It was the wet season in Xiengkhouang Province – raining almost daily and some days we couldn’t work. From Matt “Whilst building the toilets at Phoung Hor school one rainy day I noticed that all of the students were soaking wet and shivering. I asked why this was the case
Project News
The Much Maligned Biodigester
The purpose of the Biodigester is multidimensional. The one at Ban Xai was conceived before electricity was in the village so the main reasons were to provide methane gas for cooking and heating, to save firewood, to provide an alternative to having unhealthy smoke filled houses and to provide
Changes in Staffing at Ban Xai
There has been a number of changes in staffing at MiVAC’s Ban Xai project. Steve Carroll who was Projects Director and Projects Manager has been replaced by Rob Woolley as Projects Director (Rob is MiVAC’s Founding Director or Trustee) and by Michael Weibler as Projects Manager. You
More input from Matt Pittendreigh
Fish Security MiVAC is experimenting with the density of fish that can be grown in an artificial environment – a concrete tank. We have a long way to go before we can pass on to the locals of how they can make money growing and selling fish. The fish that
Matt Pittendreigh – A Ban Xai Volunteer.
Water and Toilets for Pong Hor School Matt Pittendreigh is a Military Engineer – a Sapper is a better name. He met Sandy MacGregor in his Combat Engineer Regiment just before his deployment to Afghanistan. Over a few beers in the canteen Sandy talked about MiVAC. When
The Ban Xai Annual Report – Sandy MacGregor
The Ban Xai Annual Report In June 2013 John Salter delivered MiVAC’s Annual Report to assembled representatives of Phoukood District and Xiengkhouang MoFA. The day started at the MiVAC Farm at Ban Xai where Yang gave a briefing of what had been achieved outside the farm. This was followed by
One Site of Making Jars and the North Vietnamese HQ – Sandy MacGregor
One Site of Making Jars and the North Vietnamese HQ Not far from Phonsavan my brother Chris and I hired Yang on a Sunday to do some site seeing. The first place we went to was one site where the Lao people made the Jars. They hewed them out
Tourism not far from Phonsavan – Sandy MacGregor
On the Sunday afternoon my brother Chris and I were taken past Ban Xai to the old CIA airstrip. During the war the CIA using Hmong and Thai forces operated from three airfields. The one in the town of Phonsavan, the current airstrip called Xiengkhouang and this one which
New Use For Minefield – Sandy MacGregor
New Use For Minefield The month was June – June 2013. It was late in the afternoon and Yang drove me past the Pong Hor school, past the Police Agricultural buildings and then I spied it. New Fences! That’s right the area around the Khangpunghor Minefield had been fenced. I
John Salter – Report on Fish Pond.
We are now dabbling in fish, sooo we dug a big hole! That leaked! Lined it with plastic, annnnd it still leaked!! Soooo we then put in a concrete base and rendered brick walls , annnd now it is ready for fish. So any readers out there who know what to