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The Chaipattana (Victory of Development) Foundation was established in 1988 to help accelerate rural development. It sought to streamline the development process by moving beyond the various institutional constraints-lengthy bureaucratic procedures, budget cycles-that delay implementation of projects. Sometimes it could speed the provision of urgent funding to complete an agricultural project. His Majesty, who wrote its mission statement and designed its emblem, declared that its operations must be in line with government policy and must never overlap the work of government departments. It did no direct fund-raising to avoid being perceived as a profit-making venture. Thus, its financing would come solely from donations. Today, it survives by the goodwill of the Thai people and of foreigners who contribute to it. |
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It soon became one of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej's most important Foundations. In one of its first acts, it purchased 16 rai f land near Wat Mongkhol Chaipattana, a temple in Saraburi province. It then built an agricultural development centre called the Royally initiated Wat Mongkhol Chaipattana Royal Development Project as a meeting place for farmers and officials to exchange ideas and experiences regarding irrigation. His Majesty selected the site because he felt the role of local temples was very important to the success of the project for monks had traditionally been key educators and local leaders in the community. Foundation funds were also made available to Khon Kaen University for technical experiments on combating water pollution.
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The Foundation often gives interest-free loans to fund occupational development and rural education. The Royally initiated Dairy Farm Project in Sakon Nakhon Province in 1990 trained 18 farmers. The effectiveness of the programme can be seen in the fact that after completing their studies, individual monthly income rose an average of 1,068 baht to 6,193 baht per month by 1994, and continued to rise in real terms in succeeding years.
The Foundation also works on the assumption that times are changing and to expect that farming will continue to provide all a village family needs is unrealistic. Farm families need to be partially incorporated into the industrial world beyond their boundaries. Villagers often move to Bangkok in search of work, an alien, sometimes threatening environment for rural people who would prefer to live in their own villages. Thus, under His Majesty's guidance, manufacturers were asked to investigate the feasibility of taking their factory operations into the countryside. Clothing manufacturers found it profitable to provide village women with sewing machines and deliver piecework to them to sew into semi-finished garments. The women could thereby earn a living without leaving home, keeping the community alive, and reducing population pressures on the urban areas. |
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