Education Myanmar Project #24825

Myanmar Youth Sustainability Training Centre

by Whispering Seed

Project Report | Aug 19, 2026
26th Report for Myanmar Youth Training Centre

By Jim Connor | Project Leader

English class from Kalaw experience learning trip

Dear Friends and Family,

The challenges we face here in Myanmar often feel like the very questions communities across the globe are now struggling to answer. Issues that once seemed unique to Myanmar are increasingly emerging on the global stage, making it feel as though the rest of the world is catching up to realities we have navigated for decades.

Here in Kalaw, heavy monsoon rains arrived much earlier this year, leaving us once again waist-deep in water. Despite these ongoing hurdles, we continue to forge ahead, serving local communities to the absolute best of our capacity.

New Steps Forward: Earthen Buildings & Solar Energy
We are thrilled to share our latest developments at the Whispering Earth Training Centre. As many of you remember, our long-standing kitchen collapsed following an earthquake aftershock last year. A temporary rebuild got us through the dry season, but the recent heavy flooding unfortunately brought it down once again.

Fortunately, we have already begun construction on a new multipurpose bamboo and earth building! Though still incomplete, the basic framing is finished. Named "The Dove," this hall will serve as a flexible meeting and dining space starting in November, allowing us to host larger groups thanks to much-needed facility upgrades. Once the rains ease in November, we will complete The Dove and begin constructing a permanent earthen kitchen featuring a bamboo roof.

Off-Grid Power Improvements
Through collaboration with local partners, we recently acquired a large solar power system. We are deeply grateful for this contribution, which will supply electricity to all our buildings and power our water pumps—making water easily accessible for cooking, sanitation, and agricultural needs.

To support the solar panels, we extended our storage shed to create a new structure with a durable tin roof. In addition to supporting the panels, this building will serve as staff housing, an office, and a small gathering space.

Rainwater Harvesting & Storage
The new tin roof has created a fantastic opportunity for rainwater collection. We have already excavated an enormous storage tank alongside the new building, capable of holding 13,000 gallons (50,000 liters) of water. This is a complete game-changer: it dramatically expands our capacity to host training programs and provides crucial irrigation for our agricultural projects throughout the upcoming dry season.

Experiential Learning in Kalaw
As shared in our recent Sprouting Seeds updates, we have launched practical English language classes at our town center in Kalaw. To complement classroom learning, we regularly take students across three different proficiency levels out to the farm for hands-on, experiential learning projects.

Looking Ahead
While the broader context in Myanmar remains challenging, these upgrades at Whispering Earth represent vital progress for our community. Your support directly empowers youth and fuels local capacity building where it is needed most.

We are deeply grateful for your continued kindness, encouragement, and solidarity. We look forward to sharing more updates as the rains taper off and the cool season opens up full access to the farm and our upcoming training programs.

With warmest regards,

The Whispering Earth Family

New solar panels and our amazing installation team

The Dove new bamboo and earth multipurpose hall

One of the Buddhist nuns attending training

Experiential learning at the farm training centre

Our new rainwater catchment storage tank

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Apr 20, 2026
25th Report for Myanmar Sustainability Centre

By Jim Connor | Project Leader

Little ones enjoying building in the mud!

Dear Friends and Family,

With the global economic situation continuing to worsen, we are feeling the impacts here in Myanmar more each day. Life is becoming increasingly challenging for local families trying to make ends meet. In response, we remain committed to our work in capacity building through both of our training centres, doing our best to support as many people as possible. Your continued contributions and support during these prolonged and difficult times are deeply appreciated.

At our Whispering Earth training centre, we are grateful to be able to continue working through the dry season. However, construction of our toolshed, new kitchen, and dining/meeting hall has been delayed due to the wider global crisis, which is significantly affecting local conditions. As the economic situation worsens, the cost of basic materials and fuel for transportation has skyrocketed, with some prices increasing up to fivefold.

Despite these challenges, we are continuing progress on the toolshed and a large water storage system, which will collect over 13,000 litres of rainwater from the roof for use across the project. In the coming weeks, we aim to begin constructing the meeting hall and hope to complete it before the rainy season arrives.

Unfortunately, due to the sharp rise in material and transportation costs, we will need to postpone construction of the new kitchen until after the rainy season, which is quickly approaching.

However, we focused our construction on an earthen and bamboo building in our local village for a friend which one of our partner organizations helped and used for training purposes.

Even amidst these uncertainties, we remain committed to our work and to the communities we serve. Your support makes it possible for us to keep moving forward, adapting as needed while holding steady to our vision. We are deeply grateful to be connected with you in this shared effort, and we send our warmest thanks and wishes to you all.

Whispering Earth Family

Earthen bricks drying in sun ready for building

Community effort moving adobe bricks for building

Small house in village used as training

Adobe bricks dry and ready for building!

Mud brick building in village build for training

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Dec 8, 2025
24th Report for Myanmar Youth Training Centre

By Jim Connor | Project Leader

Youth Empowerment Training

Dear Friends and Family,

Here in the mountains of Shan State, in the small town of Kalaw, the seasons are shifting as cold winter winds set in. December brings national elections, and like many across the country, we are uncertain how the results may affect Myanmar and our work. This sense of unpredictability mirrors the challenges felt around the globe.

The rains lasted longer than usual this year—well into late November—but the skies have finally cleared, and the winter chill has arrived. At our village training centre, Whispering Earth, we are preparing an important next step. As some of you may remember, the earthquake and aftershocks earlier this year caused significant damage, including the loss of our kitchen in May. Now that the rains have stopped, we are ready to rebuild.

New Earthen and Bamboo Construction at the Farm

We have nearly completed the design for a new earthen-and-bamboo kitchen, along with a two-story dining hall that will also serve as a meeting space and temporary accommodation. These buildings will support our programs while we continue to seek funding for the construction of a larger training centre and more permanent accommodation.

Construction is set to begin in early January, and we are excited that these new spaces will allow us to host larger groups for longer stays. Alongside the kitchen and dining hall, we will also complete our vermicompost (worm compost) toilet, a larger storage room, a tool shed, and a workshop space.

As part of the construction process, we will offer a 10-day Natural Building Training for our community partners, as well as a longer internship for youth who want to learn skills in earthen building, lime plaster, and bamboo construction. These skills will empower participants to bring sustainable building practices back to their own communities.We are grateful that previous participants and partner organizations have requested another natural building workshop and internship, and we are thrilled to launch this in January. Participants will come from grassroots, community-based organizations across Myanmar.

With our Director Jim recently completing his Master’s Degree and continuing his PhD research, we are expanding our curriculum to include more holistic training. Alongside natural building, participants will be introduced to regenerative design, systems theory, and holistic approaches to education and community development.

Local Youth Empowerment Trainings

We also have restarted our Youth Empowerment Trainings and Camps for local youth at the farm. Over the past few months, we have had the pleasure of bringing several youth groups from around the farm for a variety of trainings. We are looking forward to continue these trainings throughout the coming dry season.

As we welcome the New Year at Whispering Earth, we do so with renewed hope, energy, and commitment. We look forward to sharing more stories of growth and progress with you in the coming months.

Wishing you a safe and healthy holiday season,

The Whispering Earth Family

Fun games learning about regeneration

Learning with the kids about local trees

Art work and documentation of local plants

Serving a delicious lunch of local noodles

Relaxed discussions around the mud building

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