantlang Association of Baptist Churches

The Chin people are one of the hill tribes of the Chin State in Myanmar.  Their life primarily depends on agriculture in remote hilly areas and they are repeatedly oppressed by the Myanmar government.  To confront these challenges, the Thantlang Association of Baptist Churches has implemented the Chin Relief and Development Program Plan.  They started the CRDP plan in order to ensure food security and livable levels of household incomes. The goal of CRDP is to promote and support sustainable changes in agriculture and in the community of the Chin tribe.  They are working to prevent deforestation and soil erosion, to install an environmentally friendly and safe drinking water system, to improve the health and education sector, and to facilitate communication between people within Chin community.  To realize these goals, CRDP has put forth a strategy to shift people’s ideas from large scale agriculture to small and diverse cultivation of fruits, crops, vegetables, livestock and forests, which is suitable and sustainable for small households and communities, and which also conserves the environment.