From mushrooms to a revolutionary Thai school — here’s the scoop
In November of 2023, I saw a short segment on the PBS NewsHour that mentioned, in passing, that mushrooms grown in empty two-liter plastic soda bottles could lift the rural poor out of poverty. I remembered little of the story; however, what was burned in my mind was an image of a wall constructed of empty soda bottles, stacked on their sides, growing mushrooms.
When my Rotary Club decided to do a podcast series on poverty alleviation, I knew we had to do a story about “mushrooms-in-soda-bottles.” It turned out that it was a much bigger story, a story about a remarkable school in Thailand: The Bamboo School.
Before hearing the Bamboo School story, I would never have imagined that a middle school and a high school could have such an impact on so many families’ wellbeing.
Some of the school’s practices are truly unique. For example, students manage the purchasing of all school supplies. And there is much more: Please join us on our new podcast, Development Success Stories, which you can watch on YouTube, or listen to on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
My Rotary Club—the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley is unique in that it interviews people from around the world on Zoom. Its meetings are all online and asynchronous. You can attend meeting programs by listening to a podcast or watching a YouTube video.
Rushton Hurley, the voice of the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley and moderator of these podcasts, says, “We showcase organizations using cost-effective ways to improve well-being in the US and around the world. Thailand’s Bamboo School is one of my favorite success stories.”
The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley’s original podcast, Inspiring Solutions for a Better World, now has 29 episodes on a wide variety of topics. It is also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Please try one of our podcasts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Elton Sherwin is long time Menlo Park resident and author who is active in the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley.
