After getting lost in the outskirts of a Thai metropolis, a two-day bike ride to Salt Spring Island should seem like small potatoes to Camosun university transfer student Ariella Falkowski. But this ride doubles as a project for her cultural geography class and is a big deal for Falkowski, as it supports Pun Pun Organic Farm, a family-run seed-saving initiative outside Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Two years ago, Falkowski completed a six-month internship at Pun Pun, but she almost didn’t make it there at all.
“I got lost once in my first week in Chiang Mai,” she confesses. “I thought, ‘No one knows why the hell I’m here and they’re all looking at me really weird.’”
But thanks to the kindness of some Thai women and their motorbikes, Falkowski made it to Pun Pun safe and sound. “If it wasn’t for them I would have been screwed,” she says.
This hospitality and kindness continued once she began her farming experience. Her lasting connection to the Thai-American couple that run Pun Pun was a major factor in Falkowski’s decision to do a roundtrip bike ride to Ruckle Provincial Park on Salt Spring Island as a fundraiser for the couple and their farm.
“I’ve stayed in touch with them always with half a mind to go back at some point, to visit or to help out in some way,” says Falkowski. “This project really made that connection. This is a way that I can give back to these people that are doing something I am passionate about.”
As a seed center, Pun Pun, which is Thai for “a thousand varieties,” collects rare and indigenous seeds to propagate and distribute to farmers and individuals. This ensures the protection of edible biodiversity in Thailand and around the world.
The Salt Spring bike trip will take two days, covering just over 75 kilometres, and while Falkowski has some experience with long rides, she says this trip will still present some challenges.
“I ride my bike every day, but it’s different when you have to ride 50 kilometres in a stretch,” she says, adding that her biggest worries are gravelly hills and the weather.
Despite the challenges, Francis Yee, Falkowski’s instructor, has no doubt that she will be effective in her efforts.
“It’s a very creative way to show her support of Thai farmers to become self-reliant,” he says. “Ariella is working hard to promote this project, I’m sure that it will be a success.”
Email ariella.falkowski@yahoo.ca to support Falkowski or find our more information about her ride.