More photos from this internship can be found here.
Join a vibrant international community near Bangkok, Thailand to share your passion for sustainability, the environment, culture, and global citizenship with students from around the globe.
The Barge Program is part of the Traidhos Three Generation Community for Learning, which includes the PTIS International School (Prem), three sport academies, a cooking academy, six different types of specialty programs for students, an artist residency program, a farm, a guesthouse and spa, and corporate event programs. The Traidhos Community encourages families to participate in their children’s learning and offers short and long-term options for families and international groups.
The Traidhos Three Generation Community for Learning is an educational center located in Thailand, with their main facility near Chiang Mai and programs operating near Bangkok. They are an international community of learners, across all generations, working together for a sustainable future. Students and adults from around the world are invited to Chiang Mai and Bangkok to participate in short and long term programs in education, sustainability, leadership, sports, culture, and well-being. Each part of the Traidhos Three Generation Community has its own customer group but in addition to this, each part works with students and teachers of Prem Tinsulanonda International School to offer specialist learning opportunities outside of the classroom as part of the on-going curriculum. For more information, visit the Traidhos website.
The Traihos Barge program is a unique experiential learning opportunity based in a “floating classroom” – a converted rice barge - which travels throughout the Chao Praya watershed near Bangkok. The aim of the Barge Program is to develop motivated global citizens who will find creative solutions and take action in their daily lives to promote sustainability. Established in 1995, the program aims to facilitate lifelong learning using interdisciplinary, interactive, and cooperative approaches, emphasizing the interconnections between physical, cultural, social, and historical aspects of the environment. They provide holistic barge and land-based field trips, school outreach, trainings, and community activities for students, private groups, and communities from Thailand, Southeast Asia, and across the globe.
Students of the Barge Program are encouraged to work in small groups while interviewing community members, playing environmental education games, and carrying out hands-on activities. The focus is on education (as opposed to advocacy), encouraging students to find out about the environment, their role in those environments, and about the future to consider potential solutions to difficult environmental, cultural, and resource management questions. More information about the Barge Program can be found here.
Programs
Academies
Environmental Education interns are needed for the Barge Program year-round. Educational activities take place on the rice barge and at forest and marine sites throughout the Chao Praya watershed (in and around Bangkok). In order to fully grasp the program philosophy and educational methodology, so as to create and facility appropriate activities, this internship requires a two term commitment (approximately six months). In order to provide training and organizational support, the internship may take place in both Chiang Mai and Bangkok depending on active programs, training, and organizational needs.
Interns will generally spend the first portion of the internship working with the teaching team, facilitating activities with groups of Thai students (most likely primary aged) on the barge, in the forest, or in Chiang Mai, to gain a sound understanding of the program framework and educational style of the curricula. The intern will then spend time in the Bangkok–based office developing activities and content to implement into the existing curricula. Currently there is a need for new activities based on a) making smart choices K-6 students), b) natural disasters, c) our life connections (looking at food networks, where clothes/goods come from, energy used at all stages of production and use, etc).
Interns will utilize their knowledge and expertise in these areas to create new educational material and activities that will eventually be utilized in the Barge curriculum or activities. Towards the end of the placement, interns will be required to run a training session to teach their suite of activities/curricula to the other staff. Finally, a promotional trip on the barge will be held, with a focus on climate change, where staff can trial the intern’s new activities with a group of students from international schools in Bangkok.
Interns will leave behind important new curriculum materials that will help to invigorate the Traidhos Barge program. This is an opportunity for interns to gain experience working in an overseas context as part of an international team, working with students who use English as a foreign language, gain significant teaching and curriculum development experience, while sharing their knowledge and passion with others.
Shared housing with other staff is provided near the office (interns are responsible for costs). Interns can access the office outside of work hours for free internet, as well as fridge and microwave use. The office is located near plentiful inexpensive and safe street food. The area is also well-connected by express boat to tourist areas along the river and to the sky train for travel around central Bangkok.
Watch a video about the Traidhos Barge Program. More videos about Traidhos programs and activities can be found here.
“My biggest personal development during this internship is strong sense of self and belonging as a global citizen, rather than just an American or an Alaskan. Thailand has treated me very, very well, and I am inspired to want to travel and see as much of the world as possible. I also have had the importance of using my education to teach others about the environment re-instilled in me. I’m more appreciative of the difficulties all people face in life, and I feel that my heart and mind have been opened to the differences in others. My experience and life here has been tremendous. I am both more interested in teaching, and more dedicated to environmental science than I was before my experience. I appreciate that I’ve learned more about what kind of demographics I want to teach, and what kind of material I’m interested in teaching.” - Hannah, University of Alaska Fairbanks
“I made efforts to be flexible and say yes to any trip or projects asked of me. I wanted the work I did for them to showcase my talents and skill as a designer. I put a lot of effort into making it some of my best work. This internship was my doorway into Thailand. The staff supported me and has given me a real network of friends and colleagues.” - Dana, Oregon State University (completed a single term multimedia internship with the Barge program)
Summer: January 25
Fall: April 15
Winter: September 1
Spring: November 15
- Experience teaching or working with students in an outdoor setting (camp, scouts, sports, etc)
- Coursework in sustainability, climate change, natural disasters, culture, Asian studies, or global citizenship
- Energetic team-players with a passion for education