Warm Heart Worldwide: Celebrating 15 Years of Impact
Words & Photography by Anne Bannister
About Warm Heart
Since 2008, Warm Heart Worldwide, a community-driven nonprofit in Phrao, Thailand, has transformed the lives of residents in the surrounding mountain villages by expanding access to education, healthcare, economic opportunity, and environmental protection.
Phrao, a rural district about 107 kilometers (66.5 miles) northeast of Chiang Mai, is known for its rolling hills, jungle vegetation, and rice fields in the valleys.
Northern Thailand is home to seven major hill tribes – the Akha, Hmong, Karen, Lahu, Lisu, Mien, and Palaung – each with distinct cultures, language, and traditions. Historically, these tribes relied on subsistence agriculture to provide for their families and communities.
Today, these communities face challenges common of rural areas worldwide:
Aging populations: Young people often care for elderly relatives with minimal government support.
Declining farming traditions: Modernization and migration have reduced the prominence of traditional agricultural practices.
Limited access to education: Many children in remote areas must leave home to attend school or begin working at an early age.
Despite these obstacles, the hill tribes possess remarkable strengths: they have mastered sustainable farming techniques, produce renowned textiles and crafts, and safeguard traditional knowledge, including herbal medicine and resource management. Their languages, spiritual practices, and oral traditions significantly enrich Thailand’s cultural heritage.
Warm Heart collaborates closely with the tribes of Phrao on sustainable development projects that enhance residents’ well-being and quality of life. While they provide programming that reaches all walks of life, their work has always been rooted in two of the region's most vulnerable populations: children and community members who are elderly or disabled.
Directed & Edited by Anne Bannister | Cinematography by Anne Bannister | Translated by Finn Aung
Key Areas of Focus
Education: Warm Heart offers scholarships and support programs designed to close educational gaps, nurture leadership within the younger generations, and create pathways for broader social and economic development. The children’s home offers a family-like environment for 40 children who attend local schools. The Upskill program helps young people with career services and English language classes.
Support for the Elderly and Disabled: Project Access serves elderly and disabled individuals living in poverty and isolation by addressing their basic needs, providing better healthcare, companionship, and necessary aids like wheelchairs and eyeglasses.
Environmental Impact through Biochar: Warm Heart addresses environmental and social challenges by training farmers in biochar production, which has significantly reduced harmful open field burning and improved the lives of thousands.
These initiatives and results reflect Warm Heart’s holistic approach to community development, combining immediate assistance with long-term sustainability projects. Through innovative solutions such as biochar training, the foundation continues to create substantial environmental and social impacts, providing a blueprint for community-driven change.
Today, Warm Heart’s campus spans five acres of farmland, with facilities that include children’s dormitories, a community kitchen, library, computer lab, staff housing, food gardens, lamyai orchards, and a pig sty. The team consists of local professionals – including a few alumni who have joined the staff – and volunteers from around the world. The campus currently houses 40 children ages 5-18.
Video Series
Through Project Access, the Warm Heart team works to ensure elderly and disabled members of the community have access to basic health services and care. Soda, who leads this initiative, conducts home visits to check in on patients. She listens to the elders' stories, joins them on walks, assists with hygiene or house chores, or shares a meal.
Watch to hear from Soda on what motivates her work in public health and the impact of this program.
The UpSkills program is Warm Heart's newest education initiative focusing on soft skills and English proficiency. These skills are especially important in the workforce due to Thailand’s large tourism industry. Finn, the UpSkills program manager and instructor, supports Phrao youth in preparing for future jobs. The program’s curriculum includes English language classes, resume and cover letter support, practice interviews, service mindfulness training, and more. Watch to see Finn discuss the impact and vision of the UpSkills program.
For the last decade, Warm Heart has worked with farmers to produce biochar as a sustainable alternative to clearing rice fields using open burns. The biochar can then be added back to fields as fertilizer to help retain water, improve soil and yields, and sequester carbon. Currently the team is also working with farmers in several African countries to scale up these practices. This video features Aom, the Environmental Project Manager, describing how biochar production helps to combat climate change, preserve public health, and alleviate rural poverty.
Nit's journey represents an example of the transformative power of the Warm Heart. At age 15, Nit came to the Children’s Home seeking an opportunity to attend school. Through Warm Heart, she was provided the invaluable chance to learn English and broaden her horizons. Her determination and hard work paid off as she not only attended university in Bangkok but is now pursuing a master's degree in Europe.
Strong Communities Make a Better World
Consider supporting Warm Heart’s education initiatives.