Thailand
Baan Huai Nam Kuen
“Save the World by Protecting Forest, Save the Children by Growing Tea”
Baan Huai Nam Kuen is a local community in Wiang Pa Pao district of Chiang Rai province, located in upstream of the Lao river. Khun Jae National Park was formed in 1995, and it encompasses forest lands in northern Chiang Mai as well as a few portions in the Wiang Pa Pao district. As a result, Baan Huai Nam Kuen has become one of the forest reserve's local villages like nearby communities.
Despite the fact that community land ownership has long been an issue, villagers have successfully adapted to a new way of life and strived to become a role model of human-forest coexistence, reflecting its community economy and natural preservation, particularly when it comes to their cooperation with neighboring communities on Lao River conservation. Their efforts are aimed at conserving forests and river streams that run to the Kok River and flow on to meet the Maekhong River. Both of which are considered locals' sources of livelihood.
In the past, a transportation between the Wiang Pa Pao town and Baan Huai Nam Kuen was troublesome. Walking was a primarily their transportation mode before soil-made road took shape. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plantation (DNP) and the Department of Rural Roads later constructed concrete roads reaching the compound of the national park.
Since the villagers in the Lao River upstream earn stable income while preserving the forest fertility, the authorities of the Khun Jae National Park, thus, allowed the construction of basic infrastructure such as roads and power supply to enhance the people’s livelihoods.
“My father used to make money by gathering miang leaves (Assam tea). There were no roads back then. They dug roads. They brought food with them,” Father Mitr and Mother Lha recalled their past. Between 1982 and 1987, 14 kg of fresh tea leaves were for 10 baht. The price has continued to rise, and presently stands at 10 baht per kilogram. A rise in its price reflects the landscape's fertility, and Miang or Assam tea, which can be harvested all year round, has become an economically viable crop for the villagers.
“All tea leaves may be purchased, but we don't hack the trees down and sell them." Tea, including the sprouts, are sold for 500 baht per kilogram. Even old leaves and branches are grinded and sold to the tea factory.
Teas that have been matured for more than 10 years represent the lengthy history of local communities and are grown by the ancestors for future generations. Tea plantations remain intact despite the farmers' switch to single crop agriculture. The quality of the tea leaves improves with each generation, and they are used in the manufacturing process, generating income and giving them a sense of pride in their peaceful coexistence with the forest.
Prior to the advent of electricity in 2016, the livelihoods and productivity of local communities were poor. Tea leaves were processed into fresh loose-leaf tea, however owing to damage and transportation costs, it was underpriced. Currently, however, power supplies assist local communities in producing a range of value-added goods. In terms of technology and marketing, the government and other state organizations provide assistance. For example, the village fund supports the purchase of equipment and the construction of a tea roasting house for the community. The Ministry of Energy has established a solar-powered tea roasting facility, which helps reduce electricity use and expenses while also improving the quality and quantity of the product.
In terms of transportation, Khun Jae National Park and other state agencies place a high value on economic development and long-term forest protection, which led to the building of concrete roads to support product transport and boost tourism in the future. A good transportation network has a direct impact on product quality, lowers costs, and reduces travel time, all of which improve the local economy and people's livelihoods.
Baan Huai Nam Kuen is not only an excellent area to cultivate tea, but its ecosystem services also provide seasonal food supplies for the local community. The biodiversity of community forests ensures food security for community members, who supplement their income by selling overgrown plants in community forests.
Rather than cultivating a single crop, many locals are opting for multi-cropping. Gooseberry, avocado, macadamia nuts, persimmon, also known as plub in Thai, are among the crops. Other indigenous plants such as Hodgsonia, Tupistra albiflora, Trevesia palmata, Zanthoxylum limonella Alston, etc. that people formerly had to seek out in the forest are now available on their farms, resulting in a decrease in forest products. Vegetables are cultivated in nearly every household as well.
The royal initiatives and The Small Grants Programme (SGP), a corporate initiative of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand, have helped to fill the plantations with various types of huge trees, allowing community members to earn income throughout the year rather than waiting for a single crop. More significantly, non-chemical agriculture provides significant benefits to both upstream and downstream residents since they do not have to worry about contaminated water.
Farmers also gather honey from beehives on plantations, which tastes like honey produced by wild honeybees. The bees also assist in pollination of the crops. Honey is another popular commodity among visitors and is available for purchase online.
"We sell honey to middlemen who buy large quantities at a time. and some are sold online with the help of youth in the community to manage."
Bromeliads, succulents, and other ornamental plants are grown as a secondary source of income for the community's most vulnerable populations, such as children, women, and the elderly.
Sorting dried tea leaves, which may be done at home, is another source of income for the elderly and disabled. The activity is also beneficial to the mental health of the elderly.
Baan Huai Nam Kuen's forest and nature are also excellent for tourists, which brings in between 500,000 and 1,000,000 baht each year. More people are drawn to the area by the local way of life and the pleasant weather, especially trekkers who want to see the evergreen forests that run all the way up to Doi Mod, also known as the Phi Pan Nam range. The Doi Mod water stream flows into three dams: Mae Wong, Mae Ngat, and Doi Ngu.
With the goal of protecting the environment and the local way of life, the community has established its own tourism management. The I nitiatives include limiting tourist numbers, managing solid waste, and selling food and indigenous items that can supplement Baan Huai Nam Kuen's income. Accommodations and homestays are examples of other businesses in Baan Huai Nam Kuen. When the roads inside the Khun Jae National Park are completed, the community intends to plant nang phya sua khrong, or wild Himalayan cherry (Prunus cerasoides), along the roadways to attract future tourists.
“We will create Thailand’s longest Sakura roads of Thailand,” Father Satien Chainam outlines the community's future tourist strategy, which is centered on natural investment to bring in more money for the inhabitants.
Natural resource conservation begins with forest protection, which may be accomplished by reforestation and the construction of wildfire barriers during the dry season. As part of their attempts to establish wildfire barriers, men hold grass trimmers and leaf blowers while women sit on motorbikes carrying harrows over a distance of over ten kilometers. Community members are working hard to protect the upstream river in order to conserve the forest. The locals have a pleasant life and a good environment because of their continuing efforts in natural resource conservation.
Wildfires hardly affect Baan Huai Nam Kuen because of its terrain and the great collaboration of local people in the inner forest. Local inhabitants, on the other hand, are always on the lookout for wildfires and put up fire barriers on a regular basis.
“Land alone isn’t enough.
Forest and river must thrive.
So, people can survive.”
Satien Chainam
Baan Huai Nam Kuen proactively adapts with climate change. They employ forest-friendly agricultural methods as well as forest conservation and restoration. All of this is done in order to pass on sustainability to future generations, as outlined in the community's ten-year strategy, with the goal of having offspring return to their hometown with pride, enjoy living in a healthy environment, and have a reliable income.