Christmas Times
The mountain population in Laos is one of the poorest in Asia. There is hardly any information and a targeted offer is related to education and health. There is a big gap between the mountain population and the schools and hospitals regarding information provision.
The mountain population has too little knowledge and skills to seek the right medical help and forms of education. In addition, there is the lack of financial resources.
Kajsiab is a small-scale local project of the Lao Hmong mountain population in Northern Laos, province of Bokeo, set up by Lara Picavet from Zeeuws Vlaanderen and Zjong and Nzoua from Laos.
Kajsiab's mission is to achieve a structural reduction of poverty and to increase the self-reliance of the local population.
Kajsiab provides information on healthcare and education and offers a targeted range of creative education, schooling, internships and medical workshops.
Kajsiab sets itself the goal
- to offer creative education for the women and children of the hill tribes of Laos in the form of schooling, creative training and sports
- create new sources of income and
improve communication
- training and coaching to promote self-confidence and sufficient insight and knowledge to lead a self-sufficient and healthy life.
- to offer creative education for the women and children of the hill tribes of Laos in the form of schooling, creative training and sports
- create new sources of income and
improve communication
- training and coaching to promote self-confidence and sufficient insight and knowledge to lead a self-sufficient and healthy life.
Kajsiab has a walk-in center, offers for creative education and training and a women's workshop.
1 - Kajsiab is small-scale and works individually.
This closes the gap between the mountain population and large information agencies such as governments and NGOs.
2 - Kajsiab works from the beginning from the mountain population itself. Our approach makes Kajsiab one of the first in which the mountain population has fully set up the project, built it up, owns it and runs everything themselves.
3 - Kajsiab works with equality and cultural exchange. By living with volunteers from all over the world, the mountain population but also the volunteers learn that we are all the same in the end.
Project Kajsiab Laos consists of 5 small-scale projects.
- Kajsiab Drop-in Center - Shelter, information provision (information regarding health, medical care and education) and internship opportunities for the mountain population.
- Kajsiab Education -Care, guidance and education of children from the mountain villages, guidance in training for adults and training / internships at Daauw Home.
- Kajsiab Women's Workshop -Creating new shapes using old knowledge of embroidery and other local products, selling and generating new income, training, workshops, information provision and counseling of women in the health of women and children, contraception, STIs, pregnancy and teenage mothers.
- Kajsiab Villages - Local Kajsiab women and volunteers travel together to villages and provide creative projects and workshops; The aim is to create a more creative and flexible mind so that new future possibilities come to the surface of the local people themselves and start discussions about anti-conception, control over one's own body, pregnancies, future ideas, forming new incomes.
- Kajsiab Cultural Exchange -Daauw Home and - Future Organic Farm: Daauw Farm (working and living with volunteers and visitors from all over the world)
- Kajsiab Drop-in Center - Shelter, information provision (information regarding health, medical care and education) and internship opportunities for the mountain population.
- Kajsiab Education -Care, guidance and education of children from the mountain villages, guidance in training for adults and training / internships at Daauw Home.
- Kajsiab Women's Workshop -Creating new shapes using old knowledge of embroidery and other local products, selling and generating new income, training, workshops, information provision and counseling of women in the health of women and children, contraception, STIs, pregnancy and teenage mothers.
- Kajsiab Villages - Local Kajsiab women and volunteers travel together to villages and provide creative projects and workshops; The aim is to create a more creative and flexible mind so that new future possibilities come to the surface of the local people themselves and start discussions about anti-conception, control over one's own body, pregnancies, future ideas, forming new incomes.
- Kajsiab Cultural Exchange -Daauw Home and - Future Organic Farm: Daauw Farm (working and living with volunteers and visitors from all over the world)
The income of Daauw Home - guesthouse and restaurant, located right next to the walk-in house and the women's workshop (cultural exchange, internship opportunities for mountain people) will go entirely to the running costs of the walk-in house Kajsiab Shelter.
There is not yet sufficient income from Daauw Home to cover the running costs, but Organic Farm Daauw Farm will change this in the future, especially fresh food from the Farm.
Kajsiab Education has been sponsored for a number of years for a small part by volunteers who have been to Daauw Home themselves and who have lived and worked together with the mountain population. The full amount for 23 children of the walk-in home is a challenge to get together every month.
We are now also setting up a Health Bank for Kajsiab Kids where people can help to pay for any hospital visits or medicines for the children who stay in the walk-in home.
Kajsiab Women's Workplace cannot (yet) run independently. The revenues from the products are not enough to cover the ongoing costs. The women from the mountains now have a good income from their work.
Share4More Rabobank and Emmaus and a number of volunteers helped to set up the workshop and get started with the products and a number of former volunteers and donors have made a small donation from time to time. Because of the help of these agencies and volunteers, Kajsiab was able to set up this workshop and the projects in the workshop and many women from the mountain villages have new opportunities to generate an income.
Kajsiab Kajsiab Villages will need to be supported in the first phase, but costs can be kept low and it is not expected to be a major expense.
Kajsiab Cultural Exchange runs completely independently thanks to the contribution of volunteers.
Options for Collaboration Kajsiab Laos and Organizations or companies in the Netherlands.
Lara Picavet from the Netherlands and Zjong and Nzoua Vue from Laos have devoted themselves twelve years of their lives passionately to set up a solid foundation for this project that is completely in the hands of the local mountain population themselves.
It has been a strenuous road full of challenges, financially, culturally and organisationally, and now the project is ready. What we have built up over the past 12 years is so successful because the organization, knowledge, intrinsic passion lies with the local population themselves and in all activities, respect for their own culture is primarily propagated. Kajsiab is now an example of what the world is currently calling out what a small-scale project should be like.
The real necessity of the mountain population lies in this tripod we have set up: education, health care and empowerment.
Now that we have achieved all this, however, we cannot reach our full potential due to lack of financial resources.
I personally experience this as poignant because I live and work with the people themselves, experience their stories, struggles, emotions, pain and heartache up close and see how their strengths are constantly being pushed back by a lack of possibilities.
Kajsiab Cultural Exchange runs completely independently thanks to the contribution of volunteers.
Options for Collaboration Kajsiab Laos and Organizations or companies in the Netherlands.
Lara Picavet from the Netherlands and Zjong and Nzoua Vue from Laos have devoted themselves twelve years of their lives passionately to set up a solid foundation for this project that is completely in the hands of the local mountain population themselves.
It has been a strenuous road full of challenges, financially, culturally and organisationally, and now the project is ready. What we have built up over the past 12 years is so successful because the organization, knowledge, intrinsic passion lies with the local population themselves and in all activities, respect for their own culture is primarily propagated. Kajsiab is now an example of what the world is currently calling out what a small-scale project should be like.
The real necessity of the mountain population lies in this tripod we have set up: education, health care and empowerment.
Now that we have achieved all this, however, we cannot reach our full potential due to lack of financial resources.
I personally experience this as poignant because I live and work with the people themselves, experience their stories, struggles, emotions, pain and heartache up close and see how their strengths are constantly being pushed back by a lack of possibilities.
Future Vision
Complete self-sufficiency can be accomplished by first
- find a sponsor who can help sponsor the three basic human needs and who can guarantee the continuation of the existing projects; medical costs, living expenses concern food and clothing and current accounts such as electricity and water.
- In addition to existing Daauw Home and Daauw Lounge Homestay, restaurant and coffee & soup tent, generate new forms of income, for example by having groups come and use them in the cultural exchange projects of mutual learning and asking them a small donation amount.
- Trying to generate a basic income for the project through organizations and companies. This changes the constant struggle not to collapse of the past ten years into a safe environment and atmosphere where more work can be done according to the goals of guiding the families to become self-sufficient without having to stop halfway through the project itself goes. It will then be possible to work with more passion and perseverance to do the income-generating activities, with more calm creativity and balance so that something really gets off the ground.
We could try to get together a large group of employees and individual sponsors who deposit an amount of 5 or 10 euros per month.
- Establish an organic farm so that food comes from the farm and the people running the project and the people who come to visit or stay in the walk-in house have a stable supply of food.
To be able to set up Daauw Farm, a start-up phase must be financed (building two or three huts, water, electricity, start of period). Kajsiab now has five cows, a number of pigs and chickens, a number of gardens and a medicine garden.
Complete self-sufficiency can be accomplished by first
- find a sponsor who can help sponsor the three basic human needs and who can guarantee the continuation of the existing projects; medical costs, living expenses concern food and clothing and current accounts such as electricity and water.
- In addition to existing Daauw Home and Daauw Lounge Homestay, restaurant and coffee & soup tent, generate new forms of income, for example by having groups come and use them in the cultural exchange projects of mutual learning and asking them a small donation amount.
- Trying to generate a basic income for the project through organizations and companies. This changes the constant struggle not to collapse of the past ten years into a safe environment and atmosphere where more work can be done according to the goals of guiding the families to become self-sufficient without having to stop halfway through the project itself goes. It will then be possible to work with more passion and perseverance to do the income-generating activities, with more calm creativity and balance so that something really gets off the ground.
We could try to get together a large group of employees and individual sponsors who deposit an amount of 5 or 10 euros per month.
- Establish an organic farm so that food comes from the farm and the people running the project and the people who come to visit or stay in the walk-in house have a stable supply of food.
To be able to set up Daauw Farm, a start-up phase must be financed (building two or three huts, water, electricity, start of period). Kajsiab now has five cows, a number of pigs and chickens, a number of gardens and a medicine garden.
Christmas 2020 Gifts for the Kajsiab Children in Laos
Do you want to buy something special for the Kajsiab children in Laos for Christmas?
Here is the way to do it!
Three options:
- Buy a giftcard for friends or relatives and the Kajsiab Children will be so very happy with your gift, see the next picture to choose a gift
- Give a donation for the upcoming year of Kajsiab Kids Education fund for school fees, uniforms, books and shoes. You decide the amount you wish to give! Go to www.daauwvillagelaos.com and click donate
- Send a package directly to Laos! Send toys, clothes, pens or drawing material in a package to
Daauw Home Laos
P.O. Box 372
Huay Xai, Bokeo
Lao P.D.R
We wish you all a lovely December full of love, laughter and moments to share together!
Kajsiab Team
Do you want to buy something special for the Kajsiab children in Laos for Christmas?
Here is the way to do it!
Three options:
- Buy a giftcard for friends or relatives and the Kajsiab Children will be so very happy with your gift, see the next picture to choose a gift
- Give a donation for the upcoming year of Kajsiab Kids Education fund for school fees, uniforms, books and shoes. You decide the amount you wish to give! Go to www.daauwvillagelaos.com and click donate
- Send a package directly to Laos! Send toys, clothes, pens or drawing material in a package to
Daauw Home Laos
P.O. Box 372
Huay Xai, Bokeo
Lao P.D.R
We wish you all a lovely December full of love, laughter and moments to share together!
Kajsiab Team
https://vimeo.com/88569046
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOVrIAoClMU