I. First progress report (September 3, 2008)
Activities undertaken:
1. Building capacity through experience sharing forum at organizational and network level.
2. Launching demonstration on appropriate sufficiency agriculture consistent with natural resource conservation
3. Launching demonstration on natural resource rehabilitation in degraded agricultural land

Results of activities:
1. Eight project leaders and 57 project members gaining more understanding on GEF SGP ( GEF SGP training models and result-based management being relayed to target population successfully)
2. Approximately 1,178 litres of liquid bio-fertilizer, 5,200 litres of bio-digester and 1,858 litres of insect repellant
3. approximately more 600 trees of native species growing and thriving in project area

Project communication:
There was not much communication except through meetings in target area.

Experience and lessons learnt:
Due to the requirement to make target population to understand GEF SGP and its criteria of Result Based Management, project leaders spent time to relay the message to ensure adequate understanding. Environment issue seemed to be new for average project members, because of three decades of mono-quick cash crop promotion. Project leaders recalled this obstruction and were patient enough to use various kinds of media to mainstream target population.

Project expense:
The project report the expense of THB 310,409 out of the first disbursement of THB 310,909.01.

II. Second progress report (March 2, 2009)
Activities undertaken:
1. Launching demonstration on appropriate sufficiency agriculture consistent with natural resource conservation: maintaining humidity in project cultivated land and producing ionic plasma
2. Conducting participatory evaluation on sufficiency agriculture: production of manure and re-vegetation with edible species
3. Launching demonstration on natural resource rehabilitation in degraded agricultural land contributing to establishing demonstration centre

Results of activities:
1. Cultivated area of about 4.5 acre being maintained with adequate humidity and kept against intensive agricultural practice
2. Produced 660 litres of ionic plasma for soil improvement, 2,200 litres for supporting natural biodegradation and 1,650 litres for prevention of plant diseases.
3. Satisfaction of project members on production of manure and the result of application, with surplus for sale to earn some cash
4. Emergence of a demonstration centre on sufficiency agricultural practice, with environmentally-friendly activities being carried out around the centre ? prompting the municipality to consider allocating budget for continuous maintenance

Project communication:
In late December 2008, members of the project THA/SGP/OP4/CORE/07/01/ Development of Integrated Farming for Environment Rehabilitation in Utdtaradit Province visited the project to share experience on sustainable land management approach.

Experience and lessons learnt:
1.The project referred to two local elections, i.e. for members of municipality and members of Tambol Administrative Organization, as the main problem where communities had to participate in campaign. The new elected team had not yet show any support to the project like the going-out team. Therefore, the project had to adjust strategy to ensure anticipated results.
2. On re-vegetating project area , an elder of the project recommended not to purchase seedlings in a big lot , for some low quality seedlings might be supplied. The better way was to purchase seedling in small numbers. Then based on this small numbers, farmers should try propagating bit by bit. So far, this recommendation was unprecedented for project members.

Project expense:
1.The project report the accumulated expense of THB: 630,525 out of the sum of first and second disbursement of THB: 631,025.96
2. Recorded community contribution as follows:
THB: 502,500 for land and pre-existing facilities
THB: 72,600 for community time

III. Monitoring visit by the NC and NSC (June 20, 2009)
Findings & observation:
The project is situated in a location classified as cultivated lowland receiving natural water from mountainous areas in its north and northeast. By-and-large, paddy is the main crop being grown intensively, i.e. seven times within two years. Marginal forests and woodlands compose the remainder areas of the project. One major mono-cultivated species witnessed in the area is eucalyptus. Communities in the four participating villages are a mix of local people who have dwelled in the areas for generations and of other migrated peoples who came from the dryer northeastern region of the country a few decades back.

In order to witness project activities and evaluate the results of appropriate sufficiency agriculture consistent with natural resource conservation, one plot of about one ha belonging to one project member in Baan(village) Dongmornthong was visited. The member had initially been producing ionic plasma to be used in his paddy filed and garden, in addition to cow manure. It was confirmed both chemical fertilizer and insecticide at the current visit were no longer in use. The only chemical substance, which was still required, was a solution to suppress the notorious alien species ?Cherry snail?. Another project activity witnessed was the pilot production of compost in pig stable belonging to one project member. The stable, about 3 by 4 meters and 50 centimeters deep, was cushioned with rice husk and housed 12 young hogs to accelerate fermentation process. After four months, the rice husk was turned into an effective compost, for use in a small plot of paddy and horticulture. So far, the stable had produced about three tons of the compost for later use in agricultural activity.

At Baan Tarkdad, a community approach on land and water use to reverse land degradation was also witnessed. This approach included a mental shift from intensive paddy farming to a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly practice. An example of the progress of this more environmental shift is visible in one project member who turned a portion of his several-ha paddy field into a humid retaining ponds receiving water from modified surrounding water canals. The member has had satisfactory results with the approach, so far.

As to activity on natural resource rehabilitation , a community forest of about three ha in Baan Tarkdaed was visited. The forest was fairly intact with natural vegetation and was being well overseen by community leaders. During the visit on the plot, there were ongoing ?trimming? activities, supported by the government?s Ministry of Labour aiming to urgently relieve victimized rural population. The village committee decided to use this financial support to hire landless community members to work in the area and get familiar with native species in the community forest. However, another nearby plot of community forest was not well managed, due to a change over of local administration. The new Tambol Administrative Organization still needs more time to understand about project approach before making decision to fully participate and support.

IV. Mid-course evaluation workshop (September 1-2, 2009)
Together with eight other projects of the same grant cycle ( Project number:THA-SGP-OP4-RAF-07-01 to THA-SGP-OP4-RAF-07-06 and THA-SGP-OP4-CORE-07-01 to THA-SGP-OP4-CORE-07-04), the project attended the mid-course evaluation workshop.

Workshop-at-a-glance:
The meeting room of Par Darng Camp, in Petburi Province?s Kaengkrajarn District, the venue of the workshop, welcomed 24 representatives from 9 SGP projects from 9 provinces across the country and other five members of GEF SGP country team comprising NSC members , National Coordinator and programme assistants participating in the event. Literally, these 9 projects were dubbed among SGP
Thailand as GEF SGP Class 9 with project numbers enumerated above. One project missed this sharing opportunity, due to its internal managerial problem.

The workshop was opened with welcoming address by an NSC member stating workshop objectives and encouraging participants to openly share results of project activities and lessons learnt, including emerging problems/issues encountered during implementation.

With project posters on the walls and project outputs on the tables, the NC proceeded with the posters & outputs session. Each project was given ten minutes to brief its story with questions from the audiences. A few projects spent adequate time elaborating their stories when being directed with questions.

With an NSC member as the chairperson and one volunteering minute taker from the projects, the following session saw presentation , both by power point and hanging posters/photos , from 8 projects repeating their background, undertaken activities, immediate results, lessons learnt , problems and issues. With 15 minutes allowed for each, the session went smoothly with average one topic/presentation for
sharing/discussion. Additional discussion ,especially during dinner. That was the first day.

The second day began with summarization of activities of the previous day and reconfirmation of the agenda, followed by a presentation of the one remaining project. The floor then was given to the NC for showing ,through video, activities of each project he recorded during project site visits. The video had proven to be a very good mechanism to make activities of each project more visible and better understood by participants. The NC also reminded projects about compiling completion reports , then shared strategy of Operational Phase 4 and prospects of Thailand GEF SGP.

The final session of the workshop included open discussion to keep this infantile natural environment network active. It was agreed that each project would keep on contacting one another and sharing experience. Some issues of common interest included compilation of relevant knowledge for future activities, setting up regional mechanism to facilitate networking process, and publication pocket book telling stories of each and every project. Two persons from two projects volunteered to be the class or network coordinator for publishing the pocket book and a focal point to produce the network website.

V. Completion Report ( April 5 ,2010 ):
Date of Participatory Evaluation( 31 August-2 September 2009):

Number of Beneficiaries/ Participating personnel:
Women: 104
Men: 83
Children: 132

Number of persons trained/ attending seminars, joining study tours:
Women: 104
Men: 83
Children: 132

Expense:

Amount received from SGP (3 disbursements): THB: 967,303.97
Total amount spent out of SGP budget: THB: 1,058,601
Balance: THB : (-91,297.03)
Amount authorized for the final payment: US$: 3,131.95
Amount of co-financing: THB: 280,450 (in Cash)
THB: 3,985,300 (in kind)
Activities undertaken:
1. Building capacity through experience sharing forum at organizational and network level.
2. Launching demonstration on appropriate sufficiency agriculture consistent with natural resource conservation
3. Launching demonstration on natural resource rehabilitation in degraded agricultural land
4. Conducting participatory evaluation
5. Launching dissemination of project results, products and related data & information

Results of activities:
1. Evinced increased technical capacity and awareness of project members from 87 families on relation between daily livelihood and management of natural resources and the environment
2. Five project members exhibiting increased capacity by serving as core leaders leading to replication and up-scaling
3. Emergence of four demonstration areas as learning centres
4. Two plots of 11 ha serving as demonstration plots on community forest
5. Over 1,500 trees of native species being grown and thriving with proper maintenance
6. More stable income of at least 30 families

Project Communication:

Plans and Activities for Sustainability:
The project would continue
1. to build technical and institutional capacity of network members
2. to launch participatory process to promote environmentally-friendly and energy-saving production in the locality.
3. to materialize sustainable land management by collecting more landraces for reproduction

Experience , Lessons Learnt , Problems and Issues:
1. The project location is an intensive cultivated land, only a small numbers of families would be able to fully participate, and as such, keeping these families together as a network continued to be essential.
2. In implementing the project, even among those who have the same ideology, there was no cure-all approaches or ready-made formula as perceive. Mutual understanding and tolerance were required for smooth implementation.
3. Local political activities could produce much effect, negatively or positively, upon project planning.