PASD Thailand

The Pgakenyaw Association for Sustainable Development

The Pgakenyaw Association for Sustainable Development is an organization established in 2009 by Pgakenyaw (Karen) community leaders, NGOs, and concerned academics. It works to revitalize traditional learning processes and encourage the transmission of traditional knowledge to the new generation.

It is also aimed at preserving indigenous culture and local knowledge based on human rights principles. PASD is committed to the principle of respect for humanity, human dignity and the human rights of local people in determine their life and carrying out culture-based community development.

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Vision

Pgakenyaw Association for Sustainable Development (PASD) is an organization established by Karen community leaders, NGOs, and concerned academics aiming at revitalizing the traditional learning process and mobilizing the learning resources from older generations to pass traditional knowledge on to their new generation. It is also aimed at maintaining sustainability and carrying out the preservation of indigenous culture and local knowledge basing on human rights principles. PASD commits on the principle of respecting humanity, human dignity and human rights of local people in determining their life and carrying out culture-based community development. PASD has promoted the translation of UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into seven prime ethnic languages to be distributed all the ethnic groups.

The Association has promoted the capacity building for the community leaders on various aspects especially traditional knowledge management, natural resource access and management, upland alternative education, and self-reliance community economy. It also supported action research projects on the concerned issues to promote research-based learning on the issues and utilize the findings to enable the community networks in effectively operating the missions. The association has operational plans to facilitate ethnic people to know and actualize their rights in their everyday life.

PASD’s operational plans for northern region of the country cover community and network capacity building, resource management, alternative agriculture, traditional occupation, community economy promotion, culture-based education, community rights, action research and development, eco-cultural tourism, and campaign and advocacy.

Mission

  1. Revitalizing  and transmitting local wisdom as well as the tradition and culture of the Pgakenyaw people
  2. Keep the communities well informed about the issues that have negative impact on the communities.
  3. Developing leadership among new generation youths.
  4. Launching knowledge management on the Pgakenyaw knowledge and wisdom.
  5. Collaboration with the concerned agencies and individuals regarding natural resource and environment management.
  6. Maintaining model communities on natural resource management, education and culture, and sustainable agriculture.
  7. Pushing forward for the policy framework that promotes the sustainable development in the hill areas.
  8. Setting up a learning center on Pgakenyaw people and cultures.

Governing and Organizational Structure

Plans and Activities

1.Capacity Building for Organization Core Members and Network.

  • Development of Core Members at Community, Watershed, Network, and International Levels
  • Development of Core Members in Agriculture, Environment, Education, Arts, Literature, and Culture.
  • Development of Core Members and Network of Pgakenyaw Women

2. Environmental Management

  • Regeneration of Natural Resource and Environment.   
  • Creation of Model Areas in Natural Resource and Environment Management by Community Organization at Community, watershed, and National Park Levels through Participatory Approach.

3. Agricultural, Occupational, and Community Economic Development.

  • Development of Farm Leaders.    
  • Agricultural Training.    
  • Modeling Development of Mixed Cropping, Rotational Farming, Terraced Paddy Field, Orchards, Animal Husbandry, and Gathering of Forest Products.    
  • Development of Savings and Credit Union at community, Network, and Watershed levels.    
  • Organizational Coordination for Career Development.    
  • The Establishment of Learning Network on Agriculture, Occupation, and Community Economy at Local, National, and International Levels.

4.  Alternative education development and cultural action plan

  • Developing and collecting traditional nowledge(Manual /text book)       
  • Coordinate and link activity with the school as well lowland and upland school.            
  • Revive and transmission of Karen culture    
  • Create education and cultural network exchange as well within the country and international.    
  • Fund fundraising for marginalizes children and youth.      

5. Community rights promoting plan 

  • Training about the act based.    
  • Follow up and advisory about laws.

6.  Acknowledgement and research development plan

  •  PgakeNyaw traditional knowledge collection.     
  • Research for development.

7.Eco-cultural tourism promotion and development  plan.

  • Support and create sustainable Eco-cultural tourism model.
  • Create a collaboration of local community, agencies and tourism agencies for sustainable tourism development.

8.  Campain and advocacy plan

  • Product medium about PgakeNyaw livelihood.     
  • Product newsletter of PgakeNyaw livelihood.