Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy and the Story of True Wealth of the Karen People in the Northwestern Mountains of Thailand

The AgriNature Network is not just a large community; it's also a place for members to connect, learn, and support each other. Across Thailand, there are over 60 Centers for Study and Practice of the Sufficient Economy Philosophy (SEP), each center reflecting the specialization, culture, geography, and issues of its region. While Mab Ueang focuses on land and water management, PaKoyWa specializes in conservation and the application of SEP in highland and sloping areas. After 10 days of studying at Mab Ueang, we visited PaKoyWa, a Natural Agriculture Center in Tak province, northwest Thailand, where the majority of residents are Karen people, an ethnic minority in Thailand. This trip provided us with the opportunity to experience SEP applied in a mountainous context to address issues such as soil erosion, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity, and local deforestation.

During this trip, the VCIL group visited the land of the first people to apply SEP in Pakoywa and listened to the story of transitioning from monoculture farming to diverse agroforestry, integrating various crops with soil and water conservation techniques learned from Mab Ueang. We also visited SEP models at the PaKoyWa Natural Agriculture Center, of another two villagers and a school also applied SEP within the school premises. This allowed us to observe how SEP can be applied in various terrains and witness the outcomes of such practices.

Visiting different models and listening to local stories helped us understand the regional situation, the challenges they face, and how SEP is applied as a solution to their problems by observing and discussing with the local people.

On the way to PaKoyWa, we saw only barren hills and signs of land erosion. It was hard to imagine that what we saw used to be pristine forests. This is the result of 50 years of monoculture farming of corn and cassava and continuous expansion of cultivation areas. Initially, monoculture combined with chemical fertilizer use brought good yields. However, after only 1-2 years, yields declined, forcing farmers to expand their cultivation areas, leading to deforestation and increased chemical fertilizer use. The result was barren hills, eroded land, and floods at the foot of the mountains. Many farmers incurred debts due to increased production costs but almost no profits.

Expanding cultivation areas, encroaching on forest areas within the national park boundaries, also led to legal disputes with the National Park Management Agency, consuming the time, money, and energy of the Karen people.

Through dialogue between stakeholders, from government to local people, they finally found a common voice, and the people began their journey to land conservation, forest conservation, and sustainable living, their true prosperity.

This is a 6-hectare plot of land, but only 3 people are needed to work on it. Within 3-4 years, they can not only grow enough to eat but also sell produce to earn money, enough to pay off old debts from unsuccessful monoculture of sugarcane and cassava.

Initially, only 7 people attended the SEP training at Mab Ueang. But only one person returned to practice on their land. Others were also inspired by the pioneer's efforts. Initially, they only participated in physical support, but after witnessing promising results, they began applying the SEP model to their gardens. Currently, 50 out of 100 households have converted from monoculture farming to multilayered agroforestry, implementing water conservation by digging ponds, water channels, land improvement, and ecosystem restoration. The smallest SEP application area is less than 1600m2, and the largest area is several hectares.

Difference Before and After 3 Years of Implementing SEP

From being in debt due to monoculture farming, many people now have a food forest with sufficient land and water, a rich and diverse ecosystem with native species, paying off debts (accumulated from loss periods, borrowing to buy chemical fertilizers for corn and cassava monoculture), and still have surplus for savings, with much less laborious work.

The water channels are designed to retain surface soil, helping the soil retain water and moisture. Leaves are also collected in these channels and later used as organic fertilizer for plants. On the left side, vetiver grass is planted to prevent soil erosion and stabilize the soil.

In addition to changing farming models, ecosystem conservation, the Karen people in Pakoywa also focus on preserving culture and educating self-reliance for their children. In a primary and secondary school in the village we visited, children are taught traditional weaving and natural agriculture from a young age. In the schoolyard, there is a plot of land about 1000m2 for digging ponds and planting crops based on the principles of the Sufficient Economy Philosophy and Agrinature principles , a "class" for the students in natural agriculture. All the vegetable beds are tended by the students themselves, from soil preparation, organic fertilizer application to planting and watering. When we visited the school, the children were proud and happy to recount their daily activities of planting, fertilizing, and watering, or how their parents and other parents helped with the vegetable beds, giving fertilizer. They also gave us ripe tomatoes from the garden. We were surprised to find that the vegetables we ate during our stay in PaKoyWa all came from the school garden.

A school garden managed by students themselves.

The students gifted ripe, juicy tomatoes — fruits of their own labor from the garden they were responsible for planting and nurturing.

Throughout our conversations with them, the villagers often reiterated the importance of preserving land, water, rivers, streams, biodiversity, and maintaining a clean, sustainable environment for future generations to have a quality living environment; And for children to know about native plants, their characteristics, and uses, the foundations for future generations to understand their importance and preserve them for future generations. They also shared the importance of planting various crops and grasses such as vetiver to retain soil; digging channels to guide water, slow the flow, create conditions for water infiltration, retain surface soil, retain water, retain moisture, prevent water shortage in the dry season. The important thing is that this method prevents soil erosion and floods at the foot of the mountain.

When a member of the delegation mentioned selling carbon credits, the villagers said they didn't care much about earning extra money from carbon credits because they already have everything they need. It's about clean food for the family, fresh air, sustainable livelihoods from farming, after going from the basic steps of land and water restoration to growing enough for themselves, their families, they now move on to preserving and processing products to increase value for sale. For them, the dry season no longer means water scarcity, families no longer have debts, farming is more leisurely, there is more time for family, especially they clearly understand that once they preserve land, retain water, and plant forests, then when the rainy season comes, floods no longer threaten villages at the foot of the mountain, and the city will also have water to use when the dry season comes.

What the Karen people in Pakoywa share stems from the deep understanding of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy and natural agriculture. What they pursue is not money, but a sustainable ecosystem, natural and cultural conservation, maintaining a living environment for future generations, helping each other, and a generous heart by retaining water and forest to sustain life for both themselves and the people at the source - true prosperity. By maintaining this true wealth, efficiently using the country's forest resources in a cyclical manner, they are harvesting a life rich in both material and spiritual aspects.

Every few months, the villagers, regardless of age, gather at the streams to build small dams with stones. This reduces the flow of water and protects the habitat for native fish species. According to village rules, those who do not participate in these activities are fined

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