Planting, cultivating, and picking tea leaves is a true art – especially the picking. Only the bud and the next two leaves are plucked from each branch. Picking more of the leaves harms the plant and lowers the quality of the tea. The residents of Ban Mae Sai village, experts in the cultivation, picking, and processing of tea leaves, are offering to share their knowledge with a select group travelers who wish to experience authentic village life in northern Thailand. Not only will you learn about planting tea and the process of making tea beverages, you will also be invited to chew tea leaves, a practice that is an important part of the culture in this remote settlement!

Ban Mae Sai is tucked into a valley at the foot of Chiang Dao Mountain, the third highest mountain range in the country. The secluded village is home to about 50 residents, most of whom pick tea leaves for sale in local markets and, when necessary, supplement their income by working as day laborers for tea plantations in nearby villages.

Additionally, the community has developed a process that produces biodegradable plates from waste Pluang leaves, which significantly reduced the use of plastic. The project also eliminated the burning of agricultural waste, earning Ban Mae Sai a “haze free reward” of a heat press machine from Chiang Mai Social Enterprise. With this new equipment, the villagers plan to increase production of the Pluang leaf plates for sale at markets around northern Thailand. As part of our program, you will participate in the process of making these plates.

In addition to hands-on work and immersion into community life at Ban Mae Sai, there will be time to explore Mother Nature in the surrounding area, including a visit to a delightful waterfall not far from the village. Trekking in the mountains and a visit to the famous Chiang Dao cave are also included in the one week itinerary.

The fees for our authentic travel experiences support the villages directly. We work with village elders to help them design and conduct programs, in order to support efforts of their choosing. In the case of Ban Mae Sai, the goal is to raise funds to repair the community meeting hall. The hall was built too close to a spring and is sinking, thus it is no longer safe for occupancy.