After a seven day stay in the hill tribe village of Apa, I have come back in love with a small black village dog the group named Sausage. On the first day we encountered this sassy-sweet dog wondering the dusty village roads and ever since we befriended the pooch. The students named her Sausage mainly because of her tight lined sausage like body. The girl has some meat on her bones! I’d like to introduce everyone to this gal. Below I have attached her glam pictures so you all may enjoy.
Before arriving to Apa, we were introduced to The Mirror foundation, a non-profit working with the Hill-tribes of northern Thailand. This NGO started in 1991 running social workshops the community faced issues with such as; domestic violence and drug/alcohol abuse. Mirror now works on more than a dozen issues but have a strong focus on statelessness. The statelessness project helps undocumented people receive citizenship along with education, opportunities and fight for their rights. We spent most of our time volunteering alongside Mirror on a waterline pipe project to help Apa have clean water. Throughout the days we dug ditches, carried concrete, sand, PVC pipe, moved big heavy concrete well rings and rocks uphill. This project was very demanding on my body and challenging but with the presence of Sausage it was fun. Every morning, Sausage would search for the group, ready to report to work! She protected us from other village dogs and gave us endless love, laughs and loyalty.
After the help from Carpe Mundi students and the villagers we finally had running water making its way from a small spring in the mountain to the village! We celebrated the completion of the project, the work and our time in Apa with community dinner, a video of the project process, a traditional ceremony and dance around a big fire. The next day we were off on a two day trek in the hills of Northern Thailand, finally we arrived to a main road were we were taken to the Mirror Foundation guesthouse to recover and relax. Throughout the seven day stay in the village and two day trekking, Sausage never left my side. When arriving to the guesthouse I said my final goodbye to the loyal Sausage as she drove off in the back of a pickup truck where she was going to be taken back to her village of Apa.
Oh, and I celebrated my 20th birthday on March 13, enjoying the natural beauty the world offers. I sat in the sun near the most beautiful waterfall with my companion Sausage who invited herself. What a silly girl!
Goodbye everyone, soon I am off to a rural farm for another seven days to learn about organic farming practices and environmental sustainability!