Xavier Learning Community (XLC), the Jesuit higher education institution in Chiang Rai, Thailand, has started a vegetable garden in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The garden has helped provide staff and students with a healthy source of food. XLC student Narongdet Chuanchuenchom reflects on how he and his classmates worked together to grow the garden.
I remember how my parents would often take me to our garden when I was a child. I did not like it then. I would try to escape every time they asked me to go. However, I never rejected going to our garden when they needed help. Now I that have grown up, I’ve become aware of how important food is for human life.
In my ethnic group, we believe in the importance of nature and the environment. Our ancestor said,
Hti hpo Klo K’ lauz maj Kwix
Hsaf hpo kauj hpo t’ of lez
Taf qi taj le luj pgeiz dof,p’t’ htif baf auz lez
The stream will be lost
The animals will be lost
The forest’s been wonderful.
It will be lost. We will not see it forever.
When my I and classmates at Xavier Learning Community started the Xavier Sustainable Agriculture project, we realised how essential food is for human life. Well, we also had to learn how to farm because we were inexperienced. In managing our duties, we allocated different responsibilities to each member.
As we went along, we realised that farming is not an easy task, and we struggled a lot. For example, the soil in our garden was not good for planting. The water in the dam was not enough to grow vegetables. We had no fertilisers, and above all, no experience. But we did not give up on our project. The staff at XLC gave us recommendations, and helped us to get our garden started.
We all took our gardening project seriously. We discussed it many times. Certainly, we needed teamwork. Without it, our work would not have developed and become successful. What did l learn from this project? And what awareness about food have I gained?
First, I have learnt how to work with my friends. We have different characters and our ideals are different. While we were doing the project, we had a lot of misunderstandings and debates. However, we talked a lot about our project. We tried to understand how to work together. We learnt the importance of collaboration, teamwork, responsibility, and punctuality, among other values.
Second, the crops we cultivate are shared with our community. It is lunch for our students. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I watched many news stories of people, especially the homeless, who did not have enough food to eat. Many of them passed away from hunger. Our project helped us to reflect, and taught us how important food is.
Finally, Xavier Sustainable Agriculture is a source of vocational skills. XLC students will find it valuable when they return to their hometown. Many people can be successful with agriculture, if they know how to do it properly.
Related story: Growing our own food during Covid-19