Student with tribal woman weaving
The student with tribal woman weaving at Palong village

Our Green Trails Educational Tours

We are specialized in designing and organizing educational tours for schools and universities. Over the years, we have handled tours for schools and universities from Australia, Great Britain, the United States, and Singapore.

Our tours include team building, such as the construction of playing grounds, water containers, school canteens, and so on in ethnic minority communities. These tours usually take four or five days. In consultation with the community, we select a suitable project and then make a plan and buy construction materials. Students will learn about the villagers’ customs, religion, traditions, and way of living during their stay in the village.

Students doing construction work
Construction work in a Karen village

Learning languages

Usually, we will organize activities at the local school. Most ethnic minority groups have their specific language. We will teach students a couple of words in the local language, and the students will talk about their country and teach English. We will let students taste the local delicacies and show them how they are prepared. Most importantly, we will ensure this is a mutually beneficial experience, and it should be a possibly life-changing experience for all involved.

Short educational tours

We also organize shorter educational tours that don’t include team-building activities like construction. These shorter tours usually take at least two days and one night but can also be day tours. We organize several activities, such as a language class, a local welcoming ceremony, a visit to the local temple or church, and a meaningful visit to a school, including some teaching and other interactive meetings with villagers. We usually include a local cooking class as well. Before we forget: most of our educational tours also feature activities such as trekking, cycling, and rafting.

Kids in traditional dress in front of a blackboard
Palong Kids with a blackboard at Mae Chon

Local village life and way of living

We will also focus on the way of living in a community. We will let students participate in agricultural activities such as rice planting and harvesting, depending on the season. Tree planting in the rainy season is also an option. We will pay attention to communities’ history and sensitive issues such as land ownership, education, healthcare, discrimination, and legal status. Many ethnic communities in North Thailand have faced at least one of these issues.

Preserving culture and traditions

Some villages, such as the Hmong and the Dara-ang communities, offer opportunities to learn traditional weaving or batik techniques. During our visits, we will learn about specific rituals and beliefs of local people. Some of these traditions are destined to disappear but showing interest makes a difference. We can learn a lot from people living close to nature.

Educational experiences in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is typical where tours start and end so that we can organize more general educational trips. These can be an introduction to Buddhism, a Thai cooking class, a market tour, or a bicycle tour to the ruins of Wiang Kum Kam and the historical McKean Center.

Five people on bicycles at ruins
Cycling in Wiang Kum Kam

Below are sample programs of educational tours. On request, we can customize these tours.