Picking Mangos in Trees

Several months ago at Jet Rye, our loaned property where we grow corn, peanuts, and soybeans, we picked mangos.  Here I am trying to knock down some mangos with a bamboo stick.  

Sern Nay Htoo looking at the best way to climb the tree.

On her way up.

All of the students can climb trees pretty well!

Oh there's a mango

Success!

Ahgar a past student who is now an employee joined in on the fun.

We put the fruit in our hats because we didn't have any buckets with us.

Some of the mangos we took back with us to the school.

They were very sweet, delicious, and didn't last long!!!












Posted by: Aj. Abby

The "Teacher's Garden" Transformation, Before and After!

For eight months now the ah-janns (teachers) and students have been working hard at revamping the "Teacher's Garden".  The beautifully transformed garden located at the back of Legacy school grounds has been a joy to all of us here that walk it everyday.  The pictures below are taken in succession as we worked.  Below is a pastel drawing I drew of what we thought the garden should look like when it was completed.

Ideas, ideas, Ideas!

BEFORE:

The sad brown garden had once been a deck and then gravel had been laid down for a
path years before.  Here you can see the cement piers sticking out of the ground and an old bamboo bench in the back.  

Here we put the old gravel pathway onto black plastic sheets so we could reuse it.  

We reshaped the pathway to give it some character and then added the gravel back and bricks on the sides
that were originally surrounding the cement piers. 

Leaves, rock, and weeds were cleared next.  Recycled tiles from past projects
were added to give the walkway a special touch.

Plants were panted in pots.  River rocks from the farm were added on either side
in ellipses as a stage for plants and fish bowl.
Soil was brought in for the right side and pineapples were planted.
In the background students are constructing a bamboo trellis.

Attima, Sern Nay Paw, and Katree weeding around the gravel pathway.

Jay, a past student of Legacy, came to help build the trellis around the unsightly cement piers.  The "design challenge" turned out to be a good thing after all because it brought the garden in and made a place for cucumbers to vine.

A side view of the garden....getting close to being finished.
Here tomatoes grow in the foreground.

 AFTER:

The sala bench is being completed here.  Rainy season has made the garden
extra green  and we enjoy the beautiful view from our office in the teacher's house daily.

Auntie Tumar and Muzar enjoying sitting in the sala bench during the Feast of Tabernacles.

Gourds that we grew at the farm.  We cut holes in them to house orchids and hang around the garden. 

The new garden wouldn't be complete without its own one of a kind sign.

Posted by: Aj. Abby

Mae Sa Waterfall

On August 13th, Legacy Institute celebrated the Queen of Thailand's Birthday. In recognition of this national holiday, classes were cancelled. A former teacher graciously funded a field trip for the students and so, we packed all of the students into our blue Sung Tao (pickup truck) and headed off to the Mae Sa Waterfall.

 

The whole park includes ten different falls and a market for lunchtime. The students enjoyed the natural beauty of the landscape. Here you can see Bancha, a third year student, taking pictures of the scenery.

Hser Nay Htoo, a first year English speaker, had fun climbing the falls. This was waterfall #10 at the very top of the falls. She was fearless!

All of the students had a great time climbing and swimming at the park - some even slid down the falls!

Jum Seng Pan and I visiting beside the falls.

The students crossed the waterfall and waved to us from the other side. This is Htoo Mye Shwe - he adds a lot of fun and laughter to the group!

No waterfall trip would be complete without a proper water fight. Here are Aj. Tristan and some of the students near the end of the day.

At the end of our trip, we filled up on grilled chicken and sticky rice from the market. All in all, it was a fun trip and a great break for the students who work so hard every day.

How to Catch and Eat a Jack fruit...

Jack fruits are native to South Asia.  Its fruit is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world,reaching as much as 80 pounds in weight, up to 36 inches long, and 20 inches in diameter.  Here you can see a small jack fruit
 is much larger than my head. 

Here one of the students climbs the tree at the farm to retrieve the fruit.

Waiting anxiously for the scream from above "Incoming!!!"...

And success!  We harvested nine using a screen to catch them and
used them at Legacy school in a number of ways below.

Freshly cut jack fruit that the students and I ate right away.

You can make chips that you dry in the sun.

We roasted the seeds and dipped them in brown sugar for a delicious snack that tastes much like a bean.

Sweet coconut and jack fruit soup is my favorite way to use the fruit.

Aj. Abby

Sustainable Farm Field Trip!

A couple weeks ago we took the students to an organic sustainable farm located several miles north of Legacy Institute as part of their Ag class.  Here Jeff Rutherford (owner) explains how Fair Earth Farm works with its many types of vegetables, fruit trees, and animals grown together in tandem as in a natural environment.  

Passion fruit growing on this trellis serves to purposes as edible shade.

Geese, ducks, and chickens are raised for food and help at the farm.  The ducks churn up and  fertilize the wet rice paddies.  The chickens compost (by scratching the ground) and fertilize the plants.

Jeff showing us how he makes animal food from fermented taro, mulberry, cassava, banana trunk, with a mixture of molasses and salt.

Dragon fruit, taro, bread fruit, and pineapple in the front pf his food forest.

Cassava, taro, and many of kinds of fruit trees planted together give  food for  the family and neighbors.

A canal fed by the local waterways channel through his 1-1/2 acre farm to
supply fish and irrigate the crops in the dry season.

 A delicious snack of freshly picked bananas during our visit.

Rice paddies produce much of the food for Fair Earth Farm.

This chicken tractor is used to keep the chickens contained and to fertilize a apecific area. 

The Life of the little "Sunflower"

The sunflower is named for its ability to follow the sun in the course of a day.  

They can grow to be 12 feet tall under the right conditions.  

The students and I enjoyed watching our little "Sunflower" grow to 6 foot 

and live a happy, healthy, and full life.

Posing with "Sunflower" at the Legacy School Greenhouse.

The little baby of a seed is eager to grow.  Can you find her in the group?

Life as a toddler...Sunflower getting its bearings on life and growing very fast!

As a teenager Sunflower has a few upsets including stunted growth and a few bug
bites but she pulled through just fine.

What a fine looking young woman Sunflower has become.

The full circle of life...Seed is ready to harvest and begin again :)

Posted by: Aj. Abby