Moken Support Projects
Past and Ongoing Projects
In 2011, when we started collaborating with the Moken, we saw that there is always a need for a medical back-up fund. With our partners NAN-Foundation, Global Purpose Group and the Moken village committee, we have been distributing these funds to families who needed them. For a very dramatic emergency, needing long-term care, we had made a call for specific donations. You can read Pek’s story here:
Moken Islands call for emergency medical donations – Pek’s story
Unfortunately, unhealthy snacks are much more affordable and can be stored for a long time. Healthy fresh fruits are rare on the islands. Moving regularly between the mainland and the islands, we always try to bring fresh fruit for the villagers. We are also advocating for healthy meals for the students at the school.
As a continuation of the efforts of Surin Plastic Free Bays, in 2022 we established the first Moken owned community Enterprise: Moken Ocean Guardians. The aim of the enterprise is to reduce ocean bound plastics and provide much needed cultural and economic support for the Moken people of southern Thailand.
In collaboration with Ranong Recycle for Environment Social Enterprise and #Tide Ocean Material, we built and managed an ocean plastic collection and sorting center on the island of Koh Ra. Over four years our team collected, sorted and processed over 200,000kg ocean plastics.
Unfortunately, due to a significant increase in transportation prices and a massive drop in plastic prices, the center had to enter a pause in 2026. Our team is ready to presume work when the conditions are right.
When the village was successfully rebuilt after the fire in 2019, we asked the Moken what was still missing in their homes. Because the fire took all their savings that were kept in their houses, the Moken requested paid employment, that is hard to come by on the islands. Consequently, a group of Moken suggested that they would like to clean the remote bays around Surin from washed-up ocean plastics. So, from 2020 to 2022 a group of Moken collected and sorted over 10,000kg ocean recyclables. This initiative found collaboration with IUCN Circular Economy, the Jan-and-Oscar Foundation, Ranong Recycle, EcoAlf and Second Life.
Read here for backgrounds on the initiative: Moken Against Marine Debris – The Moken Islands
Here are reflections from project initiator Lena, who took on the role as Moken Ambassador, and an interview with Hook and Lena by Biliana Boneva.
In 2019 a fierce fire burned down over 2/3rds of the Moken village. We quickly started to channel funds to support the village in the reestablishment of their homes and their struggle for self-determination in the decision-making processes.
Below are links to our updates during the relief efforts.
- Fire at the Moken village on Surin – The Moken Islands
- Koh Surin Fire Disaster update Day 3 – The Moken Islands
- Moken Village Fire 2019 – relief update day seven by Moken Islands
- Community Members Call for Patience Amid Rush to Rebuild Moken Village on Koh Surin – The Moken Islands
- Moken Tribe of Seafaring People Ask to Expand Their Village
- It’s time to listen to needs of Moken sea gypsies – The Moken Islands
- Moken Village Fire Update Day 12 – The Moken Islands
- Moken Village Fire Update Day 16 – The struggle over land – The Moken Islands
- Reconstruction disregards Moken wishes, reintroduces fire risk – The Guardian – The Moken Islands
- Moken Village Update – One Month After – The Moken Islands
- Long periods of waiting. Updates from the Moken Village – The Moken Islands
- Two Months After the Fire – Moken Village – New Houses are Complete
- Moken Fire Recovery Update, May 2019 – The Moken Islands
Organizations working with the Moken
Andaman Discoveries was started as a response to the December 2004 tsunami. It is continuing its work as a social enterprise, seeking to serve the needs of local communities through responsible tourism. All their tours benefit the communities that are visited and also help to fund the North Andaman Network Foundation.
In cooperation with the Moken Tourism Team, Andaman Discoveries offers community-based tours to the Surin Islands.
The North Andaman Network Foundation facilitates the emergence of an organic leadership network with critical thinking skills, capable of initiating sustainable development in their own communities. They work with partner communities to empower locally led, systems-based adaptations to changes in the natural, social, and economic environments. Administration of the foundation is provided pro bono by Andaman Discoveries.
NAN-Foundation has been working with the Moken since 2004 to provide livelihoods assistance, cultural empowerment, and support for the Moken Tourism Team.
They also provide scholarships to children from Koh Surin attending school on the mainland, where they live with family members but lack day to day funds. Have a look at the video from Wilasinee Klathale, a graduated Moken woman, who received a scholarship for her Bachelor Degree in Tourism.
The Andaman Pilot Project of Chulalongkorn University has been working to address the challenges of the Moken, and as a result, Koh Surin has been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Andaman Pilot Project is creating livelihood and tourism opportunities based on Moken practices and beliefs, while contributing to their social and economic wellbeing. Their projects aim to integrate society, economy, environment and culture of the Moken for their direct benefit.
Please contact them to learn how you can support their work in community development, human rights, and anthropology.
The Childline Thailand Foundation, with support from Plan International, had been working to secure the legal status of all the children on the island and improve the island’s education system, access to health and welfare services, and employment opportunities. In cooperation with Andaman Discoveries. Childline has provided ongoing support for the Moken Tourism Team through trainings, pilot tours, and this website.
Project Moken was founded by a creative team of filmmakers and designers whose main objective is to inspire and generate enthusiasm about the Moken Sea Nomads. Project Moken uses films, interactive productions and eco tourism to invite people to view the world through Moken eyes. Have a look at their website and find out where the next screening of their amazing film “No Word for Worry”, will take place which features the life of Moken Hook. They have also organized a freedive trip with the Moken in cooperation with Freedive UK.
Ranong Recycle for Environment (RRE) has been established to support fishing communities by providing fair prices for ocean plastics. Together with the Jan-and-Oscar Foundation they provide education opportunities and safe work opportunities for Moken and Burmese.
The Mangrove Action Project, MAP, is dedicated to reversing the degradation and loss of mangrove forest ecosystems worldwide. Its main goal is to promote the rights of traditional and indigenous coastal peoples, including fishermen and farmers, to sustainably manage their coastal environment. MAP has supported the guide trainings of the Moken Tourism Team.
