The Border Hill tribe Group [1986] was the first name of the Maehongson Hill tribe Extension & Improvement Program  [NGO], founded in 1994 by:

   1. Ph.D Sabin Family                                     Owner of Hospital in Netherlands    

   2.Ph.D Willium                                                American

   3.Ph.D Tatsuhiko      Kawashima                  Japan [ Gakushuin University ]

   4.Mr.Parinya              Kannika                        Maehongson Travel Agency & Hill Guest house in the Northern region.

    5.Madam Napaporn   Muangkam                  Owner of Maehongson Guest House.

   6.Mr.John                  Fettes                          Technologies LTD in New Zealand.

   7.Mr.Kevin                                                      Teacher in England

   8.Miss Vicky                                                   Business person in England

   9.Mr.Robert               Petrusich                      Peace corps Volunteer United state/Thailand

  10.Mr.Natan                Nat Duff                       Peace corps Volunteer United state/Thailand

  11.Mr.Chris                 Cox                               Peace corps Volunteer United state/Thailand

  12.Mr.Steven              Schipanti                      Peace corps Volunteer United state/Thailand

  13 .Mr.Anton               Meier                            Writer/Editorial Consultant in Belgium

  14.MadamNicole         Pollet                            Teacher in England.

  15.Miss.Maria Jesus    Ladero Lorente            Spain

  16.Miss.Milageros       Laderos Lorente           Spain

  17.Mr.Pedro                 j.perez                          Lani Travel in Madrid,  Spain.

  18.Miss sara                Ponce                           Lani Travel in Madrid,  Spain.

                            While working as a guide for Maehongson Tours, Mr.Parinya Kannika observed many problems in the hill tribe villages of Maehongson Province. The NGO group was formed to create an organization that would work to assist these people. The organization’s methodology would be to help the people to solve their own problems, offering permanent and self-generating solutions.

                            Some contributions to the NGO came from donations by foreign tourists that trekked or went sightseeing with his agency. Items such as warm clothes, towels and blankets were donated and distributed to the remote Thai people and Thai hill tribe villagers in the provinces of Maehongson and Tak, as well as in the nearby provinces of Chiangmai and Chiangrai.

                            Until now, the organization has been funded by limited foreign donations from business people from Japan, Spain, the Netherlands and another countries, and supplemented with Mr.Parinya Kannika’s personal income, from his work as a guide.

                             Mr.Parinya  Kannika’s approach to the villagers’ problems has been to help them build infrastructure and educate the people so that they can become self-sufficient. The Thai hill tribes have begun to work with Mr.Kannika in finding solutions to their fundamental problems in the villages.These include the issues of basic human rights, health, clean water supply, sanitation, kindergarten, grade school, community food bank, fecal disposal, and the protection of the enviroment and their culture. Until now, operations have been funded through non-profit sources and the Non governmental Organization [NGO].

                            Because the organization’s support comes from different countries, we changed the name from ‘Maehongson Hill tribe Extension & Improvement Programm’  to the ‘International Cooperation for Thai Hill tribe Development Foundation [ ICTDF ]’ in order to commemorate all of the support from past to present.

                            The vision and mission of the International Cooperation for Thai-Hill Tribe Development Foundation is to assist the Thai, local, Hill tribe and Burmese people along the border of Northern Thailand in Tak, Maehongson, Chiangmai,Chiangrai, Lampang, Lampoon, Phrae, Nan and Payao Province to preserve their traditional customs while minimizing damaging effects on the environment. This will help prevent further deforestation of the jungle of northern Thailand. To achieve this mission, ICTDF focuses on the following issues for each of the villages being assisted.

1. Preservation of the traditional culture.

1.1. Encourage local people to work in their immediate area.

1.2. Encourage the conservation of local culture by themselves.

1.3. Promote the conservation of artifacts and places.

2. Agricultural advice, including advice on irrigation. Development and installation of drinking-water systems for the villages. Provision of guidance in the identification of permanent farming sites in order to limit the impact on the environment.

2.1. Promote organic farming. Do not use chemicals.

2.2. Promote farming at a fixed place. No shifting of cultivation.

2.3. Encourage the people to maintain clean water for their use.

2.4. Encourage people to have a sanitary latrine. Do not use the forest as a toilet.

1.5. Encourage villagers to have a career to increase their revenue.  

3. Kindergarten, Children Dormitory and school-Building. Scholarships, supplies, provision of guidance in the identification of problems in AIDS Prevention and women’s rights to education.

3.1. Foster children to have the opportunity to attend school  

3.2. Promotion of rural children in child care centers when parents go to work in their field.

3.3. AIDS education in the rural villagers 

4. Protection of the Human rights.

4.1. Study of Basic Human rights for people in rural areas

4.2. Helping disadvantaged children along the border so that their basic human rights are protected 

“You are important to our success, we can’t do anything without your help "

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