Help expand "Young Smart Farmers" organic gardens

As the rainy season finally gives way to hot, dry days and cool nights, our young farmers are back in the fields.

For four months, heavy rains flooded deforested mountain villages and rice fields, causing significant delays in planting. Warm Heart, situated on a hill near a vital water catchment area for Chiang Mai, fortunately avoided major flooding. The nearby dam, which controls water flow to the low-lying areas, also supports our wells by replenishing the watershed. On our campus, the Rainwater Catchment System you helped us build is now brimming with water, fully prepared to sustain us through the dry season.

Planting in our fields has been delayed to avoid losing the seedlings to the flooding.  The children and staff have been growing trays of seedlings in covered areas around their dorms and the kitchen. 

With the rains slowed to an occasional shower, we mobilized family members from the mountain villages to join the children to help prepare and plant the fields.  It was a true community effort, filled with laughter and teamwork. Together, we cleared weeds, enriched the soil with compost carefully prepared over the past few months, and planted a variety of crops. The hard work was rewarded with a delicious communal meal shared by all—a celebration of collaboration and the promise of a fruitful harvest.

Our fields are already showing signs of abundance. Eggplants and spicy chili peppers in all shapes and sizes have thrived, providing a colorful and flavorful harvest. The banana trees have also been prolific, yielding not only sweet fruit but also sturdy trunk stalks that we’ve repurposed as feed for our pigs, ducks, and chickens.

One of the stars of the garden, our pomelo tree, is heavy with large, juicy fruits. We’re eagerly awaiting a bit more sunshine to bring them to full ripeness. These fruits, similar to grapefruits, are a cherished treat that everyone is excited to enjoy.

Thank you for your unwavering support. Your contributions are helping us grow not just food, but also skills, resilience, and hope for the future.

Best wishes for the holiday season ahead! 

With gratitude and virtual hugs,

Dana, Michael, Evelind and the Warm Heart Family

P.S. Please mark your calendars for #Giving Tuesday, December 3, and ask your friends to give us a boost. GlobalGiving.org has a matching bonus pool of over $750,000. All gifts up to $1800 are matched. The more we raise the more we earn of the bonus pool.

The rains have arrived and we are ready to collect the water for our gardens and children's home, thanks to your gift of the Rainwater Catchment system.

The water flows from the roof gutters on the offices into pipes that send the water into the biochar/sand filter and then into the holding tanks.

We still need to add small pumps to circulate the water and send it over to the fields and children's homes. 

With close to 50 people on our campus, we are very aware of water needs.

April and May were hot - over 100 degrees F, 40 degrees C - and the local water supply was diverted to the city.  As our nearby lake dried up, our water table lowered and our wells went dry.

We had a few short rainfalls that collected in the Catchment tanks. We gravity-fed water through a long (very long) hose to the children's water tanks when we ran out just before the summer rains started.  The tanks filling from the roof of each dorm also provided emergency water (photo below).

We continue to have a steady supply of vegetables, and some fruit, from our fields and trellises set up around the campus.

The children have been joined by relatives from their home villages on weekends -  a few people from a village join us on Saturdays, on a rotating basis, to help us do maintenance and keep the fields thriving. The visitors keep the children on their toes and everyone enjoys getting together.

We just celebrated our 16th Anniversary and were joined by several of our graduates. 

Nit was back from Europe with a completed MA in Social Work. 

Wipope came down from the mountains to tell us about his cafe and coffee roasting business. 

Naan and Jiew took a short break from nursing school.

Foo, New, and Joy were able to get off for the evening from their jobs as a chef, manager of a large Chinese restaurant, and hotel receptionist. 

Tawatchai and Jambo stopped by from their senior year at vocational high school in mechanics and computers.

We thank you for making this all possible!

Best wishes to you,

Dana, Michael, Evelind, and the Warm Heart Family