Chin Christian Seminary Seeks to Redress 'Ecological Sin'

The Zomi Theological College (ZTC) in Chin State, Mynamar, has put together an ambitious 100-year community development plan. Agriculturally focused, the plan seeks to address the three 'sins' of shifting cultivation, undisciplined livestock rearing, and deforestation.

In a country dependent on agriculture, the mainstay of the economy, the aim is to arrest the slash and burn method that destroys forests and makes the soil barren after years of use. The ultimate goal is to enable the communities to attain full economic independence by the year 2100.

Planned over four phases, the current phase is to ensure full education and awareness by 2020. Other phases will aim to improve agricultural methods and production by 2060, and increase sales and export beginning in 2080. By 2100, the end of the final phase, there will be a centennial celebration to mark the new "Land of abundance", which it is hoped Myanmar will be by then.

Do Sian Thang, principal of the 120-student institution which was formed in 1953, said the students are convinced of the need for the programme as most are from an agricultural background.

The graduates, trained to become pastors, also become community leaders, Thang said. Currently, the college has an integrated farming project just five miles from the campus.

Thang calls it "theological education in the classroom and theological education in practice", adding that the aim was to produce people for church ministry and Christian service.