Tantalising Thailand

By Cassandra Mascarenhas

in thailand

The mere mention of Thailand immediately brings to mind one thing – its bustling capital Bangkok, renowned for its nightlife, shopping and cultural sites. Yet, there is so much more to the country that truly makes it ‘amazing’ Thailand, as I found out on a trip to the country’s north, nestled amidst majestic rolling peaks, thick mists and temperate climes; the least of it being the country’s fabulous cuisine!

Taken to the provinces of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand, the former a more laid-back provincial state and the latter, a bustling city centre, it was interesting to note the vast differences between the two states although located fairly close to each other.

Along with sampling exotic dishes and prowling through the many night bazaars, we were also introduced to Thailand’s Royal Projects – an innovative and sustainable scheme initiated almost half a century ago by the current king of Thailand in order to allow the hill-tribe people of the country to attain better living conditions and sustain the rich bio-diversity of the land.

The Royal Project Foundation

Commenced in 1969 by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the Royal Project was introduced with the aim of ‘drug-crop replacement’. This concept was probably first discussed in the mid-sixties first implemented in Northern Thailand and the country was one of the first countries in the world to succeed in the sustainable elimination of opium cultivation and is now widely considered to be the most successful example of opium replacement.

Even though peak production of opium in Thailand at 150 tons to 200 tons is low in comparison to 3,500 tonnes in Afghanistan in recent times, Thailand’s approach to the problem is admirable with the introduction of over 150 cash crops to farmers in the temperate climates, a project which has completely removed opium poppy growing from the northern highland areas of the country. Thailand is also noted for having two particularly successful projects that are still operative: the Royal Project and the Doi Tung project, established in 1988.

The Royal Project was introduced to encourage hill-tribe villagers to shift from the cultivation of opium poppies to alternative crops and was also intended as a highland agricultural development centre. The villagers grew temperate climate fruit trees and cultivated flowering and nutritious plants.

As a learning centre, it provided education to hill-tribe people to improve their quality of life, promoted settlement in certain areas instead of moving from place to place, discouraged practices of shifting cultivation, methods of slash-and-burn and conserved watershed areas.

In 1992, the Royal Project was renamed The Royal Project Foundation, a formally constituted public service organisation. Presently, the Royal Project Foundation is responsible for all procedures from their introduction to their conclusion. It researches plants to be grown, promotes them, controls their quality and helps with marketing and at the same time, protects the environment and the hill-tribes’ welfare and culture.

Currently, the Royal Project Foundation supports more than 100,000 people in 36 projects in five provinces – Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phayao, Lamphun and Mae Hong Son.

Today, the seemingly innocuous white opium poppy is simply yet another interesting object to view and photograph when sightseeing in Northern Thailand.

Exploring the Royal Projects

One of our first and most memorable stops on our tour of Thailand’s Royal Projects was Doi Tung, which means ‘flag mountain,’ located in the province of Chiang Rai, one of the country’s best examples of the successful elimination of the cultivation of opium and was also the home of the Princess Galyani Vadhana, the mother of the present king, in her old age – a critical aspect of the project as she devoted her time to the reforestation and development projects in the region.

It was due to the princess’ interest and encouragement that the hills were reforested. She was also instrumental in fighting against the opium trade and as a result, the local hill tribes stopped growing poppies and began to grow other crops.

The royal villa was originally built as a summer residence for the Late Princess Mother and now houses a museum and displaying her work to improve the life quality of local tribal people. The devotion of the Thai people to the royal family was evident as Thais visiting the museum respectfully knelt down in front of a portrait of the late Princess and paid their respects to her.

While the royal villa, designed in the style of a Swiss chalet with broad verandas and balconies commanding spectacular panoramic views of the surrounding hills is impressive, the Mae Fah Luang Gardens, a botanical park located on the sweeping slopes below the royal villa with flowers and plants growing among rock formations is simply stunning. Acres of carefully manicured gardens teeming with dozens of varieties of decorative flowers and temperate plants framed by the backdrop of misty hills are a sight to behold.

Before the intervention of the late Princess, the area was subject to slash-and-burn cultivation, opium cultivation and trafficking in humans and arms. The princess realised that narcotic crop cultivation was a symptom of poverty and lack of opportunity and saw the urgency of reforesting the area. Taking into consideration the economic livelihoods of the locals, economic forestry was introduced which allowed villagers to earn an income from licit activities.

In addition to planting watershed forests, the Project also allocated land for subsistence forests where locals could grow short-term crops.

While the Doi Tung Development Project has now achieved the elimination of narcotic crop cultivation, it continues to ensure that the people of the region are economically self-reliant and able to continue the process of their own development. The project itself has been financially self-sustaining since 2002.

The other Royal Stations that we visited over the next couple of days each boasted equally impressive success stories and are now thriving cultivations and research stations, all under the patronage of Thailand’s royal family.

The hill-tribes

Gazing across at neighbouring Myanmar through a tangle of barbed wire and sharpened wooden spears from the Thai border located on the country’s sixth tallest mountain; with a couple of opium poppies sprouting at our feet (it seems to be a rather common occurrence to have opium poppies growing around), it felt rather bizarre that this flimsy barrier was the only thing that denoted the border between two countries. Unlike their rather strained relations with yet another neighbour Cambodia, Thailand maintains a good rapport with Myanmar.

While wandering around the military camp located right at the border and poking our heads into the bunkers overlooking the Myanmar-Thai border, the people of the Nor Lae village exhibited their wares to the visiting tourists.

The residents of Nor Lae village are Palong people and interestingly, it is said that they walked for seven days from Myanmar when they first heard about the Royal Project and petitioned the king to allow them to stay in Thailand. Land at Nor Lae village was subsequently set aside for the Palong people. The main profession of the people of the Nor Lae village, just like most hill-tribes, is farming.

The north of Thailand is home to the hill-tribes which consists of approximately half a million people, each tribe possessing its own distinctive customs, culture, traditions, religion, spiritual beliefs, language, art and mode of dress. Some hill-tribes participate in modern life but some remain isolated geographically and culturally.

We browsed through some intricately designed handicrafts, handloom shawls and other items before careening down the mountain to visit yet another hill-tribe located 15 minutes away.

Khorpdong village was very similar to the former, home to the Black Muser people who originated from Tibet.

These villages are an example of the success of the work of the Royal Project Foundation. Previously, these hill-tribes were nomads, migrating across the mountains whenever they felt that the soil at their present location was depleting. As a result of this, slash-and-burn cultivation for a long time ravaged the lush hills of the north of Thailand.

Through the financial aid from the Foundation and the support and learning from a number of Royal Project Development Centres and Research Stations in the region, the tribes have now settled down and established flourishing villages, tending to their cash crops such as strawberries and grapes which are grown in massive greenhouses across the slopes. These crops are then transported to the main cities of Thailand or are exported, providing the villages with a valuable source of income.

The residents of Khorpdong village, although living in simple huts, boast the odd satellite dish here and there, along with a school and library for the village, again established with the assistance of the Foundation and other NGOs.

Ascending Thailand’s highest mountain

Climbing up to Thailand’s highest mountain, Doi Inthanon, wasn’t the exhausting and tedious trek one would expect it to be, mainly because there was no climbing involved. Gliding up the wide carpeted road in an air-conditioned vehicle while filling our eyes with the breathtaking vistas that unfurled in front of us was in fact most enjoyable and we made it to the summit without breaking a sweat.

Ensconced within gentle rolling hills and cascading waterfalls is the Inthanon Royal Project Research Station – our last Project stop on the tour. Launched in February 1979, the station investigates crop and plant development. It has helped develop sustainable cultivation methods instead of the destructive slash-and-burn farming, has promoted reforestation and has enabled those living in the vicinity to increase their earnings. This has allowed the land to retain its vitality and human communities and forests now co-exist harmoniously.

Located at 1,380 metres above sea level with cool weather year-round, the Royal Agricultural Station Inthanon abounds with layered paddy fields, highland framing systems, coffee plantations and strawberry plots.

Interestingly, the station has utilised fresh water flowing down from the mountains to initiate a rainbow trout and sturgeon farm. Both varieties of fish are not native to the country but are yet another of the Royal Project’s innovative ideas – recognising that the north of Thailand mirrors the climate in which the species of fish are generally found in, the breeding of sturgeon and trout began as an experiment, one that has proved to be incredibly successful.

It is now a delicacy that is enjoyed by those visiting the region and we too made the most of it while dining at the scenic restaurant located in the middle of a large plantation at the hill station. Cutting into the succulent flesh of sturgeon and trout prepared to perfection was definitely a culinary highlight of the trip.

After yet another gastronomic lunch, of which there was no shortage of on our visit, we visited one of the research centres where we were taken around by one of the head researchers of the Royal Project Foundation.

An expert horticulturist, his job at the station was to conduct research on temperate flowers and to create varieties suitable for a highland climate. He explained that there were many aspects he had to take into consideration before undertaking research on any variety. The end product had to be commercially viable; a cash crop that would garner much needed income for the villagers in the area, should be easy to grow in a temperate climate and be immune to disease and other problems.

Proudly showing us the results of painstaking research – beautiful blossoms, some of which were easily the size of a dinner plate – he added that years of research could sometimes go into one flower; experimenting with different seeds and hybrids, varying weather conditions and so on.

Through such research, Thailand no longer needs to be reliant on imports from other countries and is instead self-sufficient, producing home-grown products while sustaining the hill-tribes and local economy with creation of jobs and income generated from research and subsequent cultivation.