We (Sandy McGregor, Peter Maroney, Yang and I) arrived at the Ban Xai School (which can be easily seen from the Mivac site as it is “next door”) at 8am, only to be told by Yang that 8 am could really be 8.30am! The School Director, Boar Hon arrived and
MiVAC Blog
MiVAC BLOG
School Desks and Chairs from Michael at HMP
School Desks and Chairs from Michael at HMP As you may know, Steve Carroll, when he was the Site Supervisor, built the new 2-room school at Hinmou Peung (HMP). The purpose of this was so that the school could teach Years 1, 2, 3 and 4, so that 8 and
The Trek to Check the Water Pipeline Route for west Ban-Xai
The Trek to Check the Water Pipeline Route for west Ban-Xai There is no reticulated water for West Ban Xai so a source about 4 km away was chosen to be the potential supply point. On two former occasions that Sandy and Yang had been to the source, they were
The First of Seven Lao Hmong in Australia, 1974
When Sandy MacGregor went to Melbourne to talk about MiVAC at the Annual Reunion of the Australian Army Band Corps and at a public talk at the Prahran RSL Club the next day he was fortunate to have two Australian/Lao guys at his talk. One was Mal Vue (Malcolm Nyiaj
Site Supervisor / Volunteers
Anyone interested in being a Site Supervisor or to be a Volunteer at Ban Xai know that we can offer some wonderful amenities, friendly neighbours and fantastic local support from our local MiVAC managers Yang and Moua. The latest amenities are what has turned BanXai into a home away from
Construction of Biodigester underway.
The biodigester is well under way with the hole being dug by the people from the village. Timber, bags of cement and reinforcing material were purchased in Phonsovanh and delivered to site. The slab was formed up and poured on the 27th October with the help of Michael, Yang and
Tank Stand and Shower Block
Tank Stand and Shower Block Michael Weibler reports; I selected the site for the header tank stand near the toilet where the water pipe is located. I will use the tank stand to install a shower underneath and enclose it with a rendered block wall as per the toilets.
The Villagers at Phong Hor are Now Using Toilets
Phong Hor is the Hmong “sub village” at the Eastern end of Ban Xai. There are no toilets there until MiVAC supplied the material to build them. The idea was that that the villagers would install the toilets themselves. This has now been done by the villagers without supervision (it
The Bush Fence Didn’t Keep the Cattle Out
The best laid plans of “mice and men” go astray sometimes. When Steve Carroll left Ban Xai in June 2012 he had planted a magnificent garden – much of the garden was in Cassava so that MiVAC would have a really good crop ready to feed the pigs when we
The Pump For the Main Water Supply for the MiVAC Site
There is a pond which is 500 metres from the MiVAC block at Ban Xai which is being developed into a Model Farm. The water is there all-year-round but the site is 20 metres lower than where we want the water. The MiVAC Project Officer, Steve Carroll, bought a Chinese