Description

Mariko Silver and Helena Kolenda met with the Inter Mountain Peoples Education and Culture in Thailand Association (IMPECT) in February 2023 during travels in Southeast Asia. Established in 1993, IMPECT works primarily in Northern Thailand with a network of 14 Indigenous groups (including the Akha, Dara-ang, Hmong, Kachin, Kamu, Lahu, Lisu, Karen and Shan peoples) to promote and protect the rights of their communities, build capacity and advocate for policy change. Climate change mitigation and adaptation is one primary area of focus (see attachment under Files for description of this work). Nittaya Earkanna, IMPECT’s director, explained that, while they have received grants to implement specific projects, the organization is most in need of operational support. The Asia Program is pleased to recommend a grant of $50,000 for this purpose, with funds to be drawn from C+I Global Indigeneity/Climate Change.
 
IMPECT was introduced by Amanda Flaim, the PI of our 2020 LuceSEA grant to Michigan State University. The MSU project involves partnerships with IMPECT and other Indigenous organizations. After our visit, Flaim wrote, “I cannot tell you how often I have seen folks at IMPECT give up their salaries to be sure that they can keep the lights on or get supplies. It’s absolutely testament to the fact that they are more of a social movement than an institution, but since most of them don’t live in villages anymore, they can no longer use dry season harvests … to feed themselves. They still do **so much** with so little. I am glad you got to see it for yourselves.”
 
Submitted by Helena Kolenda