The Cupcake Miracle

Throughout the years the Mai Mission team from Mission, BC have collaborated with the Children’s home in Chiang Mai to brainstorm new ideas that the kids can use in order to make their own money for the home. In Thailand most of the groceries are sourced locally and sold at markets and bazaars, and because of this many of the past ideas have involved agriculture. They grow their own rice and manage to harvest enough to eat, with excess being shared with other homes, and sold for seedlings for next years crop. They’ve also spent time raising pigs to sell and breed on their new land, but without a road, pigs are a difficult resource to maintain. They’ve also grown and sold vegetables and fruit and even handmade goods have been a source of income for them, making tourist items such as purses and fisherman’s pants.

Piggies on the land in 2010

To continue these endevours we’ve incorporated a lot of these resources into the land planning. Rice fields, fruit orchards and vegetable gardens each have a planned space on the new land, along with workshops to house welders, carpentry tools and sewing machines to help the kids learn important skills that can be used to make money, but with the kids getting older and with university on the horizon, it just wasn’t enough. That’s when the cupcake miracle happened.

Some examples of their finery

Last summer the kids ventured into a whole new territory: Catering. With the help of Raelene (our agent, Dominik’s, wife) the kids learned to bake a whole array of interesting and delicious cupcakes. Using only natural ingredients such as dragon fruit and papaya they are able to create beautiful tastey cupcakes in amazing colours, and they best part is, they SELL! These children have been able to bring home upwards of 500$ CAD per month giving them the ability to pay for important necessities like school supplies and car repairs, even giving them the ability to bless others. They were able to help out a friend, twelve year old Pataima, who used to be in the home but had to return to her home village about a year ago. She didn’t have enough money for a school uniform and they were able to reach out and lend a helping hand.

Where it started

 In 2004 a team from New Heights Church in Mission, B.C. went to Thailand on a mission. They weren’t sure what they were looking for, they just wanted to help. They ended up connecting with a home of 33 tribal children being taken care of by one loving family.  The children were weak and hungry, not even able to complete a soccer game. With these children as inspiration they decided to make a ten year plan. These children deserved a chance at life and they were making it their mission to give them one.

The original group of kids in 2004

        As the project continued, a lot of things had to change. They were moved into a different home, and fundraising was done to get them a new truck to use for going to school and the market. In 2008 the kids started planting their own rice, growing enough to feed the home, pay for seedlings for next harvest, and were even able to share rice with other children’s homes.

The kids harvesting rice

          Seeing the impact rice had on the home, the team from New Heights made the decision to help BBF lease land. Land would give them the opportunity to get citizenship, which is required for many things in Thailand, including university enrollment and passport obtainment.  Aside from providing them a place to live, this land would give them space in which to grow rice and other crops to feed them and to sell at the market, along with areas for breeding pigs and fish,

Rice fields and the path to the land

Building Pig Pens on the land in 2010

Pigs need shelter too.. Thatching!! 

Next step: a road in!