UPDATE (Nov 30th 2012): Kop Khun Ka! Thank you!

As a result of your incredible generosity, as well as the money already donated by participants on our last retreat (during the Cow Now fundraising event), our grand total for the Wua Walk has now reached 117,211THB (Thai Baht), enough to purchase our first cow and cover the initial start up costs involved in building a shed, fencing off our newly planted field of Bana grass, and so on.

Under advice from the local Chiang Rai Dairy Farmer's Association we will be buying the cow at the start of January, when she will be seven months pregnant. This will give her time to settle in and us some time to develop our dairy farming skills!!

She will be called "Blossom", a beautiful and hopefully prophetic name, chosen by the Green Papaya Sangha (http://greenpapayasangha.org/), members of whom kindly "purchased" an ear and a leg of the cow. Keep checking in for photos of Blossom (apparently I have mistakenly uploaded a photo of a bull to our event page!) once she arrives.

Although the event itself is now over we are still gratefully receiving donations from friends and family and will keep our Wua Walk & Cow Now pages open to donations until Christmas (for those of you who celebrate this festival) or early in the New Year, when our gift of Blossom arrives. Further updates to follow about the final total received but any extra money raised will be reserved for unexpected vets fees, any additional equipment needed, and the purchase of another cow at a later date, so please keep the money rolling in and encourage the three remaining participants to complete their goals.

Thank you once again for your generosity, enthusiasm, and support for this project. Love and kindness from all of us here at New Life. 

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UPDATE (Nov 28th 2012): Happy Loi Krathong!

As you may recall, we chose to hold Mindful for the MOOn, the first of what we hope will be many successful annual fundraising drives, around the full moon of the twelfth Thai month because the symbolism surrounding the festival of Loi Krathong, which is celebrated across the country on that night, seemed so fitting for much of the work that we do here.

Well, the night of the full moon is finally upon us and after making the traditional banana leaf boats ("krathong") that Thais set afloat onto lakes and down rivers to release their hurts, angers, and resentments, as well as pray for those they have lost and their hopes for the future, we have just returned from setting our boats with their lit candles, flowers, and joss sticks afloat onto the lake we ran/walked around on Sunday.

Although it was a little cloudy, we were able to glimpse the moon clearly and watching our krathong float gently off into the darkness of the lake below was a beautiful sight.

Thank you to the very patient women who walked up from our viallage to teach us how to make the krathong. Sadly, these are now often made of styrofoam so it was a privilege to learn the traditional bio-degradable method of creating such beautiful decorations and an honour to be able to join our neighbours to celebrate this event rather than the crowds at the Loi Krathong events held in the cities. As we made our way back, they and their children began to set paper lanterns burning high into the sky (a traditional part of the festival only in northern Thailand), along with fireworks, many smiles, and a lot of laughter. "Present Moment, Wonderful Moment!" (Thich Nhat Hanh). 

UPDATE (Nov 27th 2012): A successful run/walk! 

Many apologies for the delayed update but it has taken some time to collect all the photos and since we still have donations coming in, we've decided to postpone announcing the final amount collected and the most successful fundraiser until Friday, so please, please keep that money rolling in and hopefully some of the following stories and photos will give you a little taster of what an inspirational day yesterday turned out to be.

After stocking up on bananas and Daniel and Nell's high-carb cookies (made from recycled porridge and rice) we took the short cut through our bamboo plantation to the starting point in front of Ban Samanmit's village shop. As dawn broke, Arielle, then took us through a gentle group warm-up/stretching session and by the time our muscles were all loosened up the sun had risen and there was just time for a few quick group photos before we set off.

Sadly, near the start of the first lap of the lake, along the red dirt track winding down the side of the Buddhist temple opposite our farm, one of our participants had a bit of a turn but luckily our back-up car was on hand (thanks Clay & Boo) and we were able to get her to the nearest hospital to be checked out very quickly.

Fortunately nothing was found to be seriously wrong and she was keen that we continue with the event, so after a delayed start we set off again and her experience became a timely reminder to run mindfully and listen to our bodies rather than our egos. She would like to thank Julien, Rose, and Chris, for accompanying her to the hospital, as well as all of the participants who stopped to make sure she was okay. We are all so grateful that she was not seriously injured and were happy to see her beautiful smile and energy brightening up the foundation when she returned from the hospital.

Special credit must also go to Rose (who was leaving the following day) for still completing the run in her own time after returning from the hospital. Chris, Julien, and Ada, who unfortunately also had to pull out due to Ada's twisted ankle, have also committed to completing the run at a later date. Please keep checking out their personal pages for updates and help them to reach their target goals.

Apart from the initial drama, however, the run/walk went very smoothly. Angelika provided a splash of colour by belly-dancing her way around the first lap of the lake (she promised to do so if any one would meet her full target goal so a big thank you to the anonymous donor who did so in the space of about twenty minutes!). Krish provided the necessary musical accompaniment on a New Life tambourine and by the end of the walk one of our newbies, Annie, even seemed to have learned the Wua Walk Belly Dance! Video to follow shortly...

Nobody was quite able to beat the times set by our fastest volunteers before they left New Life to continue their travels so Lee, who designed the route, remains the fastest male competitor with an astonishing 45:03 mins and Ellen takes the prize for the fastest female with her equally amazing time of approx. 55 mins. New Life T-shirts coming your way once we get your forwarding addresses, size, and preferred colours. A special mention should also go to Flo, who completed the route in 55:25 mins before he left, 

On the day itself there were some impressive times from the other participants too, once the times had been adjusted to take account of the break we were forced to take while we dealt with the injured runner. Nick, a short-term volunteer who didn't have much time to train, finished in 48:14 mins; Mickey, the fastest female competitor, finished in 70:25 mins (despite walking in places!); Mark, our pace setter, finished in 63:09 mins; and Dipesh, not famed for being an early morning kind of a man, finished in 61:48 mins - not bad for someone who had never run a 10k before!!

We were also thrilled to be able to welcome two guests, Jason, and Amyira, who joined some of the team participants taking it in turns to walk sections of the route, and added their support by clapping and cheering each participant as they reached the finish line.

Thanks too to Seppo, Colin, Karl, Sasha, and Huan, who variously filled up our reusable bottles with New Life water and took them up to the 5km mark to hand out with a lot of cheers and encouragement!

Perhaps the smiles on people's faces, and the pride they were able to feel at completing personal challenges they possibly couldn't have imagined a few months ago, can tell the story better than any more words that I can add here but one final word of thanks to the kitchen team (led by Pat, who kindly took over the job of kitchen manager, at the very last moment so that she could go to be with her friend at the hospital) who did an excellent job of providing a fantastic brunch for over 30 people. Please check out the photos and videos uploaded for more and don't forget you can still donate. Every little Baht helps!

Thank you once again for your continuous and generous support.

"Kop Khun Kha" from all here at the Chiang Rai New Life Foundation.

***

UPDATE (Nov 25th 2012, 6:00 am): Well, the day has finally arrived and people are beginning to stir (with the help of a few gentle rings on the gong - thanks Ada!).

Just over 25 people have signed up to participate so we and the support team are about to make our way down to the start line in front of our local shop where Arielle, one of our more athletic volunteers, is going to lead a group warm up session before we all set off.

Our friendly local shop owner has been warned that she might need extra water on hand (although we have filled up reuseable bottles with New Life water for the half-way point) so hopefully she won't be too surprised to see us all at this time of the morning!

Rose also made a refreshing juice for us all (basil seeds, which are packed with protein apparently, mixed with water, a dash of lime, and a little honey) and the bananas, mini tangerines, Thai water melon from our garden, and the granola bar tray bakes all seem to have gone down a treat too!  

UPDATE (Nov 24th 2012): Wow! The time has flown by and it is diffiuclt to believe that the Mindful for the MOOn event weekend is already upon us!

One valuable lesson I have learned from starting this event has been about the power of delegating. Instead of allowing my usual instinct to control and micro-manage everything to take over - a common problem for many of you out there I guess - I have been reminded constantly by the support of the other members here to remember that it is okay to step back sometimes and ask for help.

Remaining mindful about this has made the whole experience so much more enjoyable, inclusive, and exciting. The "New Lifers" have an incredible range of different talents and despite some tough physical and mental conditions to contend with they have all brought their own individual creativity and imagination to bear in the most inspiring ways - the whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts!

Just a few special mentions for now. Thanks to Nick & Karl for designing some great laminated signs to mark out the route and to Clay & Boo for driving a team of volunteers around to hang them out the night before (please check out the photos!). Thanks to the "Brunch Team" for making time to plan an extra special menu and go shopping for the ingredients the day before, and, last but not least, thanks to Nell and Daniel for staying up late to bake some special healthy granola bar tray bakes for anyone needing extra fuel before the run! (These were made partly with left-over porridge from breakfast as we are experimenting with how to reduce the amount of waste from our kitchen - it will be interesting to see how they turn out...) 

  ***

UPDATE (Nov 19th 2012): It is now less than a week until the WUA WALK and many in our community here are now in training. It is wonderful to see their tired but smiling faces as they come back from running around the lake at sunrise or sunset (it is still too hot for most people to run during the days here even though winter is setting in) as well as their excitement when they see a new donation made to their personal pages. Our support staff are also busy planning an extra special Sunday brunch to enjoy together after all the exertions!

Although there is no way as yet to show the total amount pledged on our main page here (simplygiving are working on creating such a tool and hope to have it up and running by the end of December), with the donations that have been made so far we are already half way towards reaching our target. Thank you so much to all those who have already donated but please keep the money coming in. Remember that a donation to New Life's WUA WALK will help us to offer more nutritious food to our members in an organic, sustainable way. (It makes a great Christmas present too!)

Last week our volunteers and residents also worked really hard to clear a field for our cow and have now planted it with "Bana Grass" (sometimes known as "Elephant Grass"), a hybrid Napier grass (P. purpureum x P. americanum), which is traditionally cultivated in Thailand and cut fresh for livestock feed, because it is fast growing, and hardy, with a protein content of between 8~12%. As you can see from the photos we uploaded, it is grown from stem cuttings, and has recently become of great interest worldwide as a source of bio-fuel (for more see http://202.44.52.249/thaienergynews/en/ExNewsDetail.aspx?id=19).
 

Luckily it should grow well in the clay-rich soil around here and a super irrigation system is being set up under the supervision of our Thai staff here so thank you again for supporting this great cause. Further updates to follow so please keep checking in... 

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Welcome to our page for the New Life Foundation's first annual Full Moon Fundraising Event, Mindful for the MOOn!

This year the New Life community and supporters will be doing the WUA WALK (wua means cow in Thai) - walking, jogging, or running (hopping, or skipping!) 10km to raise money to buy and cover the initial outlay for a dairy cow. Her milk will be used to produce butter, cheese, and yoghurt, etc. to help further our goal to create an organic farm that will offer our community healthy foods and become a learning center for all those interested in sharing innovative, large-scale, eco-friendly farming techniques.

Our WUA WALK will take place around the lake near to our community but former volunteers, residents, retreat participants, and other supporters are welcome to join in by holding their own sponsored walks or runs wherever they are around the world. 

The event will be held on the 25th November 2012, close to Loi Krathong, Thailand's full moon festival, a time when many Thais float candles on small banana leaf rafts to venerate the Buddha and symbolize the letting go of all one's grudges, anger, and harmful behaviors (what we like to call our "unskillful states of mind"), in order to start life anew -- fitting for an organization that brings healing and mindfulness to those who suffer from addiction, depression, burnout, and stress. Based in Chiang Rai, Thailand, the New Life Foundation provides a unique learning environment based on mindfulness and sustainable living, where residents can learn to nurture and maintain their recovery. They help residents cultivate a lifestyle that fosters inner growth and helps them find meaning and purpose in life again.  

In the effort to make recovery accessible to everyone in need, we keep costs to a minimum. With the help of many volunteers, meditation, yoga, art therapy, and other programs are offered to residents at a very affordable price, so that money doesn't stand in the way of their recovery. To continue working in this way, New Life depends on the generosity of people like you and me. You can learn more about this truly incredible organization by visiting our website at www.newlifethaifoundation.com.

To start our Wua Project a separate COW NOW fundraising drive has already raised 18,126 Thai Baht. 

In order to pay for the whole cow as well as a shed, fencing, hay, and any vet's fees, etc, we need an additional 85,000 Thai Baht (about 2,800 US Dollars). 

If you would like to support this project you can make safe and secure donations through PayPal or by credit card (in Thai Baht) by sponsoring your friend or family member here at simplygiving.com. The proceeds of your support will immediately be sent to the New Life Foundation and used entirely to fund the Wua Project. (N.B. Any extra funds raised will be used to fund other parts of the New Life program but if you would prefer your donation to be reserved solely for this project, please indicate this in the comments section when you make your donation.)

To make the donation maths easy 100USD is equivalent to about 3000THB, while 50USD is about 1500THB, and 5USD is about 150THB. 

Remember that in Thailand even a small donation can go a long way so please dig deep and give what you can. Every little bit counts!

With your help we can do this and are looking forward to serving you a glass of fresh milk next time you visit our beautiful farm!

Warm regards from Chiang Rai and all here at New Life.