Public Health Project
Two hundred and eighty kilometres South-west of Chiang Mai, in one of the least accessible areas of Mae Hong Son province lies Sop Moei district. Here live the Pwo Karen, one of Thailand’s smallest ethnic minority groups. Their communities live much as they have for centuries; hamlets and villages held together by beliefs, culture and a way of life that does not take the modern world into much account.
Sop Moei Arts has as its precursor a public health project which was founded in 1977 by Kent Gregory and Britt-Marie Ljung amongst the Pwo Karen in this region. During the late '70s and well into the '80s the health project operated with the support of the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).
The project was aimed at maternal and child health care to help combat malnutrition. During this time there were no other health facilities in this area. Indeed there were no roads and the only access available was by boat, elephant or a trek on foot.
Income-generating Initiatives
Only in 1988 did attention turn to income-generating activities. The main reason for this was the high degree of child malnutrition which persisted despite the endeavours of the health project. Malnutrition was impossible to tackle unless families had the means of earning money for the foods needed by their children. Again with SIDA assistance, Kent started a textile weaving and basket making project, aiming to provide the Pwo Karen in the area with jobs by which they could earn a wage capable of supporting their families.
The result speaks for itself. Sop Moei Arts is now a self-supporting organization with two retail outlets and the income generated by the weavers and basket-makers is making a significant impact on the level of child malnutrition and general health in the villages. At the same time, the preservation of age-old skills in Sop Moei district continues to flourish, and to expand.
