This petite, 29 year-old is not your typical city girl from Bangkok. Growing up with an interest in development work, Earth started working with the Mae Fah Luang Foundation Under Royal Patronage in Chiang Rai in May 2006 as a Programme Manager under Centre for Social Entrepreneurship of the foundation.

Because she feels that as a relatively 'fortunate' member of society, having been given certain opportunities that not everyone is given, Earth decided she should put those opportunities to use and extend them to others as well.

However, Earth didn't want to work with just any development organization as some do more harm than good. Thus when she came across the Mae Fah Luang Foundation Under Royal Patronage when she was working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, she decided that she wanted to commit herself, seeing that the Foundation truly practices what it preaches.

We find out more about Earth and her work, as well as the reasons that keep her passion for community work ever burning.

Earth, can you tell us briefly about the Mae Fah Luang Foundation Under Royal Patronage (MFLF) and/or Doi Tung Development Project?

The MFLF was established by HRH Princess Srinagarindhra, the late mother of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej, with the mission of alleviating poverty and improving the lives of the rural poor, regardless of race, religion, culture, age or gender, and by ensuring that humans and nature co-exist harmoniously in a sustainable manner.

The Doi Tung Development Project in Chiang Rai, Northern Thailand, founded in 1988, is one of the MFLF's flagship projects which has successfully solved the problem of narcotic crop cultivation, environmental degradation and other social illnesses by addressing the problem at their root cause which is poverty and the lack of opportunity.

Based on over twenty years of experience gained from the Doi Tung Development Project, the MFLF has been sharing its best practices internationally and has been extending assistance to other countries, including Myanmar, Afghanistan and Aceh, Indonesia.

MFLF Integrated Rural Development Centre’s
Goat Breed Improvement Program

How do MFL's projects involve the underpriviledged communities in Thailand?

The MFLF applies a holistic and integrated approach in tackling the problem of poverty and the lack of opportunity for underpriviledged communities, by first addressing the issue of health as sick people cannot be economically productive;

followed by improving livelihood options, providing income generating alternatives in the short, medium and long term; and finally focusing on education in order to empower the people with managerial skills and take control of their own future.

This approach inspired by HM the King of Thailand and the late Princess Mother has been applied at the Doi Tung Development Project, Chiang Rai, Northern Thailand over 21 years to transform an area with 11,000 people, mainly ethnic communities, plagued with slash and burn cultivation, forest degradation, narcotic crop cultivation, drug addiction and trafficking, human and arms trafficking and diseases in the heart of the notorious Golden Triangle into, today, a peaceful, forested area and an eco-tourism destination where people lead healthy lives, maintain cultural and environmental harmony, have diverse job opportunities and quality education.

2 July 09- Earth designated as MFLF representative to welcome visit of H.E. Panich Vikitsreth, Vice Foreign Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand; H.E. Akrasid Amatayakul, Ambassador of Thailand to Indonesia (standing in the middle of the goat feed rack is H.E. Irwandi Yusuf, Governor of Aceh, and next to him is his wife Mrs. Darwati A. Gani, Chairperson of Sambinoe Foundation, MFLF local partner) to pilot project in Maheng Village, Aceh, Indonesia (MFLF Integrated Rural Development Centre’s Goat Breed Improvement Program)

The MFLF operates four business units including foods, handicrafts, horticulture and tourism which generate many employment opportunities for the local population and whose profits get channelled back into social and educational development for the community.

The MFLF has introduced the concept of market professionalism and value-addition to maximize benefits from the limited natural resources and complement local knowledge and wisdom. This has resulted in viable social enterprises which have

allowed the MFLF to be financially self-supporting since 2001; and in 2017, it will hand over the profitable businesses to the local community to manage themselves. This is keeping with the MFLF's key objective which is to help people to be able to help themselves in a sustainable manner. Based on this experience, the MFLF is now assisting in implementing reforestation projects which aim at the same time to alleviate poverty in a holistic and balanced manner in two other areas near Doi Tung in Chiang Rai Province.

Left to right: Mrs. Darwati A. Gani;
Governor Irwandi Yusuf;
Mr. Panich Vikitsreth; Earth;
Ambassador Akrasid Amatayakul

The MFLF is also involved in a nationwide initiative, known as the 'Royal Initiative Discovery', in honour of HM King Bhumibol, to apply best practices from successful royal initiatives throughout the country and HM's concept of 'sufficiency economy' through model projects in each region of the country to improve the livelihood of the local population. The pilot initiative has begun with Nan Province in the North and will extend to other regions to benefit Thais nationwide.

What has been your most rewarding experience so far?

I don't think there's a single most rewarding experience. Development work is not like winning a race where you get to cross over the finish line and awarded a medal. It is a long process, but in that process, even with the hard work you have to put in, the days spent away from home, and all the difficulties along the way, you continue to feel rewarded to be a small part in helping to realize better lives for those who have entrusted you with their wellbeing.

You know the efforts are worthwhile when you hear villagers change their question from 'Why are you here? What will you take from us?' the first time they see you in their village gradually to 'What activitites should we do next? Please advise us' as the first crops bear fruit.

Oct 2008- Earth discussing work plans with student interns from the local university in Aceh and local project staff who have come to do on-the-job-training at their Integrated Goat Breed Improvement Program in Maheng

During the most recent visit to one of our pilot projects in Aceh, the village chief who has watched the project for over a year now confirms that he is 'more than 100% with this project'. The look in his eyes as he gestured for us to look at the plot after plot of cultivation and many other livelihood activities stretching beyond where we were standing says it all.

May 2007- surveying irrigation system with local villagers in Lamteuba Village, Aceh

It is also rewarding to get to work with people (leadership and teamwork) with vision and complete dedication to a common bottom line of helping people realize better lives for themselves. Some of these people have been at Doi Tung from day 1 so they have truly 'walked the walk', but never stop trying to 'better the walk' as we can never be 'good enough' when it comes to helping people.

Oct 2008- nursing baby goats born from mothers of Etawah breed, part of our Integrated Goat Breed Improvement Program in Maheng, Aceh

Along the way, you also get to meet people from all walks of life and a handful network who share a similar mission and spirit. It is a great learning experience and inspirational and hopeful to know that there is a force at work and committed to a cause for the greater common good.

What advice do you have for young Singaporeans who wish to do community service in Thailand and how can they take part in supporting the Foundation?

Community service is not something we should do simply to feel good about ourselves, but we must be very serious about it because it is affecting the lives of others.

Always ask yourselves, what do the people truly get out of your help and how can it be sustainable.

The MFLF welcomes internships, volunteer work, CSR and business development cooperation. The Foundation also organizes study visit programs to its project sites and those who are interested can come to acquire firsthand experience and discuss further with us before committing to anything together.

Finally, where can we find out more about the products of MFL Foundation and where can Singaporean tourists buy them? Can they also order them online as Christmas or New Year's gifts?

For more details on our products, please visit www.doitung.org; for more details on the work of the Foundation, visit www.maefahluang.org. We have 19 Doi Tung cafes, including at Chiang Rai International Airport, and 12 retail outlets including at Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Rai, and Chiang Mai International Airports. For more information or orders, email: contact@doitung.org.