Klong Toh Lem Academy Foundation (KTLA) is a grassroots NGO located in a small village called Kok Payom, in the Langu district of the Satun province of Thailand. The population of Kok Payom amounts to roughly 660 people who represent the primary target group of the Foundation. People in the village follow a simple, traditional lifestyle, living from seasonal jobs in fishing, farming rice, rubber and palm, growing fruits and vegetables. Hence, human lives in Kok Payom are strongly interconnected to nature. The villagers have well realized that we must take good care of our natural resources for survival and they have been active in this direction for over a decade.

KTLA has a 10-year history of hosting international volunteers in the village through short-term workcamps and long-term exchanges. Along with other initiatives, these activities are the ones through which KTLA supports the development of the local community, by linking non-formal education, environmental protection and community development. Short-term workcamps focus mainly on environmental protection and on improving the village infrastructures; its core environmental activity is the mangrove plantation event that happens yearly in the village. The long-term exchanges mainly focus on educational activities related to creative English teaching, sports and crafts.