Y Development

Chiangmai is the center of the hilltribe region, a mountainous area in northern Thailand with a rich artistic heritage. The Y Development Corporation is involved in rural community development and has encouraged the production of handcrafts combining traditional techniques like bamboo basket weaving and cotton weaving with new skills like sewing and pottery. Their goal has been to offer an alternative source of income which would keep rural women from migrating to Bangkok where they often end up as prostitutes or working in factories earning sub-minimum wages, and serve as an alternative to opium poppy cultivation.

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This work is not just so that our families can eat. A certain percentage of the income goes to improving the community. For example, when the schools needed desks, we gave a donation. We also get frequent requests for other kinds of economic aid. We can’t solve the problems ourselves, but we try to put our grain of salt in everything. - Manuel Alvarez - UPA, Mexico.

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