United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

The Doi Tung Development Project (DTDP) covers 150 square kilometers in a mountainous area called Doi Tung along Thailand’s northernmost border with Myanmar. Most inhabitants are from six ethnic minorities: the majority of villagers are of semi-nomadic hill tribes who had moved freely between Thailand and Myanmar for generations, while other large settlements are of Chinese and Shan who migrated from across the border. When DTDP started in 1988, most of the 11,000 inhabitants were stateless, not recognized as citizens of either country. They received little attention from Government officials whose relationships with them were often antagonistic. A lack of infrastructure made the area more remote and inaccessible.

Before the Project, Doi Tung was part of a ‘survival world,’ where people did not even know if they could live to the next day. They grew single season rain-fed crops using the slash and burn methods of their fathers and forefathers. While forests were abundant, they could clear new lands for their crops. When new lands were no longer available, they continued to farm the same barren hills: the land quickly lost fertility and yields declined. Since they could not grow enough food for the whole year they depended increasingly on opium as a cash crop to pay for additional food and other goods needed to survive.

Health conditions at that time were appalling. A healthcare worker described the situation in 1988: children in a whole village had skin diseases like scabies; some had eye infections; and many were malnourished. Many infants did not survive their first four years. Most hill tribe people relied on remedies from their village shaman, or on opium as one of their most important medicines.

Only a few scattered elementary schools were available. They were run by the Border Patrol Police, but often too distant and inaccessible. Those children able to attend usually did so irregularly and quit once they reached age eleven or twelve, to marry or to help their parents make a living.

Trafficking in drugs, humans, and weapons was widespread. This was the heart of the infamous ‘Golden Triangle.’ Armed groups from different ethnic groups occupied parts of the area, competing to control the lucrative drug trafficking routes. Poverty forced people not only into opium-growing but other illegal activities just to survive. To help their families, young girls were driven to prostitution. Aside from additional money, too many of them also brought home the incurable HIV/AIDS.

On a broader scale, many people started moving out of Chiang Rai province where Doi Tung is located, in part because of the insecurity caused by the drug trade in the Golden Triangle, but more so because of the lack of development in the region, which gave them few opportunities for their future.

DTDP was therefore founded in 1988, under the management of the Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage (MFLF), to tackle such social and environmental problems at their root causes—poverty and lack of opportunity.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
At the Project’s inception, a Social Development Department (SDD) was formed to provide leadership in community development. After conducting a base-line census, annual surveys have since been taken to measure progress against the base-line and to adjust the Project as needed. The first SDD staff lived in the Project villages, to assure regular communication with the communities. Today, SDD staff still come from the Project area but can remain in their home villages. This helps assure that survey data are accurate and that qualitative measures of progress are valid. Key members of the local administration serve in the SDD. Information is shared between the SDD, local government offices, and the local administration, to coordinate work of all the groups. Also, the majority of workers in the Project are local residents, giving the Project another informal network to learn of individual and community well-being. There have been several key impacts over the years, chief among them significant reforestation and environmental rehabilitation. In 1989, 58 percent of the total area was denuded, much due to opium cultivation. Forest cover increased to 98 percent after only four years and has remained so since, and opium growing was eliminated. There has also been a tenfold increase in the people’s income. In 1989, average income was USD 126/person/year. By 2007, it increased to USD 1,251/person/year. This equals 93 percent of the average income for Chiang Rai Province, indicating that the people of Doi Tung are now integrated into the mainstream economy and earning decent incomes. The Project has also implemented a drug rehabilitation program. In 1992, 495 people were found addicted to drugs. Of these, 469 joined a 1,000-day rehabilitation program, which involved a 45-day detoxification, then psychological support and vocational skill training. Eighty-five percent of the population has remained drug-free for over two decades. As well, the Project has facilitated increased citizenship. In 1992, only 38 percent of the population had Thai citizenship. Today, nearly 80 percent have citizenship, giving them greater security, access to social services, and freedom of choice and movement. Literacy rates and education opportunities have also increased dramatically. In 1992, 56 percent of the population was illiterate. Only 18 people (0.2%) had college or university degrees. Today, the number of college or university graduates has increased more than 25-fold, to 465 people. Nursery to secondary school education is now available in eight Project schools, whose students frequently receive awards for creativity and in recognition of their independent thinking. Another important measure of the Project’s impact is the capability of the new generation of local people. Many elected members of local administrations are people who grew up with the Project. This administrative body has received awards over seven consecutive years for good governance, efficient management, and good service to their constituents. Many other young men and women are now key staff of DTDP and of local businesses, while others have established their own enterprises.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The 30-year master plan of the project was prepared as a broad guideline for initial activities by DTDP’s mother organization, the Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage. At the same time, Project staff began communicating with local residents. DTDP believes the people’s ownership of the development is key to a sustainable project. However, their involvement was not automatic. The people of Doi Tung were economically and politically weak and vulnerable. They faced decades of antagonistic relations with outsiders. To gain their trust, the Project addressed some immediate problems through quick life-changing actions. Decisive top-down management was balanced with meaningful bottom-up participation. Outside experienced perspectives were combined with local knowledge and skills. DTDP listened to and learned from local residents about their problems, environment, and talents. A key group in this was the Community Development Volunteers (CDV). They started from one young local college graduate, trained as liaison between the Project and villagers. He stayed in the villages for months to communicate with and learn from the people and to help the Project meet their needs. Other young residents were recruited and selected by village leaders. Eventually, DTDP had 144 CDVs. Many are now active decision-makers, community leaders, local entrepreneurs, and leading Project staff. During the first years of the Project, many government agencies made significant contributions. The Department of Highways, Provincial Electricity Authority, and Provincial Waterworks Authority provided infrastructure. The Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Education supported social services. The Ministry of Interior worked to ensure all eligible residents were granted Thai citizenship. The Royal Forest Department, with legal authority over the Project area, helped facilitate the Project, and agreed to provisional land use documents. Provincial officials recognized provisional identity documents for Doi Tung residents without citizenship, allowing them to travel freely in the province. Though not legally binding, these documents had the backing of DTDP and gave people a sense of greater security. Altogether, 35 departments from six ministries helped lay the foundation for the Project. These were largely part of their regular budget activities. DTDP helped coordinate and channel their programs into the Project area. DTDP convinced six Thai and Japanese companies to invest in an innovative Project component. The Crown Property Bureau, the Siam Commercial Bank, Mitsui Co. (Thailand) Ltd, the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the Bank of Asia, and the Euchukiet Company invested to establish the Navuti Company. Navuti has served as the mechanism to establish economic forests of coffee and macadamia, which now provide many value-added activities of the Project. As the Project matured, it depended less on outside help, and more on the capacity of the people. Today, DTDP has a new role as a matchmaker between projects initiated by the people and private CSR resources. For example, a Thai bank now works with a local sub-district administration to build 3,000 hand-made weirs to aid reforestation, supporting the community’s idea to further enrich local resources and increase land fertility, while protecting against forest fires.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The people of Doi Tung faced many problems, including malnutrition, environmental degradation and social ills. DTDP, following a fundamental tenet of Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother, founder and original patron of MFLF, recognized that poverty and lack of opportunities are the root causes of these complex problems and that all people are born with innate ability but they lack opportunities to use it. Our overarching goal was human development and creation of sustainable alternative livelihoods to empower people to help themselves and be able to thrive in harmony with nature. The main strategies have been to: 1) Listen and learn from the people by constant communication with and involvement of the local residents, giving them a sense of ownership from day one; 2) Develop a holistic and integrated approach to tackle complex development issues and to align benefits of the community with the well-being of the environment; 3) Gain support from all stakeholders, including the government and non-government organizations, and the private sector; 4) Use sequenced intervention: immediate, medium-term, and long-term plans to lift the people out of the vicious cycle of sickness, poverty, and ignorance; 5) Integrate local wisdom with a professional business approach, by developing market-driven value chains of locally produced goods to maximize the value of limited existing resources. 6) Use technologies appropriate to local conditions and capacities to assure economic and social as well as environmental sustainability. MFLF also realizes that truly sustainable development takes time, so the Project was planned for 30 years. The communities should by then be sufficiently sustainable, allowing MFLF to withdraw: “our job is to make ourselves obsolete.” The most immediate needs were addressed through what is called a “Quick Hit.” This was a visible and rapid response – within a matter of days or weeks – to a particular problem the people faced which in turn helped to build trust with the communities. Good health is vital for any economic development: once people are healthy, they can work to their full potential. Thus healthcare was among the first priorities. Next was provision of steady sources of income, first by hiring people to help with the Project, then by creating new jobs and economic opportunities. Rather than allowing people to remain as commodity farmers while they could possibly profit from adding value to those goods, DTDP helped develop processing and marketing facilities to add value that will stay within the community. Also, to minimize risks and open more opportunities, DTDP has developed a variety of activities that all help create meaningful jobs for the total community- male and female, young and old. A long-term priority is education, both formal and informal, from nursery to high school and support for those who study at university. Education is seen as a means to enable the people to take development into their own hands, to give them the skills for the better jobs higher on the value chain, and to facilitate their integration with the broader society.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The DTDP timeframe is 30 years, broken into three phases. Phase I (1988-1993): Bridging the Gap between Doi Tung and the Outside World During this period, activities were prioritized by their immediacy: establish relationships between Project staff and the local people based on mutual understanding, trust, and respect; develop basic infrastructure and public utilities; assure security in the Project area; reforest and rehabilitate the degraded environment; provide necessary medical treatment and improve health care; rehabilitate drug addicts; preserve local cultures; provide job and skill training; and promote education. Phase II (1994-2002): Giving the People the Capacity to Develop Themselves The aim was to further human empowerment through on-the-job training in income-generating enterprises and a gradual introduction of value chain creation to the people. This way, meaningful jobs with stable incomes were provided, while peoples’ skills improved and confidence grew. As MFLF did not want to rely on government support indefinitely, another goal was for the Project to become financially self-sustained. Healthcare and education remained priorities, but the focus shifted. In Phase I, with so many people in poor health, medical treatment dominated. For Phase II, disease prevention was emphasized to enable local people to care for themselves as much as possible. Health education was also directed toward prevention of such debilitating diseases as HIV/AIDS. In education, the number of students continued to increase with many encouraged to continue their studies beyond high school. Toward the end of this phase, new approaches to education, such as Montessori principles, were introduced. The traditional curriculum was seen as neither sufficient nor appropriate for the needs of the people at Doi Tung because of its uniformity and limited interaction. The preferred solution was based more on “learner-centered learning” and “learning by doing”. The new approaches emphasize knowledge, skills, and problem-solving to enable children to prepare themselves for the future. Phase III: 2003- Present (to be continued to 2017): Sustainability and Exit The ultimate goal of the Project is to enable the local communities to manage themselves and continue with their own development after the Project ends. DTDP is expected to phase-out by 2017, leaving the operation of business ventures and the further development of the area in the hands of a new generation of leaders. This phase emphasizes the strengthening of social enterprises to become fully self-sufficient, empowering the people to take over once the Project ends, and continuing to foster the new generation with challenging and relevant education. A key indicator of the success of the Project will be the transformation of the local people from Project beneficiaries to responsible citizens whose destinies are in their own hands. This is to create a virtuous cycle of support between local and national development, in which those who have benefited from development will ultimately finance the development of others.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
Government agencies usually work independently, resulting in a lack of cooperation and less effective outcomes. In 1988, the Department of Rural Roads wanted to build a road to the Doi Tung Royal Villa, but the planned route was obstructed by a 4.5 km irrigation pipe built by the Department of Irrigation. The solution was either for the Department of Rural Roads to build the road over the pipe, costing 5 million baht, or for the Department of Irrigation to remove the pipe, costing 140,000 baht. Neither agency agreed to change its respective plans. DTDP then stepped in to mitigate the wasted efforts from the “silo” working method, acting as a facilitator to bring together the two agencies and seek the most effective and least costly solution, while also keeping in mind the benefits for the local people. Another challenge was to earn the trust of the locals, who were initially skeptical, fearing that it would be little different than earlier government-run projects with short-term and only transient results. As one villager said, “Not until the Princess Mother announced that she would build her house on top of the mountain did we start to pay more attention to the Project and join in meetings. We felt then that the Project would be here for the long haul.” With clear and close communication based on mutual respect, coupled with timely and tangible positive changes in the people’s lives, the Project managed to gain the people’s trust and confidence. However, once people entrusted DTDP with their future, the challenge was even greater. The risk in misleading them or making them dependent on DTDP’s assistance could do more harm than good to people who were already vulnerable. To empower them to help themselves, it was critical to design initiatives through close consultation with the local residents in order to determine what was feasible and impactful. For example, in 1989, DTDP paid people daily wages to plant trees, reforesting the land. This included economic forests of coffee and macadamias. Some locals were additionally trained on-the-job to care for the coffee trees. However, quality and productivity of coffee per tree was below standard, as the farmers did not properly prune or fertilize the trees. They picked unripe along with ripe cherry beans, diminishing the overall quality. Realizing that lack of motivation could be the problem, DTDP adjusted the program. Farmers now rented the coffee trees from DTDP at about US$0.02 per tree per year. Armed with a sense of ownership and responsibility for production, they immediately started to better care for the trees, worked longer hours, and picked only the ripe cherries to sell. The hardest-working farmers were selected as the first group to lease the trees. The money earned became a powerful incentive; within one year, product quality improved to meet world-recognized standards of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. Since then, instilling a sense of ownership has been key to the people’s active participation in all aspects of their own development.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
Funding, types of technical support, and human resources have changed as the Project evolved. Most funding for Phase I (1988-1993) was for two major activities: (1) provision of basic infrastructure and social services, and (2) reforestation. Funding for road construction, electricity, water supply, and improved health and education facilities came directly from the responsible government agencies, with total investment of USD 40 million (nearly half for roads). Reforestation took two forms: “reserve” forests and “economic” forests. The planting of “reserve” forests helped create short-term jobs for the local residents. Total costs for this program, which included three years of maintenance of the trees, came to USD 1 million, provided by donations from throughout the country. A consortium of Thai and Japanese companies supported the start of the economic forests of Arabica coffee and macadamias. The risks involved were high for long-term production of cash crops never before grown on such commercial scale in Thailand. They established the Navuti Company, with an initial investment of USD 1 million, and wrote in the Articles of Association that profits will not be paid to shareholders but must be donated to the MFLF for social causes. In 1992, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provided a loan for approximately USD 930,000 The company increased its capital by another USD 1 million in 1997. Sales of branded roasted coffee have paid for all the operation costs and enabled Navuti to repay the JICA loan, with the final payment in 2011. Navuti was an early example of a social enterprise, long before the term became widely used; and in 2009, the head of DTDP received the Schwab Foundation’s “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” award on behalf of the organization’s effort to eliminate social illnesses, and provide people with legitimate livelihoods as well as better quality of life, while restoring the natural environment. For the first years of Phase II (1994-2002), DTDP still relied on government support, but revenues from the Project’s growing business units increasingly helped cover costs. Towards the end of this phase, the Project became financially self-sufficient. In Phase III (2003-2017), DTDP has been fully self-financed. In 2009, revenue reached USD 14.9 million. Though operating as a professional business enterprise, DTDP remains a “social project”. Its four social enterprises help to: • Employ almost 1,600 people whose total monthly salary and daily wages constitute about 40 percent of the revenue. • Produce high quality products: handicrafts, horticultural goods, food products, and tourist attractions and support services. • Create a recognized brand with sales outlets, getting the products to the domestic and international markets. DTDP continues to receive some grants and reinvests its business profits to fund social and environmental activities. For example, the education program implements new educational methods and helps support an additional 16 teachers in eight schools, and six teachers in day-care centers. The Project also supports local students to further their education beyond high school. Several have returned to work with the Project and the business units.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The sustainability of Doi Tung can be illustrated through Thongchai Wibbonjitcharoen, an Akha villager. Thongchai’s family of five used to earn only USD 270 a year. When the Project started, he earned daily wages to reforest the hills with coffee. When the Project gave coffee farmers the opportunity to lease trees, Thongchai rented 8,000. In 2002, he started to wonder what would happen when the Project ended in 2017, and who would care for the coffee and its processing? He then applied to be a coffee roaster at the Project’s facilities, to learn more about adding value to his crop, and soon became an assistant roast master. Thongchai is also an elected representative to the sub-district administration. He dreams that his children will study as much as possible and be able to set up their own coffee enterprise. Like Thongchai, many others in Doi Tung now have hope for the future. They can choose where to live and what to do; they have pride in their heritage and work with dignity. Children can grow up and find jobs in their home area, no longer having to move away for work. In communities, a village “committee” system has been strengthened. Local communities now handle issues of use of local resources and of social problems. Rules and sanctions vary according to the needs and agreements of each community. Local elected representatives to the sub-district administrative organization are well skilled in project planning, budgeting, and administration, setting programs where they are most needed rather than dividing budgets simply by numbers of villagers in each community. DTDP is gradually handing over its business and development activities to local residents, preparing them for MFLF’s exit in 2017. This new generation of leaders is being nurtured through reformed local school curricula, with assistance from the Ministry of Education. Since 2002, MFLF has introduced its approach elsewhere in Thailand and internationally, to places with similar problems to Doi Tung. MFLF undertook a project in Shan State at the request of the government of Myanmar. Subsequent projects were introduced in Aceh Province, Indonesia; in Balkh Province, Afghanistan; and in two areas in Thailand. MFLF is developing DTDP and other projects to become a ‘Living University,’ where policy makers, government officials, those from the private sector, academia, and others can learn from the experiences of the people who themselves passed through the development process. Almost ten thousand visitors now make study tours each year. Notably, in summer of 2010 the Thai government brought nearly 300 mid-level government officials on a short-term course in Doi Tung, to learn how to bridge national policies with the people’s needs. Consequently, the government decided to bring other top-level officials for a similar study program in 2011.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
The first and foremost critical factor to success has been a people-centric approach with the constant involvement of the Project beneficiaries in planning and building their own futures since DTDP recognizes that people have different capacities at various levels of development. Those living in poverty, illiterate, fearing government officials, and not knowing day to day if they have enough to eat—as was the case in Doi Tung when the Project started— cannot be expected to have the confidence or ability to take the lead in planning or even implementation. For the first years, they needed help—and this was provided by MFLF to conceptualize and plan their future. Yet local residents have the wealth of knowledge and experience about the resources and potential of their communities and the broader area. The Project sought ways to learn from them, and to incorporate their knowledge and skills in Project plans and strategies, so as to meet their own needs. To facilitate communication, DTDP hired young local residents to serve as intermediaries between the Project and the communities. Through them, the Project was able to obtain immediate feedback on our work, including any problems that needed adjusting or obstacles that needed further attention. One of the main problems faced by the people was a lack of security. Most did not have Thai citizenship, so they were not eligible for education, health care, and other social services. They were considered squatters on forest land, so even their livelihood was highly insecure. The Project gave people a sense of security by confirming their residence with identity cards and confirming their right to land use with land use certificates. This gave them confidence to face the future, knowing they would not be evicted or even deported. As people’s skills and capacity grew, and as more people became educated and able to live and work easily within the broader society, MFLF gave greater responsibility and authority to them. Today, planning and implementation of most of the social programs and many other development activities are in the hands of the locally elected authorities. Another critical element has been the market-driven approach to livelihood development. While adapting and enhancing skills of local residents and using local resources or locally grown products, DTDP has helped create goods that meet market needs and established the well-recognized DoiTung brand, thereby assuring continued demand for these goods at premium margins. The Project has also learned the importance of moving up the value chain, undertaking its own value-added processing. This helped create more jobs, with higher skill and higher pay. Increased profits returned to the people and generated income to further improve social services. In building businesses with the involvement of local residents, DTDP has also instilled a sense of entrepreneurship in many people. They no longer wait for help from outsiders, but are able to make their own way, creating their own opportunities, using the skills and resources gained from the Project.


Institution Name:		The Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage
Institution Type:		Non-Governmental Organization
Contact Person:		Pimpan Diskul Na Ayudhya
Title:		Director of the Knowledge and Learning Centre
Telephone/ Fax:		+66 2 252 7114 #106
Institution's / Project's Website:		+66 2 253 6999
E-mail:		pimpan@doitung.org
Address:		1875 Rama IV Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan
Postal Code:		10330
City:
State/Province:		Bangkok
Country:		Thailand

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information