Thailand is taking radical action on severalfronts to absolve itself of an internationalreputation as a centre for illegal drugproduction in the global trade.

The geographical focus of these newsuppression programs is the GoldenTriangle that demarcates the joint bordersof the Kingdom of Thailand, the LaoPeople’s Democratic Republic (Laos) andthe Union of Myanmar (formerly Burma).From here, drug smuggling into Thailandhas been prevalent across the MekongRiver, passing mainly through the porousborder districts of Chiang Rai, ChiangKhong, Chiang Saen and Mae Sai.

On the one hand, a unit of theAustralian Federal Police is assisting Thairegulatory agencies (customs, army, navyand police) to engage in joint operationswith Laos, the main aim being to stop drugsmuggling across the Mekong that delin-eates much of the long border between thetwo countries.

On the other hand, Thailand’s Doi TungDevelopment Project, an operating arm ofthe Mae Fah Luang Foundation, which,under royal patronage, supports the hilltribes of the region, is successfully expand-ing the replacement of opium poppygrowing in Thailand and Myanmar withsustainable agriculture.

As part of the crop substitution program,launched in 1989, Arabica coffee and

macadamia trees began to replace the cultivation of opium as an economic crop.From a total of 3642 rai of land, 2613 raiwas planted with Arabica coffee shrubs and 1029 rai with macadamia trees (1 rai=1600m2). Macadamia trees, whichtake from five to eight years to flourish, arenow leased to farmers at the rate of 1 bahtper tree per year, with production buy-backguaranteed by Doi Tung. The coffee,blended in a range of varieties and pack-aged, along with the macadamia nuts andother trademarked quality products, is nowfast gaining an appreciative market.

The program’s progress has attractedinternational accolades and help. RonBarnett, an entrepreneur and expertmacadamia nut grower from northernNew South Wales, Australia, volunteersmuch of his time to advising Doi Tung onsuccessful cultivation of macadamia nutsand a variety of cash crops.

‘In 1994 I was approached by the NSWDepartment of Agriculture by the districthorticulturist, Mr Ross Loebel, and asked ifI would be prepared to show my farm andtalk to a group of people from Thailand,not knowing at that stage who they were orwho they represent. They were impressedwith what they saw and invited myself andMr Loebel to Doi Tung to inspect andwrite a report on the viability of themacadamia orchards there, which were at

that time five years old and in not the bestcondition – in fact the macadamia projectwas lacking in all areas of plantationmanagement,’ he says.

‘I now travel to Thailand four times ayear, spending approximately five monthsat Doi Tung.’

As well as agricultural crop-substitu-tion, Mae Fah Luang Foundation sponsorssupporting profitable projects in handi-crafts such as pottery and weaving, horti-culture, food and tourism. Discussing hisrelations with the local people of manydifferent ethnic minorities involved in DoiTung projects, Mr Barnett explains ‘weadvise and encourage, identify their needs,but do not impose’.

8 ECOS 129 | FEB – MAR | 2006

Under a successful two-pronged strategy targeting Thailand’sthriving drug trade across the infamous Golden Triangle,sustainable agriculture is successfully supplanting poppygrowing by providing alternative profit and a better lifestylefor farmers in the rugged region.Richard Mogg reports.

Reclaiming the

Golden Triangle

ECOS 129.qxd 9/3/06 1:02 PM Page 8

129 | FEB – MAR | 2006 ECOS 9

A royal lead for social changeLaunched in 1982 on the initiative of HerRoyal Highness the Princess Mother,mother of Thailand’s current monarch,King Bhumipol, the Mae Fah LuangFoundation and its Doi Tung DevelopmentProject are managed from cloud-girt head-quarters located in Chiang Rai province’slofty Doi Tung mountain range. Theproject is divided into three phases, withplanned project activities extending over aperiod of 30 years. Phase I: 1988–1993;Phase II: 1994–2002; and Phase III:2003–2017.

Under the leadership of its chief execu-tive officer, M.R. Disnadda Diskul (‘M.R.’,Mom Rajawongse, denotes royal heritage;but he is ‘Khun Chai’ to everyone

connected with his work), the project aimsto provide sustainable development, a wageeconomy and settled community condi-tions for the hill-tribe people who havelong inhabited the Doi Tung massif.

Established on 16 January 1987 toundertake the rehabilitation of degradedforest extending over an area of 93 515 rai(or 149.62 km2), the Doi Tung project areacovers a total of 27 villages situated inChiang Rai province, representing 2582 families; a total population of 10 359.The 27 villages of various ethnic minoritygroups that lie within the project areaconsist primarily of hill-tribe communitiessuch as the Akha, Lahu, Tai Yai, Shan, aswell as Chinese migrants who had accom-panied the Kuomintang’s 93rd Infantry

escape to Thailand at the conclusion of thelast Chinese civil war.

Back in 1982, slash-and-burn cultiva-tion and scorched earth deforestation –mainly due to illegal logging – hadstripped the steep terrain of its naturalcover so that topsoil washed away anddegradation of the terrain became wide-spread. This was largely the picture acrossmuch of Thailand.

In that same year, Her Royal Highness,affectionately known to many Thais as‘Mae Fah Luang’ (Heavenly Royal Mother),

The Mekong River’s Thai–Laos jointoperations boat station. Richard Mogg

Inset: Thai–Laos joint operations training incounter-narcotics arrest procedures. Richard Mogg

ECOS 129.qxd 9/3/06 1:02 PM Page 9

10 ECOS 129 | FEB – MAR | 2006

seized the opportunity to establish aproject to help villagers regain their self-respect with waged agricultural and handi-craft production. Mae Fah Luangpersonally supervised the replanting of thehillsides with trees, and the systematicgrowth of cash crops by the hill-tribepeople who inhabit the region.

Since then, Doi Tung’s training ofethnic minorities for job opportunities tobeat the opium curse has beencommended by the United Nations. In1965, opium planted in Thailand hadreached a level of 65 000 tons. Today, afterefforts on developing livelihoods otherthan from poppy crops, less than one percent of opium production in the GoldenTriangle comes from Thailand.

Persisting illicit drug problems in theborder areas of northern Thailand,however, involve production, traffickingand trade, as well as abuse. The problem isdifficult to control as minority groupsfrom neighbouring countries occupyseveral poppy-drug producing areasbordering Thailand. The Golden Triangle,which stretches across north-easternMyanmar, north-western Laos and north-ern Thailand, is recognised to be a majoropium production area, and a basis forheroin, methamphetamine and a powerfuldrug cocktail known as ‘ice’. Canny drugsmugglers have tactical advantages in thelength of the borders, the mountainousterrain and the limited resources ofgovernmental regulatory units.

According to Thai customs officers,cross-border drug routes are also found inthe neighbouring border provinces ofChiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Phayao andTak. The Narcotics Control Board (ONCB)and the Provincial Police Office, Region 5(which covers Chiang Mai as well asChiang Rai), collaborate today with theiropposite numbers in Laos and Myanmar.Between January and May 2005, nine drugtraffickers were arrested in joint operationswith more than 800 000 tablets ofmethamphetamine, known colloquially inThailand as ‘ya bah’ (crazy medicine).Tripartite international teamwork alsoresulted in the arrest of three traffickerswith 350 grams of heroin.

The Thai authorities consider ‘ya bah’ tobe a big problem because its valueincreases exponentially between GoldenTriangle production and sale in Bangkok.Popular as a restorative to beat fatiguegained in long hours at the wheel, Thaitruckers and other workers are willing topay 200 baht (AU$7) or more for a singletablet – a lot considering AU$4 a day isroughly the minimum wage.

On the other hand, the Bangkok marketfor heroin and derivatives such as ‘ice’ isconsidered to be relatively insignificant.

Senior Thai customs officers in Mae Saibelieve the main heroin markets to beEurope and America, and trafficking to bemostly via mainland China.

Re-planting has yielded great rewardsDoi Tung has increased the project area’sforest cover from 45 to 80 per cent. In thelast decade, 17.80 per cent of the project areahas been successfully reforested. To markMae Fah Luang’s 90th birthday in 1989, atotal of 990 000 trees, consisting of moun-tain pine, teak trees and other native specieswell suited to high elevations, were plantedinto 9000 rai (1440 hectares) of land.

As a result, revenue from agriculture hasdoubled, although non-forestry land usehas been reduced from 55 to 15 per cent asa result. Effectively, Doi Tung’s sustainableforestry and agricultural operations haveraised the area’s annual per capita incomefrom 3772 baht in 1988 to around 30 732baht in 2003.

So successful is Doi Tung that it hasspread across the border to Yong Kha, inthe northern Shan state of Myanmar, anddiscussions are under way for Doi Tung toestablish similar projects in Afghanistanand Costa Rica.

‘In fact, we’re prepared to go anywherewith a drug problem,’ Ron Barnett assures.

He is sad, however, that development ofthe project he started at Yong Kha has beenstopped for the time being. ‘We planned todo much more with Doi Tung expertise,’ hesays. Apparently power-politics and anupset in the ruling military junta ispreventing issue of the necessary docu-ments for him to visit Myanmar. And,although launched in 2002 on the DoiTung model, priority had been given to

vegetable and fruit cultivation at Yong Kha,to relieve prevalent poverty and hunger inthe Yong Kha district. ‘Soya bean, rice andcorn were priorities for people who werestarving,’ Mr Barnett says.

Meanwhile, in Doi Tung, an area of4000 rai was planted during 1993 with fruittrees, vegetables, tea, bananas and bambootrees to generate supplemental income andfood for the villagers. Members of thecommunity earn steady income from thesale of agricultural products and handi-crafts, and environmentally friendlyemployment activities are conducted intandem with reforestation initiatives.

To ensure that the project delivers prod-ucts that meet local and internationalmarket demands, the Doi Tung undertakeresearch and product development on anongoing basis.

After these efforts within the Doi Tungproject area, social problems, such asmigration and prostitution, have been alleviated, and the cultivation of opiumpoppy, the production of opium and thetrade in opium-based narcotics hascompletely ceased.

Traditionally dressed Doi Tung women sort fruits from the region’s increasingly successfulmacadamia plantations. Courtesy of the Doi Tung Foundation

Sustainable agriculture has improvedlivelihoods for the Doi Tung people.Courtesy of the Doi Tung Foundation

ECOS 129.qxd 9/3/06 1:02 PM Page 10

129 | FEB – MAR | 2006 ECOS 11

The strategy to eradicate the country’sdrug image is powerfully reflected by therecent opening of a project to define theproblem and its history. Another project ofthe Mae Fah Luang Foundation, thememorable Hall of Opium museum, andits associated three-star hotel, is at ChangSaen, the Thai border village that overlooksthe nub of the Mekong River and theGolden Triangle. The Hall of Opium isnow also developing an archive on drugsfor public education.

As a result of its outstanding achieve-ments in the alleviation of rural povertyand the eradication of the cultivation,production, trafficking and consumptionof opium and opiates, the Doi TungDevelopment Project has become an inter-nationally recognised model for sustain-able development. The overall drive incurrent Phase III development is to consolidate that image and use it to raiseeven more funds for social development innorthern Thailand and other locationsafflicted by poverty-driven drug problems.

Unforeseen challenges from successThe dual success of Mae Fah Luang andDoi Tung has brought some unforeseensocial and practical problems for manage-ment to solve. One current prime need isto strengthen management to cope withincreasingly pressing corporate and socialaffairs.

Almost certainly, the Mae Fah LuangFoundation and the Doi Tung Project willsoon part corporate company in order tooperate separately, rather than as onemanagement pair with competing interestsand priorities. On the one hand, the focusis pragmatically social; but on the other,the demand is brilliantly commercial.Moreover, the era of Khun Chai, thecurrent captain in command of theprogram, must draw to a close as hispivotal role becomes ever more demandingwith the success of both charity andbusiness. Khun Chai, and members of hissmall executive group, shuttle constantly byplane between Chiang Rai and Bangkok.

The flagship of the emerging ‘Doi Tung’trademark, and a signal to the group’ssuccess, is an expanding series of up-marketcoffee shops in Bangkok and foreigntourism destinations throughout Thailand.Eye-catching product quality and packag-ing design is the group’s hallmark.

‘Now we are focusing on driving growthof our existing businesses, namely agricul-ture, handicrafts, tourism and foodprocessing, by expanding the sales chan-nels,’ Khun Chai says. ‘In three monthstime we will open five more coffee shopsand three more handicraft boutiques.’

But, in northern Chiang Rai’smountains, some deepening sociological

problems now need to be tackled withhands-on management skills that are not yet fully apparent in the group.

Khun Chai adds, ‘the foundation hiresprofessional business managers to helpstrengthen different enterprises that thefoundation created in Doi Tung, so thatthese enterprises can compete in thenational as well as the internationalmarkets’. But, he cautions, ‘it is also impor-tant to ensure that the local people in DoiTung are able to cope with the forces ofglobalisation. We all know that free tradeagreements are coming from all directionsand they must be prepared to deal with it.So, while we have all these professionals atexecutive levels, we are doing in-housetraining for local employees, to help themmove up to middle management level atthe same time.’

Although Mae Fah Luang is no longerwith us, her vision serves as a guiding lightfor the direction for Doi Tung Phase III. Abronze statue entitled ‘Continuity’ is thecentrepiece of the magnificent landscapedMae Fah Luang Garden at Doi Tung.Depicting a group of children supporting

each other in a human pyramid formationas one of them climbs towards the sky, thestatue signifies the matriarch’s dedicationto improving the lives of the people ofThailand, and her enduring belief thatcontinuous effort leads to success.

• Richard Mogg

More information:About the Doi Tung Development Project:www.doitung.org/doitung

About the Mae Fah Luang Foundation:www.maefahluang.org/maefahluang

The beautiful Mae Fah Luang Garden at Doi Tung. Mae Fah Luang Foundation

The Hall of Opium’s poppy display. Richard Mogg Doi Tung’s textile workers weave highquality cloth. Richard Mogg

Processed macadamia nuts before packaging.Courtesy of the Doi Tung Foundation

ECOS 129.qxd 9/3/06 1:03 PM Page 11