ABOUT AFECTIn 1981, representatives from six Akha villages in Chiang Rai and a Dutch anthropologist, Dr. Leo Alting von Geusau, set up a project named "Hill-Tribes Culture Education and Development Project" to give the Akha a voice in their own "development." As "development" was the buzz-word of the time, many foreign and Thai non-governmental organizations had been deciding how to best "develop" the hill-tribes without giving those affected a voice in the process. This project however was different. It was to be managed by the Akha themselves.
AFECT has continued the very important projects of education, elderly health care and cultural research but due to the increasing pressures of missionary activitiy, tourism and continued migration the autonomy of the tribe needs new commitments to bring what we have learnt into our Akha partners in Laos. We are currently building a media program to effectively educate the importance of continued autonomy, an autonomous health care system to bring health into the villages and more schools to educate youth.
The volunteering is non profit scheme to generate revenue which goes directly back into the poor and needy Akha communities. This is to carry out conservation and development activities, help educate children and adults, form and strengthen health programs, develop local income sources and conserve natural and cultural heritage. Because the tribe's rich and diverse ethnicity is facing tremendous pressure it is of tremendous importance we preserve it, as stipulated in the United Nations statement on cultural diversity. Human diversity is as important to humans as bio diversity is to nature. However in the past 15 years alone, 80% of the Akha in Thailand have suffered at the hands of globalisation and have been pressured to convert to Christianity. By becoming Christians their culture is lost forever. Missionaries believe the tribe worships evil spirits, a truly misguided interpretation of shamanic practice which advocates a sacred and ecological respect for nature. Denied citizenship the Akha's human rights are limited and we feel government influence should concentrate on building self autonomy within the communities. Our partner THE SPIRIT FOUNDATION quotes 'Tribal shamanic groups share the ancient archetype that the Goddess spins a universe where nature is not distinguished from humankind. They embody the essence of its consciousness into a holistic continuum where there is no dichotomy between themselves and the natural world. It is a philosophy of sustainability intrinsic with itself.' You can rest assured your visit with us is positive for you and the Akha people's way of traditional life. The volunteer program is 100% community run. The villages are beginning to understand that tourists are especially coming because of their culture and traditions and they realize the money from the volunteer program is to preserve their culture and diversity. This is extremely positive voluntourism. The younger generation, who hadn't valued their old ways so much, are coming back to their village elders to find out about old stories, histories and songs. In this way your being here will protect the culture from change and also give the young people an incentive to gain the knowledge of their ancestors and be proud of themselves. |
Funding was secured from Norvib, a Dutch foundation. Land was bought by money donated by Dr. Leo. An office and a dormitory were built in Chiang Rai and another dormitory was built in Mae Chan 2 years later. The goals of the project were to raise awareness among hill-tribe members of the social, political, legal and economic situation of Thailand, to assist the Akha in conserving their culture and to build unity amongst the Akha. At the time, hill-tribe children were not formally educated and had very little chance of getting even a basic education. (This changed in 1989 when the government started building elementary schools in many villages to in theory give all children a basic 6 year education.) To further their studies, students needed to come close to a city center where there were schools. However as most Akha families worked just to feed themselves, they had no way to pay the school fees. Therefore the dormitories were established and scholarships were offered. The goal was to educate children so they could obtain an understanding of the world they live in and at the same time maintain strong links with their villages.
Akha culture from disappearing completely, AFECT started teaching Akha to those who had forgotten it and started working with the students in the dormitories, teaching them about Akha life. 
AFECT also began documenting ceremonies and recording traditional knowledge so that it could be preserved for posterity. In 1989, with the help of Professor Sulak Srivaraksa and Professor Chayan Vaddhanputhi, The Culture Education Center for Akha was officially recognized as an Association under Thai law, thereafter known as the Association for Akha Education and Culture in Thailand or AFECT. AFECT was recognized by the Thai media and government as the voice of the Akha and the staff was frequently quoted. An Akha radio show was established and is still listened to by a large of villagers (even though it is censored by the government.)
In the late 80's and early 90's, AFECT became one of the biggest NGOs in Northern Thailand with over 28 full-time staff and more than fifty volunteers. The number of villages AFECT worked with increased to 72 and the projects AFECT was involved in increased in response to the demands of the villagers. 
Irrigation projects brought water to fields, water storage facilities provided a clean source of drinking water, handicrafts were promoted to give women a source of cash for their families, community forests were secured, women's groups were established and legal assistance was provided in securing citizenship. As the diaspora of Akha and other hill-tribes from Burma kept flowing into Thailand, there was more and more pressure on the Thai government to address environmental, agricultural and land concerns so AFECT became involved in preventing village relocations and trying to secure community forests.