IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO LEAD DEVELOPMENT: LESSONS FROM MAIRIANG FARMERS

By PRAYONG RONNARONG Advisor,
Mairiang Community Leaders Council Mairiang Subdistrict, Chawang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province (a community in the southern Thailand)
Presented at the 2004 Magsaysay Awardees’ Lecture Series
Magsaysay Center, Manila, 01 September 2004

The experience of Mr. Prayong Ronnarong, a community leader.

From Para rubber plantation to the community enterprises:

- Mr. Prayong said that at first the villagers did not intend to formulate any plan in the formal aspect but only wanted to find ways in which the community will survive from the effects of several crises such as severe natural disaster and the intrusion of globalization that have change the pattern of living of the villagers. They realized that rubber farming was only a part of the way of life of the community and could not solve new problems facing them. They learned that the community must deal with the issues in an integrated approach by thinking of the overall picture and concerting individual efforts in responding to the community’s needs and the way of life of the local people while emphasizing the process of learning. In conducting such practice, the villagers also found what was the potential of the community and developed what was good in them. The new approach of community development has proven that it could help in solving their immediate concerns while preventing some problems in the future as well.

- He said the authorities later called this process the “Community Strategic Plan” and introduced it to the other communities in the country so that they could learn from the model in managing the community enterprises.

Strategic plan is not a document but a process of learning together, learning by doing – planning and implementing

Mairiang Leader Council (5 from each village, 40 altogether)

- The community development plan was the process of learning to know their limitation and potential as well as to learn of the problems facing them and the availability of the resources that could be utilized. The representatives of each village discussed the problems in the community council and solved them in the best possible way.

Pararubber processing factory of Mairiang which is invested and run by the community

Public hearing of community strategic plan

Mairiang Strategic Plan

- The community council decided to differentiate the community’s products. Families, as base of production, were grouped into clusters to produce what the members were good at, such as rice farming, vegetable farming, fish farming, herbs farming , pig and chicken raising as well as soap, shampoo and dishwashing liquid manufacturing. They produced only the proper amount that was just sufficient for the community’s consumption.

Chicken raising for local consumption as an activity under strategic plan

Fish raising for local consumption

- Examples of production cluster are chicken farming cluster of 52 families which was responsible for raising good quality folk chicken while teaching poultry raising technique and expertise to members. The fresh water fish farming cluster of 32 families developed mother/father fishes to produce good quality young fishes and distributed them for further raising by members. Once the fishes were big enough, members sold them in big lot at the market to generate supplemental income for the families. Mushroom farming cluster of 82 families also played its role in supplementing the community’s economy.

Mushroom raising for local consumption

- In the process, families in the community have become both the producers and the buyers. This kind of sufficient economy under interdisciplinary approach has proved to be sustainable and helped solving the problems of the community.

Chemical-free vegetable

Organic agriculture for sustainable environment

- In addition to the above, the chemical-free vegetable farming cluster of 32 families and the environment friendly agriculture cluster of 20 families have played their roles in producing healthy food and traditional medicine for the community. Many plants which used to be treated as weed or unwanted plants were developed to be farmed as economic plants. When the villagers valued these useful natural plants, they also stopped using chemical substances in rubber plantation, which in turn helped in preserving the environment.

Rubber plantation

- The availability of herbs also helped revitalize the treatment of traditional medicine in parallel with the application of modern treatment. An example was the treatment of bone ache by traditional massage and the prescription of proper traditional medicine.

Durian – a product under the orchard cluster

Sufficiency economy

- Through clustering and the linkage of community enterprises, the community has moved toward development with strength. Mairiang became a self-reliant community under the sufficiency economy. Mr. Prayong said that nowadays there is no one in Miariang earning their living from rubber farming alone but engaging in some other activities that could help substitute their need and generate supplemental income such as rice farming, fruit farming and other profession.

A joint venture between rice farmers and orchard cluster

- Another sample of cooperation within the community is a joint ventura between rice farmers and the fruit farming cluster to produce fresh local noodles.

Fertilizer production project of the community

Issuing a receipt at Mairiang rubber factory

- Mr. Prayong revealed that in the past people are only concerned on their own businesses. Many of them even spent their time on gambling and committing burglary because they did not see much hope in their future. Nowadays, when the economy of the community is in much better shape, the crime rate in the community reduced significantly. People could even park their motorcycles outside their homes without taking any precaution.

- Through this kind of development, the people are happier. The villagers now feel more secure in earning their living and could find more leisure time to think and do some other activities they wish to do.

Learning how to grow quality Mangosteen in the orchard (100 hours)

- The core of the development is therefore the learning process.

- An example in promoting the learning process is the setting up of a school to teach the villagers how to grow quality mangosteen for export. The course takes one full year with field studies done twice a month. During the course, the participants would learn new technique to supplement their skills and knowledge on mangosteen farming. In fact, the villagers are students and teachers at the same time because they exchange experiences among themselves and learn from each other.

- They also learned how to market their fruits. They sold the mangosteen in the big lot by inviting the exporters to bid for the best price instead of selling them individual. In doing this, the villagers learned that they could earn more income through their collaboration.

- A villager said he felt like joining others in the same ship and felt confident to move forward no matter what challenges lie ahead.

Fish raising in cement pond

Children learn together with the adults

Mairiang Learning Center

- This is the process of learning together and doing together. The community learning center has a motto that “everyone has the right to learn whatever he wants to know” and “learn everything we want to do”. This helps the villagers increase their knowledge, gain more skills and become more capable to cope with any challenge.

- The same villager said that people enjoy working together. They are ready to lend their helping hands whenever the community wants. It is very easy to request the people to do works for the community. Mairiang – a view from the top of the hill ? In summary, the best assets of Mairiang community are people, knowledge and resources. Combining all these assets empowers the community’s strength to deal with challenges while bringing happiness to the people. The community strategic plan turns out to be a plan of life for the villagers. The development process becomes a sustainable one.

Mairiang Community

Mr. Prayong Ronnarong – its community leader

- Mr. Prayong concluded that the community strategic plan is a mean to bring people to think, learn and do things together. Such learning process would produce a plan by itself. He suggested that what we should do is not to write a plan for them but to support the people to brainstorm and formulate a plan on their own.

Think together, formulate the plan together and doing together

- He further said that the success of implementing a plan is through the cooperation of the people. In this connection, the villagers have to equally know the objective from the beginning and understand what they have to do so that they can pursue for success efficiently.