Living Waters Phuket – Monthly Update November 2022

Summary

‘Large streams from little fountains flow, Tall oaks from little acorns grow.’.

(D. Everett in The Columbian Orator, 1797).

November was a much brighter month for Living Waters Phuket Foundation (LWPF). Aid was still needed and given, following the devastating October floods that hit Phuket and other areas across Thailand, but November was also a month for celebration. A much needed moral booster came with the moving into new premises of Seeds Of Change (SOC). An organisation LWPF has been supporting and championing.

SOC is a success story borne out of the pandemic. Initially they came to LWPF asking for two sewing machines. Following the economic devastation of Covid in Phuket, their big idea was to help people back into employment. They particularly wanted to help the long term out of work and the disadvantaged, who had either no chance of employment, or who were destined for hard and often dangerous work in for example construction, fish processing, or more desperately, driven into the sex trade.

The best ideas are often the simplest and most beautiful. SOC wanted to train people and ideally pay them to train through a sponsorship scheme. The products they and qualified students made, would be sold, with the money raised going back to train more people.

SOC students start by learning to sew. A useful life skill and one that makes them employable. Once qualified they can stay with SOC, start their own business, or seek employment.

SOC strives to be environmentally responsible. This was initially borne out of necessity, when a need for cheap fabric saw old hotel uniforms etc made into saleable items.

A truly staggering amount of clothing ends up in landfill worldwide. Global environmental think tank earth.org, estimates that 11.3 million tons of textile waste, equivalent to 85% of all textiles in the U.S.A alone, end up in landfill annually. For SOC now, repurposing materials is at the core of their operation.

As the ideas of SOC aligned with LWPF core values of, education, employment, sustainability and the environment, we were delighted to help them. In just a few months SOC, with the support of LWPF and the local community, were outgrowing their training and workspace. A solution came in the form of premises being vacated by another charity. Terms were agreed and with the support of LWPF, SOC relocated on 1 November.

Once again the Phuket community came together and a weekend working bee was held to clean, paint and generally ready the new site ready for training and production. Despite the weekend’s bad weather, it was heartwarming to see how many people of all ages and nationalities, including students from UWCT, came together to help.

On the 9th of November, it was a great honour to have Phuket Governor, Narong Woonciew, officially open SOC’s new premises at Koh Siray. Governor Woonciew also presented scholarships to five new students, so they can, ‘earn while they learn’.

The future is bright for SOC, their students and workers. Through their hard work and determination SOC have shown there can be an alternative to the low skilled job path normally open to the disadvantaged of Phuket. Their eco chic products are in demand both in Phuket and worldwide. Their beautiful fabric elephants being their best seller and popular with tourists and locals alike.

This is just the beginning. With the new premises, SOC is able to grow and is already exploring new ideas to help people into work, earning while they learn.

We are proud to celebrate SOC’s achievements and wish them every success for a blossoming future.