Empowering Women in Upland Watersheds of Northern Thailand

Project Number: 22-0510-19

Project duration: 2007-2011

Project Holder: The Raks Thai Foundation (RTF)

RTF was founded as a Thai non-governmental organization in August 1997 under registration number 664.  RTF transformed out of CARE International in Thailand, which has been working in the country for the past 24 years. RTF’s activities have been able to continue unimpeded during the transition period and much of the original CARE programming has continued due to RTF’s ability in securing continued funding.

As a non-governmental organization, RTF implements development programs directly in collaboration with partner organizations, government agencies, and communities. RTF’s mission is to strengthen the capacity of poor and disadvantaged communities to analyze root causes of problems, determine suitable solutions and participate in development activities.

In Mae Chaem district of Chiang Mai province, RTF has over a decade of experience in implementing development programs with local communities. These programs have centered on improving rural livelihoods and increasing capacities for natural resource management and environmental conservation. Current programs focus on the participation of upland ethnic minority communities, women, youth, and local government organizations, and include three general program areas: Community-Based Natural Resource Management; Protected Area Management; and Environmental Education.

Project Profile:

The project aims to improve the livelihoods of Karen and Lu’a families in 10 villages in Bang Hin Fon and Chaem Luang sub-districts. It will provide 150 cattle, 600 pigs, 60,000 fish, 1,200 poultry, 84 kitchen gardens, 12,000 kg of seed and 50,000 seedlings to 300 original families and 450 pass-on families. Women from the communities will form self-help groups to direct community development. Technical training will include livestock management, water monitoring, bio-gas production and agroforestry. Non-technical training will address Heifer Cornerstones, self-help group formation and management, kitchen gardens and gender awareness. 

Project areas: Mae Chaem district, Chiang Mai province

Local Conditions:

Mae Chaem district in Chiang Mai province is a remote, forested mountain region covering nearly 4,000 km2 and inhabited by a diverse group of ethnic minority communities. The nearly 70,000 residents are primarily Karen (60%), northern Thai (28%), Hmong (10%), and Lu’a and Lisu (2%). Current government conservation policies, including the establishment of protected watersheds and new national parks (such as Mae Tho), are dramatically limiting traditional land use practices and severely impacting local livelihoods. These policies have had a particularly devastating affect on the forest fallow rotational cultivation systems of the Karen and Lu’a. Efforts to restrict and eliminate land uses based on shifting cultivation have reduced land availability, shortened fallow periods and therefore the time needed for soil nutrient replenishment, with resulting declines in agricultural productivity and further impoverishment and marginalization.

As a result of conservation policies, conflicts between local communities and the government and between neighboring communities over increasingly scarce resources (e.g. land and water) are intensifying and contributing to environmental deterioration, reducing livelihood security, and exacerbating the marginalization and impoverishment of the area’s indigenous minority groups. Transitioning to permanent agricultural systems will increase the need for external inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, which many poor communities lack the funds to invest in.

As a result, they are becoming further indebted to loan lenders and are increasingly at the mercy of market forces as contract farmers. Increased use of chemicals is also having significant impacts on the local environment (particularly water quality and soil degradation), not to mention the adverse results on human health. Impacts on the local communities are being disproportionately felt by women and the children under their care, as their access to land and forest resources is restricted and agricultural productivity declines. The problem is further exacerbated due to the limited voice of women in traditional communities and their lack of representation in decision-making and development planning.

Opportunities for Assistance:

The specific development goals of this project are to increase the security and productivity of Karen and Lu’a livelihoods, increase local capacities for sustainable natural resource management, and facilitate more equitable participation in development. Development assistance will be provided to 300 original families and 450 pass-on families from 10 villages in 2 sub-districts. These include 3 Lu’a villages (Ban Pae, Ban Ho, and Ban Kok Noi) and 3 Karen villages (Ban Pha Doh Pa, Ban Mae Hae, and Ban Se Do Sa) in an area of Bang Hin Fon sub-district (Mae Tum watershed) slated to become part of the new Mae Tho National Park. In addition, 4 Karen villages (Ban Mae Chaem Luang, Ban Mae La-Up, Ban Huay Ya, and Ban Huay Bah Ba) in Chaem Luang sub-district will also be targeted. The project will be implemented through RTF’s 2 field offices: one in Mae Chaem serving the lower 7 sub-districts, and one in Samoeng serving the northern 3 sub-districts.

Project Goal:

Target communities will achieve food and income security

Objectives:

• To increase income through livestock, integrated agriculture and other income generating activities.
• To form inclusive self-help groups and implement Values-based Holistic Community Development activities through these SHGs.
• To monitor and evaluate group and individual progress through PSRP every four to six months

Passing on the Gifts:

The project partners and community groups will use Heifer Thailand’s systems of passing on the gifts. Participating families will pass on a 1:1 ratio for animals and other inputs to farm families.

Each participating family will pass on the first female offspring (1:1 ratio) of equal value to another family. If the first offspring is male, then it will be sold for a female animal for passing on.

Participants will also pass on the skills and knowledge learned from the project to new recipients through group discussion and individual interaction. In addition, other inputs such as seeds will also be passed on.

Funding source: Heifer Project International