It should encourage the formation of community organizations that could initiate and carry out their own projects. Today there are still only eleven staff members. And Ploenjai, a veteran social worker, had grown up in Trang province, on a farm outside the capital city. Regardless, the entire Yadfon staff were looked on with suspicion as outsiders, Buddhists at that, and had to earn the villagers' trust. The staff spent long stretches living in the villages.
Meetings lead to wisdom.
Eventually, the communities decided that they most urgently needed wells, since they suffered severe drought in the dry season. Yadfon, with aid from the Canadian government, paid for the materials, aided in construction and recruited secondary school students to help out. Subsequent experiments with small revolving funds had mixed success. Some of the very poor were able borrow from the funds supplied by fellow villagers, buy simple fishing boats and support themselves from fishing. Others were unable to pay back their loans.