About Us
The birth of an idea...The idea to experience the life of a rice farmer was born when Alvin and his family visited the Akha and Lahu hilltribes in Chiang Rai in Dec 2007, guided by Kitt (Yongyoot Watasittikul). See story at Alvin's travel journal.
Kitt is a Karen from generations of rice farmers. He grew up in the rice paddy so he knows the A-to-Z of growing rice. The Yongs, as city folks, realized they knew so little about rice even though it is a staple food that they grow up on. When the urban folks think about rice, they think of ready-packed rice in the supermarket. There are probably few amongst the urbanites who are able to truly appreciate what lies behind every grain of rice: the nourishment provided by the natural elements - the sun, the rain and the earth - and the many months of labour and tender loving care by the farmers in the paddy.
Alvin thought how wonderful it would be for the city families to experience the life of a rice farmer and learn first hand the planting and harvesting of rice in a paddy field. An after-dinner chit-chat with Kitt in Ban Yafu thus grew into a joint project in 2008 when the Yongs returned to Kitt's rice farm to experience Rice Planting in Jun 2008 and Rice Harvesting in Nov 2008.
Alvin's experience of rice farming with Kitt and his family was so enriching that a dedicated rice farming program was designed and launched as an eco-vacation program to benefit other interested families, individuals, teachers and students. In 2009, we launched this first-of-its-kind back-to-nature experiential eco-vacation TigerlandRiceFarm.com
The Team
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Alvin Yong Alvin is the Chief Experiential Architect of Stone Edge Experiential and his passion is in social entrepreneurship and designing sustainability programs in support of organizations and individuals involved with social causes. He recently spent a year with his wife and daughter on Seva 2011 doing voluntary service in India and Africa. He was instrumental in the conceptualization and architecturing of the Tigerland Rice Farm eco-vacation programs. |
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Yongyoot Watasittikul (Kitt) Kitt is a new generation Karen who aspires to keep alive the gradually disappearing traditions of his Karen hilltribe heritage. He hopes to do it through educational tourism and guiding. Tigerland was named after his great grandfather, whose nickname was Tiger. He was a legendary hero who was remembered for his courage in fighting off a tiger to save the village. |
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Songkian Watasittikul (Gun) Father Gun is Kitt's father and a highly experienced rice farmer who believes in the traditional organic style of farming. He advocates the use of natural fertilizers and refrains from using any form of agro-chemical fertilizers, pesticides or additives in his paddy. Father Gun is jovial and a patient educator in rice farming and all things nature in his farm country. He taught himself spoken English from a language book. |
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