The "Land Of Smiles"Garden ....our very first project in our very first year. Situated about 200ft from the orphanage itself the garden was an unused uncultivated piece of wasteland set alongside a quiet entry road.

The LOS team quickly set to task organising several charity fundraising events in the UK to purchase the plot of land, we had to do this through a Thai national as foreigners are not allowed to buy land in Thailand. This wasnt a problem as we had made quite a few friends on our first trip over there, both natve and foreign. Whilst the solicitors drew up the land deeds we set to task raising the £6000.00 needed to buy the land outright. Through the charity events we managed to raise enough to buy the land, bring in a mains supply and build an outbuilding on the land too. As you can see from the pictures the garden is no longer uncultivated, it is thriving.

The "Land Of Smiles" Playground....Our second project and built with the help of our sister charity "Fun 4 Kids In Thailand" the playground is to the rear of the orphanage is is extensive. It is built around the cenrepiece of a fishing boat covered over by a sala which has two sides, one for the boys, and one for the girls. The playground itself is a multitude of swings and roundabouts painted in all the colours of the rainbow. The perimeter of the playground is marked by lines of semi submerged tyres reclaimed from the local community. All the wood and hardware was also purchased from the local community thereby not only creating the playground itself but also revenue for the local traders. The playgound is never quiet as it is used not only by the children from the orphanage but also the children from the surrounding villages too.

The Catfish Pond....We were directly involved hands on in this project and from hiring the excavator through to piping in the water supply we got well and truly dirty and sweaty. The catfish were being bred in the "Land Of Smiles" garden in small ponds but this was limiting numbers as well as using up vital crop growing land so the large seperate catfish pond became the obvious next project. Again to the rear of the orphanage this pond draws its water from a nearby pond and will be home to around 300 catfish at any one time. These will be bred both for food and to sell back into the local community. The catfish pond is carefully maintained by the older boys at the orphanage who as you can see in the photos enjoyed a welcome cool off at the end of the project.

The Rubber Plantation Sala....Again a hands on project for us, from the very first breaking of ground the LOS team were hands down in the dirt. The rubber plantation had no shelter for the staff who live there or for any visitors. The plantation is very exposed and with the searing sun was desperately in need of some shade. The sala is rather grand and not only provides living accomodation and a kitchen and toilet for the staff but it is also big enough to get the vehicles undercover too. Made from locally sourced timber the sala is made completely of wood using basic carpentry skills, no metal frames or structures were needed and the roof was made by one of the local villagers from leaves.