Ramphai Noikaew
B.A. in Business English from Uttaradit Rajabhat University
“Pi” Ramphai was born and raised in Thailand, “The Land of Smiles”. At birth she was given a name meaning the sunshine after the rain is gone in Thai, which, to all who know her, is rather appropriate. She grew up in small village near the Thai-Laos border. Being that her grandparents migrated from Laos, she grew up with a unique cultural blend that has greatly influenced her language, way of living, farming, preparing food and interacting with the world. Ramphai expresses the traditional Thai/Laos spirit through her life and can be seen in her willingness to bring back the honor of her ancestors’ tradition of living closely with nature.
Ramphai graduated with a B.A. in Business English from Uttaradit Rajabhat University and continued her education focusing on international air travel and tourism at London Technology College in London. Currently Ramphai lives in a community at Pun Pun Organic Farm in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand where she enjoys sharing her knowledge of sustainable living practices and the tradition of seed saving with visitors from all over the world. She facilitates many workshops teaching permaculture principles at the farm and elsewhere in Thailand.
Ramphai has a passion for learning and working to heal our Earth as well as her children. She has worked with many youth groups both within Thailand and internationally to raise their awareness of health, community and nature. She has led group of young people to participate in such efforts as the Asia Pacific Environmental International Youth Forum in South Korea. She enjoys working with the new generation and empowering them to become aware of our interconnectedness with all living things. Ramphai has worked with NGO’s in Sri Lanka assisting small-scale farmers to adapt to climate change. She recently received a scholarship to join the South East Asia Permaculture Convergence in The Philippines and this March will be a presenter at The 4th Thailand Permaculture 2016 Conference.
Ramphai is a long time practitioner of traditional Thai holistic healing modalities and herbal medicines. She has worked with Integral Travel Institute as their logistics coordinator and local teacher of Thai Yoga massage for 4 years.
In her free time she can be found gardening, doing yoga, biking, hiking, or simply being out in the wilderness. She loves sharing her love of cooking organic food because she strongly believes that food is medicine. Ramphai believes that we can enjoy life in the present moment, everywhere we go, we grow by wisely developing our inside as well as out, and we find peace by letting go. Education is not just to be found in classes and universities. It is out here, in the natural world.