Chiang Mai Charity Chiang Mai Charity is a charity organization combining the joy of cycling with the joy of giving! The hills and mountains around the northern part of Thailand are home to many tiny villages, often with fewer than 20 households and so remote that they remain unmarked on many maps. These villages are home to a number of different and distinct tribes, each with their own unique histories and cultures, though all are noted for their friendliness. There are seven major hill tribes in Thailand; the Akha, Lahu, Karen, Hmong/Miao, Mien/Yao, Lisu, and Palaung, each with a distinct language and culture. In common to all is that they are not considered to be Thai citizens even though being native to Thailand. While some of the Chiang Mai hill tribe villages are very popular tourist attractions, many are still too remotely located to receive any tourists. As the hill tribes are set apart from Thai society, such villages are often highly poverty stricken. Currently there are over half a million hill tribe villagers in Northern Thailand who live below the poverty line. While there has been made several attempts to raise the hill tribes and provide financial stability through promoting long term product development of locally produced products, the One Tambon, One Product (OTOP) initiative being the most famous. However, such attempts have not yet reached or been successful in all villages, especially not the more remote ones. And, while attempts to provide sustainable development are all the most promising manner of ending poverty in Northern Thailand, they are also slow to produce results for the entire village and individual villagers may continue to suffer even while such long-term projects are being deployed. Chiang Mai Charity therefore aims to provide relief also in the short term, and especially to villages that are not easily accessible and thus not profiting from Thailand’s tourist industry. Chiang Mai Charity organizes bicycle rides out to such remote hill tribe villages bringing much needed food, clothing and school material. A typical ride starts in the morning of day 1 in Chiang Mai where the group meet up at a notified meeting place and where all donations are loaded on to our support vehicle. The group then heads off to the chosen village, following picturesque roads through the mountains of Northern Thailand, while the support vehicle goes to a local market to procure further goods for any monetary donations also received. The group and the support vehicle then meet up again at a suitable location for spending the night, usually a guest house not too far from the chosen hill tribe village. After a well-deserved night’s rest, the group continues up to the hill tribe village in the morning along with the support vehicle and distributes the donated goods to the villagers, before heading back to Chiang Mai. Should you be interested and wanting information about upcoming trips, please contact us at mailto:info@cmcthailand.net.