Today we constantly hear words like global warming and climate changes etc yet very little is actually done about it. A small state like Singapore can do very little to stop industrialised countries like India, China, USA etc from polluting our world.
As individuals, there are 2 steps we can take to reduce glocal warming. One is to reduce our use of carbon producing fossil fuels and the other to plant more plants and trees.
We have started a project called H.O.T (Hilltribe Organic Tea). It's a win-win project for both poor hilltribe villagers in Northern Thailand and more importantly, to slow down global warming.
Tea trees are a valuable cash crop (so nobody will cut them down) and can go on producing for up to 150 years. We intend to give each family 100 tree saplings to plant. It's a modest project (100 families, 10,000 tea saplings).
Our volunteers from the Elephant Nature Park (www.elephantnaturefoundation.org) will help plant these saplings together with the families involved. They can drink the tea and the surplus leaves can be sold to supplement their low incomes and more importantly, these trees slow down global warming.
I have already started planting saplings at the Elephant Nature Park and have visited villages that plant tea to learn more from them. My next step is to start a nursery at the park and cultivate tea, mango, lychees etc from seeds (to reduce costs). A half metre tea sapling costs about fifty Singapore cents (delivered to the park).
We are trying to raise five thousand Singapore dollars to get this project started with 10,000 saplings. If you can help please let me know, here's your chance to make a difference directly.
I shall be going to Chiangmai in late December with 12 friends/volunteers and again in May 2010 with 20 students from SMU to start this project. I estimate that with these two trips, we and other volunteers from Elephant Nature Park, can plant all the ten thousand saplings.
Here's your chance to do something that directly improves lives and slow down global warming. You can also volunteer for the May 2010 if you sponsor saplings, I get a special rate from the Park for our green volunteers.
Cheers,
Grant
Mobile : 65 96840950
“If you think you're too small to have an impact – try going to bed with a mosquita” - Dame Anita Roddick (Founder – The Body Shop)
