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SEEDS Asia is constructing a school-cum-shelter in Wa boet Chin boet village, Hinthada Township, in Myanmar, to secure evacuation shelters for the villagers and educational opportunities for children during the rainy season. At the same time, we are also working on enhancing the coping skills of the local community to disasters by encouraging collaboration between the community and the school. Although it is difficult to carry out the project as originally scheduled due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and political uncertainty, we are proceeding with the construction and training step-by-step while giving high priority to the safety of the target people and local staff.

Hinthada Township is divided into north and south regions by its dike. The dike was planned to convert the back-swamps of the Ayeyarwady River into agricultural land and to construct the railway during the British colonial era. This was completed in 1881 according to the record of Hinthada Township Irrigation Department. After the construction of the dike, the southern area of Hinthada turned into a huge rice-growing field and its population increased, while the northern part became the unprotected side which faced higher risks of flooding. Since Wa boet Chin boet village is located in a slightly elevated part of the unprotected side, it was frequently impacted by long-term floods during every rainy season due to water stagnated caused by the dike. Most of the buildings in the village were houses with raised-floor, but when the inundation height exceeded that level, the residents were forced to evacuate by small boats, the schools were closed, and infection of vector/water-borne diseases increased. Thus, the improvement of living and educational environment became a high priority.

Besides the inundation, banks of the dike burst in 1974, 1997, and 2020. And since 2015, the floods have occurred in wider areas, including the protected region of the (Source: Reports from Hinthada Township Office, Department of Agriculture and Irrigation, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation of Myanmar).

On 11th July, the residents of Wa boet Chin boet and neighbouring villages living in the flood-prone areas were connected online to Naganuma District, Nagano City, which was similarly impacted by the serious floods brought about by a dike break along the Chikuma river during the Typhoon Hagibis in 2019. Participants from Myanmar were surprised to see the paved road on the dike, saying “I can’t believe even such a well-maintained dike had burst … ” and the disaster in Naganuma again taught them a lesson on how strong the power of water could be. Moreover, they were also impressed by the fact that flood records dated back all to way to 1742 (the year massive flood “Inu no Mansui” occured and is displayed at Myosho Temple as a flood water level marker), and learned the importance of keeping records and passing lessons to the next generation.

Building near Chikuma river was impacted by dike break

In addition, participants were able to see many ingenuities in the district, for example, how the fire corps volunteers saved lives by using alarms with “half-bell” (a bell used to warn community for fires or disasters) to give an early warning, and the estimated inundation height visualized by markings on the telegraph poles. Summarizing the training, participants learned several important lessons, specifically not to overestimate even if an infrastructure seems resilient, and to practice self-help and mutual help in their daily lives. They also realized the importance of passing disaster records to future generations. The participants appreciated the sustained efforts that the people of Naganuma District have been working on, and realized that it was indispensable for improving the environment and protecting their lives.

Apple orchard in Naganuma District

Hinthada is also well known as an agricultural district. On the unprotected side of Hinthada, instead of rice, reeds, chili peppers, tomatoes etc. are cultivated. The people of Wa boet Chin boet village were curious about what they were growing in Naganuma, and were highly interested in growing apples, one of the major products in the district. Connections and technologies inherited from ancestors, and inheritance of livelihoods utilizing natural resources are important elements of living that cannot be replaced by safety alone. The initiative illustrated the importance of Asian countries sharing their knowledge and ideas of meeting livelihood challenges and agricultural production while living in harmony with the land and water.

SEEDS Asia has learned several lessons from this project as well. We hope to become a platform to connect Asian countries where we have operated and hold a “Conference of Levee and Livelihood in Asia” one day to share lessons and efforts made in each country.