Stories from the Field
Bringing water to the people
The pristine white beach at Koh Poh. |
17 October 2007 A project to improve the water supply on a tiny, pristine island in Krabi province following the tsunami shows the complex pressures communities in tourist destinations face as they take charge of their own development |
People here are no longer concerned about preserving their houses. They're concerned about preserving their culture."
Ruangthong Janda is talking about the community on Koh Poh, an island off the coast of Krabi province. She is a community worker with the Chumchon Thai Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) partner on the ground for the Koh Lanta/Koh Poh project. Almost three years after the massive Indian Ocean tsunami devastated communities across Thailand's Andaman coast, Koh Poh has completely recovered. But along with the destruction, the tsunami brought a second wave: Well-meaning offers of help that threatened to swamp the island with outsiders and their ideas.
The islanders admit that they felt overwhelmed. "We didn't know how to cope with so many donors," says Iad Ya-mae, the leader of the community. "We were very selective about what help we took."
In the end, the people of Koh Poh made a simple decision _ they wanted to be in charge of their own reconstruction. And what they needed most, they decided, was what the island had always lacked: Good access to water.
For the past two years, they have been supported by the UNDP and other outside organisations, as part of a larger partnership project to improve communities' access to water on the neighbouring island of Koh Lanta.
'We took a crisis and |
The community now has a new source of water _ in the form of a large, solar-powered artesian well and pumping system, built by the islanders themselves, with funding support from the UN Foundation and Coca-Cola. In the process, the people of Koh Poh have found themselves facing change, and questions about the future of their community, that they had never faced before. They have also found a newfound strength and unity. |
The island
Koh Poh itself is a tiny island, until very recently cut off from both Koh Lanta and the mainland. The islanders are all Muslim, and generally make a living from fishing. There is a dock, a motorcycle path to get around the island, houses built from wood and thatch, a primary school and a general store. Compared to Lanta, where new resorts and hotels seem to spring up every month, the pace of life seems very quiet indeed.
Unlike the southern tip of Lanta, which was hit hard by the tsunami, Koh Poh was relatively untouched. Only one islander was killed _ a man trying to save his boat. But the community lost boats and houses, and communication with the mainland was cut off. The community had no money.
Aid worker Ruangthong Janda discussing the community's needs with a group of village women. |
The aid worker Ruangthong, the community worker with the Chumchon Thai Foundation, came to the area two weeks after the tsunami. There was no routine boat service to Koh Poh at the time, but some fishermen agreed to take her. "They just welcomed me in," she says. |
"They needed help. Families opened their doors to me."
Ruangthong has since devoted her life to the project. A native of the northeast, she has learned the local dialect and has become part of the community.
One of the biggest challenges at first, she says, was helping islanders to articulate their needs. On Koh Poh, it became clear that once boats and houses were restored, there was a longer-term problem of lack of water. The tsunami had damaged the island's shallow wells, and as in past drought years, potable water was being transported by boat from the mainland. The island needed a stable, safe source of water.
The new water system
The islanders decided that they needed an artesian well, which would provide water to the island's villages through a network of pipes. An 11m tower was built next to the community school, topped with four water tanks with a combined capacity of 10,000 litres. Water was hit at a depth of 30m, but drilling continued to 60m to prevent over-pumping.
Building was not easy. The entire process was undertaken by hand, with only a single drilling machine imported from the mainland. Sacks of gravel were brought by boat from Lanta. Altogether the water system took almost a year before it was ready.
"It took so long to build because we weren't sure of our knowledge at first," said Pu Yai Iad, the village head. "But as time went on we became more confident."
In early 2007 the islanders decided that they would not be able to afford the ongoing costs of a fuel pump and that solar energy would be more appropriate. A combination solar-powered pump and filter system were installed.
With a new energy driven by their ability to collectively solve the water scarcity problem, the islanders have started other community self-help projects, such as a savings collective, women's groups to sell fish and curry pastes, and the creation of a village shop so that people do not have to always travel to the mainland to get supplies.
The new water supply at the island of Koh Poh. |
The community leader The clear leader on Koh Poh is Iad, who has been pu yai for many years. He is obviously proud of what the islanders have been able to achieve since the tsunami. "We took a crisis and turned it into an opportunity," he says. At the same time, he is concerned about the future of a community whose way of life has changed very little since he was a boy. The new water supply makes tourism _ until now unknown on Koh Poh _ feasible for the first time, at least on a small scale. |
"We're afraid that a resort will come in, and compete for this water," he says.
The community is not opposed to tourism, but want it on their terms, he points out. Koh Poh is a relatively conservative Muslim community. The islanders would prefer only a few visitors at a time, who come on home stays and respect the local culture.
However, while Iad is the local leader, he has no control over what islanders do with their own land. With better access to the mainland and better access to water, land values are likely to rise.
Ruangthong says that most of all the islanders want to avoid taking the same path as resort destinations such as Koh Phi Phi, another lovely island where local people were left behind in the rush to development. "When the tsunami came, there was nothing left for them there," she says.
"These people [on Koh Poh] have a strong religious culture," she adds. "They don't want to change their fundamental way of life."
The future
However, one thing that everyone agrees on is that change is coming fast to Koh Poh, like it has to so many other traditional communities over the years in the fast-growing tourist zones of southern Thailand.
But the people of Koh Poh have one advantage that some of those other communities did not: Their post-tsunami experience of rebuilding together has shown them their own strength. They are better equipped to express their needs and defend their interests.
That ability was on display at a meeting with the governor of Krabi in June. Community members talked about how they wanted to hold on to much of their way of life, while accepting that some change was inevitable. Nat, Pu Yai Iad's son, said that people would not mind some tourism, even a small resort, as long as they were sure the benefits would not just go to outsiders.
The governor agreed on the need to preserve local culture, while encouraging the islanders to build up their knowledge and skills.
"Let's try not to repeat history," he said, referring to other tourist destinations. "I want to find a way for you to make a living. I want to find a way so your children will not sell your land."
According to Ruangthong, the community of Koh Poh has experienced a transformation since she first came there, in the early days after the tsunami. "They have banded together," she says. "They think of themselves as one community now."
For more information on the Koh Lanta/Koh Poh community water access project,
email registry.th@undp.org.
