Land and Sustainability

We currently rent two pieces of land for the Karen to live on. One piece of land is about 2 acres in size and is located in a town along the Thailand / Burma border (specifics not named for safety of the people). This land was chosen because it is in close proximity to the Thai Government School, which the Karen children are legally allowed to attend, and also because it provides many of the parents with access to work in the nearby area. It is also in very close proximity to the Forgotten House making it convenient for both the employees working at Forgotten and the Karen families to stay in touch and continue to have close relations. This land has been rented by the foundation since January of 2008 and has grown from only a few families squatting on it to now more then thirty families living there in proper homes. In the past these families were continually forced to move from land to land always being kicked off by landowners constantly fearing that they may be sent back to Burma, but they are now comforted in knowing that this is no longer a threat for them and for the first time feel that they have a home and a safe place for them to live in Thailand.

The second piece of land that the foundation rents is about 10 acres in size and is located approximately 3 kilometers south of our other land. This land has been rented since August of 2009 and was selected to provide the Karen families with farmland. Before being forced to flee Burma most of the Karen families survived by subsistence farming. Almost all of them are therefore farmers by trade and having access to farmland is a huge benefit for them and it greatly increases their quality of life. Not only does it help them to better meet the physical demands of their families, but it also gives them a peace of mind knowing that they have access to work and a means to provide for themselves.

At the present time Forgotten is looking to expand the land project and make it more focused with individual families having designated plots of land. The reason being is that many of the families would like to invest in different forms of agriculture and farming, and therefore would like to work on a more individual basis. Pastor Manat and Jon Justus are currently working with various other organizations to find ways to effectively implement these projects and to manage them into the future.