Mushroom House for the Sustainable Lunch Project ~ Wat U – Meng School
Mushroom House
Purpose
EDventure International’s major project in Thailand has been to tackle the Wat U-Meng School's struggle to keep their doors open without major economic and financial assistance.
EDventure Intl. used a three prong program, which was not only designed to give the school the financial ability to stay afloat, but also has brought in much needed educational tools and equipment through our 2013 School Lunch Initiative.
Wat U –Meng, a small, rural primary school in Northern Thailand has been facing continued economic uncertainly due to its small size and inability to receive government financial aid. Without help, the school wouldn’t be able to secure a strong financial future and would be forced to close its doors. This would cause students to pay more money to attend schools further away or simply not have the ability to attend school at all. To help remedy this uncertain future, EDventure Intl. created a three pronged program stemming from the idea that the school needs to create a self-sustainable form of income, not relying on outside funds to stay open.
This three step initiative involves building a Mushroom House, a Greenhouse and a Hydroponic System.
The first step in this measure was the construction of a Mushroom House, which was taken onboard by our June EDventure participants. The designs for the mushroom house have been put together by professors at the local university and species of mushrooms had been selected, through trials, which show the ability for continued growth and income generation all year.
The construction is a joint task from both our participants and local tradesmen. The advantages of the Mushroom House are numerous. The mushrooms grown in this house will be used to complement lunches currently on offer for students. They will also be served up as an educational tool for students who can assist in the cultivation of the various crops and will take pride in their work. Also, by having foreigners helping out with the construction, cultural barriers can slowly be broken down, fostering teaching and learning from both cultures. But by far the most lasting advantage is the means to generate additional income for the school to use towards securing other educational resources they do not otherwise receive funding for.
After the school has used what mushrooms they need for the day’s lunch, the remaining harvest (which yields between 7-12 kilograms of mushrooms) will then be sold at local markets.
The school can harvest up to a total of 140 kilograms a month, which is equal to an additional 8,400 baht ($270USD) per month. This additional income can then be used towards other resources that the school needs in order to continue providing education for the students.
As the first step in EDventure Intl’s, 2013 School Lunch Initiative, it’s incredible to think that a simple mushroom house can feed a school as well as supply them with the valuable learning resources they desperately need. Through this first project, Wat U-Meng as begun the process of being self-sustainable as well as self-sufficient.
Expenditure
Thank you for taking the time to carefully read through our program initiative and costs, and if you have any further queries please don’t hesitate to contact us
All standard costings at list in Thai Baht. Conversions of AUD, USD and CAD are located at the bottom.
- 3 Baskets = 3 x 70 = 210 THB
- 1 Soil = 1 x 800 = 800 THB
- 6 Concrete Poles (5x6) = 6 x 450 = 2,700 THB
- 400 Grass Roof = 400 x 8.50 = 3,400 THB
- 1000 Concrete Block’s = 1000 x 1 = 1,000 THB
- 100 Wire Pieces = 100 x 3.6 = 3,600 THB
- Nails = 65 THB
- 70 Bamboo Poles (Small) = 70 x 15 = 1,050 THB
- 4 Bamboo Poles (Large) = 4 x 25 = 100 THB
- 4 Wage Workers 10/6 = 4 x 300 = 1,200 THB
- 4 Wage Workers 11/6 = 4 x 300 = 1,200 THB
- 500 Small Red Bricks = 500 x 1.2 = 600 THB
- 1 Black Iron Wire = 1 x 100 = 100 THB
- 30 Grass Sheets = 30 x 11 = 330 THB
- 7 Woven Bamboo Floor Pieces = 7 x 120 = 720 THB
- 16 Gloves = 16 x 7 = 112 THB
- 2,221 Mushroom Cubes = 2,221 x 7 = 15,547 THB
- 20 PVC Pipes (20mm) = 20 x 10 = 200 THB
- A set of PE Equipment (20mm) = 1 x 153 = 153 THB
- 1 PE Value = 1 x 20 = 20 THB
- 1 Micro Cable = 1 x 5 = 5 THB
- 1 Glue = 1 x 38 = 38 THB
- 6 Fog Nozzles = 6 x 15 = 90 THB
Total Costs for Mushroom House Project = 30,000 THB
(Approx. $974.4USD or $1029.9AUD or $993.3CAD)
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