Condition

Condition

Many upland communities are being squeezed by the encroachment of large tangerine farms resulting in decreasing access to farmland,forest products and water.

 

 

Among the hilltribes of the Golden Triangle, many of the marginalized struggle against poverty, lack of citizenship and related rights as well as the loss of access to natural resources which result in:

 

 

 

Hilltribe communities with limited farmland face challenges in producing upland rice,their staple crop.

 

 

  • Small,degraded hill fields that barely support adequate yields of food and cash crops needed for subsistence.
  • Meager livestock production as a result of prevalent livestock diseases and less available food sources.

 

 

Once self-sufficient, landless upland communities now rely on food purchased from outsiders.

 

 

  • Decreasing access to traditional food, medicines and building materials from the forests
  • The need for supplemental income as farm self-sufficiency has diminished due to limited land resources.

 

 

Hilltribe people hired to work on fruit plantations as well as the communities adjacent to the orchards are often exposed to dangerous agricuitural chemicals.

 

 

  • Little or no access to clean, plentiful water and sanitation
  • Lack of citizenship or other legal residence as well as accompanying rights including land tenure.
  • Vulnerability to danger such as fires, seasonal hunger,drought and cold conditions during the winter.