National: Laos
Title: RAYON – Re-enchanting Agriculture for Youths through an Organic Network
Link: https://www.facebook.com/BanSuanAiAoun
Summary:
We are young ALiSEA members in Luang Prabang province registered as private organic farms after we studied at college or university. We know each other through attending join meetings or through activities in social media and we belong to larger farmer groups that are sharing similar agroecology values. However, we often feel isolated in our own farming activities and lack resources to network among ourselves and to inspire the younger generation of future farmers.
The purpose of the RAYON Project is to experiment a new approach to private extension of organic farming through a self-maintained network of organic farms that would host and train young farmers who are the most in demand of technical knowledge and market connections. The young farmers would be trained through long stays (from one week to three months) in hosting farms of the network over a 6-month individually tailored training curriculum. They will have opportunities to visit several farms over a cropping season to discover different production systems and business models and create their own combination of activities that best meet their specific environment, their capacities, and family needs. After the initial 6-months training period for which they will receive a certificate, they will set-up their own farms with the support of the RAYON farm network
Location: Luang Prabang Capital, Luang Prabang Province, Laos.
Duration: 16 months
Activities:
1: Strengthening farm schools and curriculum development
1.1. Coordination of farm leaders and collective planning of farm activities as demonstration support for capacity building.
1.2. Setting up on-farm activities with a common perspective – offering the whole range of options through the RAYON farm network.
1.3. Developing a training curriculum, training materials and workshop structures.
2: Women and youth are trained on organic farming
2.1. Training sessions – successive batches on different topics.
2.2. Support trainees in implementing their own plans through follow-up activities
2.3. Support trainees to develop capacity building and networking activities in their own communities.
3: Communication and networking activities for scaling up
3.1. Bonding – Communicating and networking within our two farm circles. Specific communication mechanisms will be developed within and between 1st circle and 2nd circle farmers though IT and social media trainings
3.2. Bridging – Development of commercial partnerships to strengthen access to market for the network members.
3.3. Monitoring – evaluation to support reflexive learning and knowledge dissemination through different media.
Document:
Budget granted by ALiSEA: 18.000 EUR