SMALL SCALE WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, THAILAND
In the 1980s the New Zealand Government still contributed significant amounts of aid to the developing countries of Asia. In 1982 a project was established based in Changwat Chaiyaphum (North East Thailand) to develop small scale water resource projects to help the villages enhance crop production. North East Thailand has been denuded of trees over a long period due to illegal logging and the need for firewood as the primary source for heating and cooking, and as a result rain is unreliable and intermittent.
This was a challenging project. Whilst engineeringly the work was relatively simple, it was made much more difficult due to complex land ownership structures and a limited availability of suitable earthmoving and construction equipment. Alister learnt very early on that to achieve anything at all he needed to develop Thai language skills, and gain a level of understanding of agronomy, village politics, Buddhism, sociology, and the workings of the Thai bureaucracy.
This was a life changing experience for Alister. He had taken his family to a remote part of Thailand, to a province of approximately one million people, but only about ten of them had any English language skills, so learning Thai was an imperative. His daughter attended a local school, and the challenges of it all made him a much more rounded human being, developing good communication skills, cultural and religious awareness, empathy and a very clear understanding of the importance of people and human relationships in developing his own leadership skills.
During this time he also completed a Diploma of Business Studies which was undertaken extramurally through Massey University. This provided a good grounding in accounting, human resource management and international trade.