For the first time, students of CZU had the opportunity to take part in Summer School in thanks to cooperation under the Erasmus + PISAI (Participatory and Integrative Support for Agricultural Initiative) project. The three-week summer school took place from 8th to 28th August at Chiang Mai University in northern Thailand and was attended by six students from the CZU, one student from the University of Helsinki, and 16 students from four Thai universities (Prince of Songkla University, Chiang Mai University, Kasetsart University and Khon Kaen University). On behalf of the CZU, organization and teaching were provided under the guidance of Dr. Petra Chaloupkova and Dr. Olga Leuner from the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences and Dr. Miloslav Petrtyl for FAPPZ.
Summer School topic was focused on Value chain management, and students first learned about the aspects of agricultural production in Thailand, the situation on the local market, what are the ways of searching data, methods of research and data processing. During the excursions they had the opportunity to get to know the local agricultural farms, local markets, processing enterprises focused mainly on the production of fruit and vegetables. At the same time, the students in the working groups processed a study on the selected product (chilli, letuce, tomatoes, meloun, cucumbers), which they presented and defended before the international team. The activities during the summer school were mainly focused on working with international teams and gaining practical experience in the field.
Here you can see first photos and blog from one of our student - Aleksandra Kaleová:
"One study month in the land of smiles: The perks of Thailand
It is the beginning of August, the monsoon season of Thailand. As I walk out of the airport in Chiang Mai, a wave of humidity mixed with unrecognizable smells of foods and flowers hit my nostrils – it is my first encounter with the tropics. I left Prague with tons of curiosity and no expectations but it never came to my mind I will end up liking this place since the first day.
The taxi driver takes us through the avenues to our hotel and I cannot help myself but to gaze at all those new species of plants I have never seen before. One cannot leave unacknowledged the abundance that flows everywhere in this place. Ironically enough, they say that Thailand is a third world country, but I could tell you that I have not seen as much profusion of food, culture, herbs and colors anywhere else in Europe. This place has a deep richness attached to itself that makes you want to bask in it until forever.
The summer school starts shortly after. Our group is heterogeneous, with 4 nationalities blended, the majority of it being Thai students. It was enjoyable to see how short it took us to find a common language and fuse with each other despite the fact that the East and the West cultures are so contrasting. In fact, after a couple of days, it was impossible to plan our activities separately as any individual activity would feel like you just separated from the warmth of the family-like unity we created.
The summer school programme was about analyzing the value chain management of farmer’s production and selling in Chiang Mai. Despite our weekly schedule of spending couple of hours at the University, we also spent few days collecting data from the actual markets and farms. We were separated in couple of groups. On the last week of our programme, each group would create a poster, report and a presentation of the data collected.
The data collecting was a unique experience in and of itself. For the rest of the group it could have meant just a repeatable process of inserting numbers and facts in our notebooks, but for me, it got me close to the Thai culture more than anything else. Observing the peasants’ lives on the fields s in their originality and rawness, the humbleness and cheerfulness that these people carry in themselves, it feels like they are the ones that bring up the sweetness and easiness of life that is so easily felt here. They would use dirt water and air just to produce the whole plethora of foods one finds in the markets. Isn’t that a beautiful way to play with the creation of life?
At the market, a different story evolves: the sellers are luring you with a smile on their faces to look at their products. From frogs to fishes, from caterpillars to flowers, it feels like there is not a thing in the world you wouldn’t find here. Everything seems is so authentic and exposed, that leaves you with the feeling humbleness and humility of your own existence. After piling up my questionnaires for the project, I take my bag, fill it with mangosteens and look forward to my dinner feast.
A feeling of deep gratefulness remains in my heart for this trip as I think of my University and mentors. Without them, the opportunity to have this grand experience would not have happened. And Thailand is a gem that will always stay in my heat, majestic and unforgotten."
