Very Special Tree is a unique project integrating arts, the web, eco-tourism and social development in a single, ingenious package.

The Mechanism is simple, the resonances and opportunities are multiple:

The artist takes up temporary residence in the Very Special Settlement (VSS) of Chiang Mai in Thailand. He recruits a young local person to act as the VST's Very Special Local Agent (VSLA).

The VSLA recruits a Very Special Painter (VSP). Together they craft a beautiful single signpost with the legend 'Very Special Tree', accompanied by the sponsor's logo. The VSLA will be provided with a digital camera and USB wire to facilitate the transmission of the image internationally to the Very Special Operations Center (VSOC) which will be managed in Europe.

Simultaneously, to provide date and time verification that the sign has been placed in the location (Pang Ho village), the local newspaper in the VSS (Chiang Mai Mail) will be asked to run a photo-story of the event. Hard copies of the newspaper will be mailed to VSOC, and an image of the relevant page will be transmitted digitally to VSOC. VSOC will maintain a website, on which all images and regularly updated materials and writing relating to the project will be posted. This will be managed by the Very Special Operator (VSO).

It will then be the VSLA's on-going responsibility to take a quarterly picture of the VST, from the same point of view, ensuring that the name of the sponsor is visible with clarity, to transmit an image of this photo to the sponsor's e-mail address , to provide on-going information concerning the tree and other local developments in the VSS, to maintain the equipment, and to wear a VST T-shirt with the sponsor's name prominently displayed.

The Very Special Business Partner (VSBP) will in turn provide the VSLA with payment (at a rate to be determined), and will cover all expenses involved in maintaining the project, plus an annual rental for the privilege of being identified with the VST. This rental will be a sum that an appropriate educational organization within the VSS will be empowered to spend on necessary works, which will be reported to the VSOC. How exactly the funds are employed is entirely decided by the organization itself: the VSBP - if appropriate, and if desired by the VSS - may wish to provide advice in a variety of areas, if it would prove beneficial to the VSS.

Opportunities:

The VST project will subsequently extend to incorporate a range of different local facilities including very special houses, cafes, schools, shops, beaches, hospitals and roads...

All must be provided with a specially crafted Very Special Sign, and the VSLA's responsibility will expand to include maintaining and reporting on these signs. A VSBP may choose from a menu of options that will be differently priced according to the size of the feature. The VSBP may choose to purchase a number of trees, for example, or may wish to develop a whole Sim-city style virtual settlement. In each case, local artists will benefit, the local agent will benefit, the community as a whole will benefit, and the business partner will benefit through active involvement in a community in a developing country.

Conclusion:

VST is an intriguing and innovative project that presents significant on-going potential. It would be the proposers' intention, once the project is fully underway, to review and refine VST's development to suit a range of long-term objectives that would promote sustained relationships with VSSs, and wider knowledge of the issues attached, and that would ensure the flow of a variety of artworks from the VSLAs and all associated Very Special Artists and Craftspeople.

Pang Ho foundation

This is the foundation we started in the year 2000.
From that moment we started regularly bringing our groups to spend one night of their trek in village Pang Ho.

This started bringing income for the villagers, which was distributed for the various needs to improve their life.

Palong tribe, the inhabitants of the village, 200 people/ 15 families came from Burma in 1993, are having a serious problem with integration into society and development process, by not having Thai nationalities and ID cards.

The foundation raises funds which are invested into education of the children, sanitary improvements (clean water...), but also fulfilling basic daily needs.

Village has no electricity, and there are no plans to introduce it, regarding government reluctance to cut enormous amount of trees to run the electric supply from the nearest source. The villagers themselves are reluctant about investing into electricity, not wanting to expose themselves to Tv and video games, things which are not necessarily improving the lives of many people, through the whole of Thailand and rest of the region.






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