"Where There Are Karen, There Are Forests"

Last week, our group took a bus into the very northern city of Chiang Rai and a small truck about two hours north to a village in the mountains of the Karen hill tribe. One of our professors, Scott Coats started an organization called Mekong Minority Foundation which administers to the marginalized and exploited people groups of the hill tribes here in Thailand. He is an admirable man: someone of humility, meekness, and faith. What is even more admirable about his organization is that he successfully passed it off to local leadership of hill tribe people. This is the number one goal of development work and is rarely done. So many development organizations started by westerners believe they are doing good, but are really just keeping people in poverty. The typical western development worker facilitates dependency by keeping the white man in the position of the provider, and the local people in the position of the receiver. Scott truly understands the medium he works with. He understands the culture, the people, the context, and holistic development work. Scott took us to the Karen village so that we could learn about development projects that have gone on in the village by outside resources, as well as the conservational lifestyle of the Karen people.

The Karen people are, naturally, forest conservationists. One of the village leaders said to us, "where there are Karen in Thailand, there are forests. Where there no Karen, there are no forests." How true though. Being a minority group, the Karen people struggle with citizenship rights in Thailand, as well as simply being treated as lowly and dirty. But the Karen people are amazing. Historically animists, many Karen are now becoming Christians. Their lives are consumed with rice fields, church services, and living in community. How refreshing. When we arrived, one of the village leaders and elders, Ajan Suphon, told us when he heard we were coming, he thought he was going to learn from us, the westerners. Little did he know we were there to learn from him - sixth grade education and all. How sad is that though, that westerners are the teachers, and the rest of the world are the students. That just simply shouldn't be. We should not be setting the standard for quality of life. Our life may be consumed with materialism and success rates, but when can we just live in community and take care of God's perfect creation?

The Karen people are not in poverty, like someone passing by might think. They have what they need and they are happy with that. This is hard to find in many other minority groups in Thailand who have fallen into the materialistic trap of debt and dissatisfaction. The collection of Karen villages might be far away from other civilizations, but they are not suffering by any means. They have cows, chickens, loud roosters, pigs, and plenty of rice and vegetables to eat. They have a flowing water supply from a stream in the mountain, and beautiful teak houses.

So what defines a good life anymore? Is it having a great job? a boat? frequent vacations? lots of money? Or is it family, community, and belonging to a people who love you and love others like Christ  wanted. Ajan Suphon told us The Karen people's top priorities are harmony within the group and unity with each other. They have turned down thousands of dollars in grants because not every one in the village agreed to the project - because they make decisions collectively. True democracy i guess. Money doesn't govern their lives, like it does in many of our lives. The Karen just see happiness different than us. They don't consider themselves in poverty or suffering at all. They believe they have a fulfilled life because they tend to their spiritual life instead of their economic life.

Ajan Suphon and Ajan Liger teaching us about the village 

The Karen people are very intent on the preservation of the forest and natural life. Taking care of the environment around them just makes sense to them. It is down right clear in the Bible that God gave us creation - literal plants and animals. He didn't give us cars, money, and chemicals that pollute our bodies because those things are not essential to living a good life. If they were, God would have included them in his creation. He gave us, as humans, a job to be stewards of real creation. We are not only to just care about creation, but to care for it. Caring for something requires more than just thinking about it and saying it looks nice. It requires action. God gave us natural life - so why have we messed it up so much? Maybe we should simply use what God gave us instead of trying to always obtain more, using Karen life as an example. If we only look for the short term goods, our lives will certainly not make us happy.

"Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created" Revelation 4:11

Side Note: Remember my post about Namipan's amazing hand weaving? You can find her beautiful creations on Etsy.com here: 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LiveLoveWeave?ref=search_shop_redirect

who wouldn't want a beautiful hand woven creation by a Lahu hill tribe woman in Thailand?