smart village a sustainable model for community development · paro, bhutan from 4-6 november 2015...

This paperwas presented for the International Conference onGrossNationalHappiness onGNH, held inParo,Bhutanfrom4-6November2015

SMARTVillage

ASustainableModelforCommunityDevelopment1

NoppawanBoontham,ChomchuanBoonrahongSathapornSangsupoh2

andSurapolDumronggittigule3,

PaperpresentedtotheInternationalConferenceonGrossNationalHappiness

Paro,Bhutan,Nov.4-6,2015

ABSTRACT

SMART Village is a pilot project of an integrated technology transfer to promote

participatingrolesinlocalcommunity,careerdevelopmentinharmonywithvillageneeds,

andtheirlocalcontextsandtofollowtheSelf-SufficiencyEconomyphilosophy.Theproject

provides a practical tool to develop farmers, agriculture production and necessary

conditionsthoughlearningprocessandtechnologytransferactivities.Themainconcepts

are outstanding performance of the communities in order to bring up creative ideas of

villagers’self-development to solve entire cycle of their own problems with farming,

producing,andmarketingoforganicagriculturalproductssuchasstrawberry,stevia,rice

and herb. The village groups were set up which they had impact on Sustainability,

Management by Grouping, Adding value in production process, Resources and

conservation of soil,water, and forest, and Clean andGreenTechnology application for

cleanlinesstoimmunizecommunitysustainabilityofbasicinfrastructurewithself-support

whichthewordsofSMARTvillagestandsfor.

Keywords:Sustainability,Management,AddedValue,Resources,Technology

1 The Original concept was presented in Journal of Community Development and Life Quality 2015. 3(3).249-259 2 School of Administrative Studies, Maejo University, ChiangMai Thailand 50290, E-mail:[email protected]

3 Faculty of Engineering, University of Phayao, Phayao, Thailand 56000. E-mail:[email protected]


1.Introduction

The global economy and food crisis have brought agriculture into high focus and

demonstrated thatagriculturalgrowth reducepovertyand food insecuritydirectlyby

raising farmer’s incomes, increasing in products’ prices, and through creating

employment opportunities indirectly. Thai society background is deeply rooted in

agriculturalcommunitywhichisstill lacksofeconomicandsocialstability.It istotally

inability to be self-reliant due to poverty. Especially, it keeps repeating cycle of low-

pricedagriculturalproductsandleadstodestroymorenaturalresources.Importantly,

development of a local community requires innovative technology to support every

dimension and step of community participation by strengthening knowledge and

appropriatetechnologytosolvepovertyanddebtdismissal.Thecommunity isableto

producebasicneeds;suchasfood,clothes,shelter,andherbalmedicinebecauseofits

own land,water, forest, and abundantnatural resource in sufficient of not relyingon

outsidefactors.

Most of villagers in Sa-moeng District, ChiangMai’s highland, Thailand are poor and

workasfarmers(DOAE,2011)4,plantingriceforhouseholdconsumption.Strawberry

is themaineconomicagriculturalproduct.Farmersneed todevelop theiragricultural

productsandcommunity income.Theoverallexistingproblemsandneedsof farmer’s

group are to improve product processing including the standardized package which

couldnotmeet themarket requirementand the lackof supportingmarkets.Riceand

strawberry farming are themain agricultural activities of Sa-meong’s villagerswhich

their main drawbacks i.e. poor quality, high costs, lack of marketing support,5 and

production system. The farmers need more knowledge support, practical and useful

technology, and extensively supporting markets, including the package development.

Thedirectionofcommunitydevelopmentistheempowermentofknowledgeandlocal

4 Department of Agricultural Extension. 2009. DOAE Strategic Plan (2009-2012).[Online].Source: http://www.agriinfo.doae.go.th

/year56/plant/rt/page1.pdf# November 23, 201

5 Boonrahong C. (1994). Studied Alternative Market Networks in Upper Northern Thailand.Thesis, Chiang Mai University


wisdom, the use of local resource in harmony with appropriate technology, mixed

theory and the core principle of Self-Sufficiency Economy6 in producing food and

agriculturalproductivity.Themost important istorecognizetheroleofsmall farmers

whoareinlargenumberstoestablishfoodandhealthstabilityforthewholecountry.

SMART Village is a pilot project for continuously developing villages in Sa-moeng

District,ChiangMai’shighland,Thailand toachievesustainability,basedon theKing’s

Sufficiency Economy Philosophy in order to initiate the village model for human

resource development and agricultural productivity through technology transfer, The

agriculturalproductsprocessingwillbeimprovedtobeclean,safe,andenvironmentally

friendly, to generate more household income and the long term increment of

communityeconomy.

ConceptualFramework

According to the five core principles, the categories are: (1) Sustainability; (2)

ManagementbyGrouping;(3)AddingValuetoproductsandservices;(4)Resources;(5)

Clean andGreen technology; that drive the development of community economy and

thiswillbeconnectedwiththelocalmanagementframework,asfigure1

Figure1SMARTVillageModel

The Concept of development emphasizes on technology transfer and knowledge

managementwithinthefarmersandcommunitymembersinSa-moengDistrict,Chiang

Mai’s highland, Thailand District to understand the system and product mechanism

6 Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board. Office of the Prime Minister, 2006: 81-82


such as clean, safe, and standard of agricultural plantation and processing, and

environment-friendlyproduction.7 Itwillalsodrivethedesignandimplementationof

innovative sustainable mechanisms, exchanging of ideas, perceptions, problems and

possible solutions among participant actors (researchers, technicians, change agents

and final users) in the planning and execution of concerted development actions and

processes.

Objectives

1. Totransfertechnologyandproductprocessing,fromupstreamanddownstream,for

careerbuildingthroughdevelopingagriculturalproductsquality(strawberry,herbs,

stevia,andrice)andgetintoaprocessassociatedwithcleanandgreentechnology

2. Toanalyzeandassesstheperformanceofvillagers,agriculturalproductivity,and

communitystrengthening,asamodelofcommunitydevelopment,basedonS-M-A-

R-Tcriteria

ResearchArea

Thestudyareawere7villagesinSa-meongDistrict,ChiangMaiProvincewhichisaround1,002SquareKilometers.Someareasarepartiallyunusedduetomountainouslandscapebutabundantwithwildforest,headsprings,andothernaturalresources. MethodologyThemethodologyusedwasamixedmethodsresearch frameworkencompassingbothquantitativeandqualitativemethodsandmeasuresinthisactionresearch.Thesampleswere designedandcollecteddirectly from farmers, villagersandyouths inSa-moengDistrict, Chiang Mai’s highland, Thailand district, Chiang Mai Province, throughactivities, workshops, training and knowledge development process. The secondarydatawerereviewedandanalyzedfromreportsandresearchdocumentation.SamplingDesign

• Datasurveyandcoordinationwiththetargetgroupinstudyarea.

7 Sanrak D, Dumrongittigule S, (2011). Green and Clean Technology Transfer to smart village.


• Groupmeeting,discussion,studytourandknowledgeexchangebetweenselected

• groupoffarmersandactivityvenue.

• Launchactivitiesofseveraltrainingandworkshopfortargetgroupwhichconsistof:

(1)GoodAgriculturalPractice(GAP)andorganicfarmingofstrawberryandstevia, (2)GoodManufacturingPractice(GMP)andplantsdevelopment (3)CleanandGreenTechnologyofproductprocessingandpreservation. (4)Managementbygroupingfromupstreamtodownstreamintheagriculture productionprocess. (5)Addingvaluetoagriculturalproduct,packagedevelopmentandlogodesign,

demonstratingqualitydevelopment,

(6)MarketingPromotion&Strategies.

• SummarizetheassessmentofSMARTprojectbasedonS-M-A-R-Tcriteria,

includingfarmers’performance,agriculturalproductivity.

ResultsandDiscussion

(1)LearningOutcomeoffarmers,villagersandyouths

Theactivitiesfocusedontrainingfarmers,villagersandyouthsonagriculturalprocess

skillsinordertochangetobetterprocess.Theyhadfieldtrips,attendeddemonstration

workshop,visitpracticalplantationofdryingprocess,whichshouldenableparticipants

to see their products differently from their previous quality and quantity, the use of

energyandallocationofproductioncost,theneedstodevelopgoodqualitybydriving

together as a group of representatives. Theywere trained andmeet together twice a

monthinfieldwork,guidedbyfacilitators,learningbydoingduringawholeagricultural

season.Apreliminarystudyonthefarmingsituation,showedthatfarmersstarttoknow

eachother,learningagriculturalplanningandexplorepossiblewaysofgroupworking

oforganic togrowahealthycropandhowgoodhygieneandnutritioncanhelp them

grow up healthy. They explore how diversity in food production helps support food

securityandrespect fordiversityhelpstrengthenthecommunity.At least20farmers,


fromsevenvillages, explorehow todevelopeverything they learnedaboutGAP,GMP

and transformtoothers. The totalof325 targeted farmershavebeenparticipated in

various training programs and workshop, such as GAP, GMP, packaging, marketing

development,onlinemarketandagreenshopwereestablishedasaagriculturaltrade

centerforSa-meongDistrict.

The learningactivities includesmakingpilotGPSmap fordevelopmentofagricultural

areainvillages.Moreover,theyouthempowermentalsocallsforincreasedtheskillsto

usethatknowledgeeffectivelyandincreasedopportunitiesforyouthparticipation.The

process of knowledge management were conducted many times in various training

programs,asstatedinguidebookofPutakosaK,(2011)8thatlearningcommunitiesisa

process improvement, that can increase efficiency, of any organizationwhere people

continuouslylearnandneedtocreatetheircapabilities.

Agriculturalproductsandprocessing,basedonorganicstandardsandmanagementby

grouping, were produced. 1) rice, strawberry and organic products, and 2) drying

operation and humidity control for agriculture products, dried stevia and herbal

products of thunbergia, laurifolia andMoringa. etc. by energy-saving oven, clean and

environmental-friendlytechnology,includingmanufacturingprocessbasedonGMPand

safety food standards. Awareness of the importance towards safe food processing

enables farmers, manufacturers, and consumers to understand better about health,

agriculture,andecosystem.Thegroupshaveagreedtocreatetheirownlogos,increase

onlinemarket, and a green shopwhere SMARTvillageproducts couldbebought and

sold.

The results of this technical transfer project were outstanding performance of the

communities in learning process by group participatory actions in co-thinking, co-

doing, and self solution in careerdevelopmentmanagedbygrouping together.Added

valueandqualitydriedherbproductswereconductedinalignmentwiththeworkon

safe and organic oriented agricultural products. These findings support the concept of

8 Putakosa K, (2011).Guide the development of learning communities. National Research Council of

Thailand. 112-136.


Suebsutho C, (2011)9 who offered strategies for occupations group development to

increase competitiveness, a case study of weaving occupation group, Baan Kew Sub-

District,Mae-ThaDistrict,LampangProvince.

(2) CommunityStrengtheningasaDevelopmentModel

basedonS-M-A-R-Tcriteria

Regarding community economy, by developing agricultural product quality, farmers

and villagers havemore opportunity to learn, plan, develop together from producing

and processing throughout the year. It is essential and consistent to the locals needs

income generating, occupation creating from farming the main corps, and bringing

knowledgeforimprovingthequality.Thefarmersdorequirenewagriculturalpractices

andstrongnetwork.Withoutparticipationandlinkagesamongfarmersandvillagersin

sameproducts,thekindoflongtermcollectiveactionnecessarytoachieveasustainable

community is unlikely to occur. The best indicator of sustainability is the fact that

farmers cooperatives on their own initiative and requested to extend the training to

othervillages.

The outcome of the project assessment is limited to that, for generating careers and

integrated community development emphasizing on human resource and leader

developmenttojoinactivitiesandleadtoalearningprocessandbehaviormodification

on community reliance was known only within the targeted area and during crop

season.Meanwhile,theinfrastructureisessentialandshallbeprioritizedfirstbecauseit

is difficult to solve social problems if individual farmers’ problems are still unsolved.

The sustainable development concept has proposed the integration development of

balance, environmental preservation alongwith economic development by having an

individual for the center of developing the community economy, natural balance,

peacefulsocietywherepeoplehelpeachother.

The change of communities were learning exchange, empowering knowledge and

building the opportunity for everyone to learn and self-develop continuously. The

9 Suebsutho C, (2011). Strategies for Occupations Group Development to Increase Competitiveness :A Case Study of

Weaving Occupation Group, Baan Kew Sub-District, Mae-Tha District, Lampang Province, 56-63.


community participation also create coordination between local organizations and

governmentunits.This finding support the conceptofChitanonS. (2006)10, whohas

proposed the integration development of balance, environmental preservation along

witheconomicdevelopment,naturalbalance,peacefulsocietywherepeoplehelpeach

other.Theachievefactorsaretoleadpeopletohavetheirownprofessionalcommunity

leaders who have wide vision and able to know how to changes and develop

themselves, the sameasWongwirath’s concept (2011) 11, which has studied about the

managementoforganicfarmers,foundthatgroupleaderswhoareknowledgeableand

being supportedby theorganizationsandgovernment sectorsare the factorwhich is

supporting the group management by using the principle of participatory grouping

management,includinghavingrepresentativesinacommittee.

The assessment of technology transfer achievement into the community economy is

necessary to consider the important indicators which consist of progress, efficiency,

effectiveness,impacts,relevance,sustainability,andequity.Thescaleoftransformation

neededdemandsnewconcepts,newideas,newwaysofengagingcitizensandopinion

leadersinthesearchforsolutions.However,asanideasustainabilityhasbeenusedand

continuestobepowerful,theconceptofsustainabilityiswidelyrecognizedanddiscussed.

Atpresent,fiveoccupationgroupsfromthreevillageswereformedupwhereimpactonSustainability, Management by Grouping, Adding product value, Resources andconservation of soil,water, and forest, andTechnology application for cleanliness toimmunize community sustainability of basic infrastructure for the green innovativefuturewithselfsupportwhichthewordofSMARTvillagestandsfordevelopmentplanofSa-moengDistrict,asfigure2

10 Chitanon S. (2006),10 Sufficient Economy : The road to sustainable development.” [Online System].Source

http://services.dpt.go.th/dpt_kmcenter/index.php?option=com_content&task =view&id=12&Itemid=1. 11 Wongwirach k. (2011) Model of Occupation Agriculturist Group Banjam Moo 6 Pongyangkok region Hang chat

districtLampang province, Faculty of Management Science Lampang Rajabhat University


Figure2Webdiagramrepresentsthescoreof“S-M-A-R-T”.fiveindicators.

The development of community potential at village level to sustainable strength is

necessarilytointegrateallareasofworkandreceivecooperationfromallstakeholders,

government sector, private sector, local institutes, and grassroots. The community

sustainabilitywasdevelopedthroughapplicationofSufficiencyEconomyPhilosophy,a

guideofdevelopmentbasedonmoderation,reasonableness,andsocial immunity,one

thatusesknowledgeandvirtueasguidelines in livingwhich lead torealhappiness in

life.Communitiesintheprojectcreativelysetupthenetworktojoinandexchangethe

learning to gain knowledge and to initiate online internet marketing. Farmers and

villagers have the right and equal opportunity to receive information and no gap of

knowledgedevelopmentbothinandoutoftrainingprograms,

For every dimensional development which is so-called economic dimension has

initiated the balance of the economic development and stable foundation and the

development of capability limitation in the self-reliance competition in line with the

principle of the Self-Sufficiency economy which remains traditional path of lifestyle,

culture, local wisdom, and religious institutes which will have created a newly

integratedsocietyandhasimpactforthechangesofdesirablecommunitydevelopment

by recognizing value of energy, soil, water, and forest. There shall be recovery and

preservation of natural resources and environment in technology development and

greenandsafeenergytobeapplied.

Conclusion


TheSMARTvillagemodelapproachisbasedonexperientiallearning,wherebyfarmers

learn good agricultural practices through observing, reviewing andmaking decisions.

Knowledgeandskillsnotonlyempowerthemeconomically,butalsohelpthembecome

responsiblecitizenswithpositivevaluesregardingculturalandtradition.Manykindof

activities are used when exploring sensitive issues such as psycho-social problems,

rights and roles because they help to build trust, explore risks, solve problems and

develop more equity. The villagers and farmers, the key drivers for changes, were

trainedmoreskill, receivedmoreknowledgeandopportunities toaccess information.

Governments, communities and businesses have all responded to the challenge of

sustainability to some extent. Public awareness of environmental and social issues in

development are in many cases nowwell developed. Farmers and young generation

tend to feel that the quality of the environment is important both to their ownwell

being.Thegreenbusinesshasgrownupincorporatewithsocialresponsibility.

References

PutakosaK,(2011).Guidethedevelopmentoflearningcommunities.NationalResearch

CouncilofThailand.112-136.

BoonrahongC.(1994).StudiedAlternativeMarketNetworksinUpperNorthernThailand.

Thesis,ChiangMaiUniversity.

SuebsuthoC,(2011).StrategiesforOccupationsGroupDevelopmenttoIncrease

CompetitivenessACaseStudyofWeavingOccupationGroup,BaanKewSub-District,

Mae-ThaDistrict,LampangProvince,56-63.

ChitanonS.(2006).SufficientEconomy:Theroadtosustainabledevelopment.[Online].

RetrievedMay30,2015fromhttp://services.dpt.go.th/dpt_kmcenter/index.php?

option=com/content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=1.

DepartmentofAgriculturalExtension.(2009)StrategicPlan(2009-

2012).[Online].Retrieved


May30,2015fromhttp://www.agriinfo.doae.go.th/year56/plant/rt/page1.pdf#

OfficeoftheNationalEconomicsandSocialDevelopmentBoard(2011).The11th

National

EconomicandSocialDevelopmentPlan(2012-2016)).[Online].RetrievedJuly7,2015

fromhttp://www.agriinfo.doae.go.th/year56/plant/rt/page1.pdf#

SanrakD,DumrongittiguleS,(2011).GreenandCleanTechnologyTransfertosmart

village.

[Online].RetrievedJuly7,2015fromhttp://j-com-dev-and-life-qua.oop.cmu.ac.th/

Wongwirachk.(2011)ModelofOccupationAgriculturistGroupBanjamMoo6

Pongyangkok

regionHangchatdistrictLampangprovince,FacultyofManagementScienceLampang

RajabhatUniversity

Authors

Dr.NoppawanBoontham

Correspondence:[email protected],

Dr.NoppawanBoontham,theprincipleresearcherforSMARTVillageProject.SheiscurrentlyalectureroftheSchoolofAdministrativeStudies,MaejoUniversity.ChiangMai,Thailand.ShegraduatedfromChulalongkornUniversity,Ph.D.inHigherEducation,MasterDegreeinPublicAdministrationandBachelorDegreeinCommerceandAccountancy.Sheworksinthealmost30years,andhavinguniversitiesonteachingandresearch.Allofresearcheswerefocusedindevelopmentoneducation,environmentandyouth.

Dr.ChomchuanBoonrahong

Correspondence:[email protected],

Dr.Chomchuan Boonrahong, lecturer and the deputy Director of the School ofAdministrativeStudies,MaejoUniversity.HereceivedhisPh.D. fromAsianInstituteofTechnology in Agricultural Systems and Engineering, Master Degree in AlternativeEducation from Chiang Mai University and Agriculture Technology from MaejoUniversity. He spent almost 30 years in action research in upper northern area of


Thailand.Hehaspublishedacademicarticlesonorganicfarming,communityrights,andagriculturedevelopment.

Dr.SathapornSangsupoh

Correspondence:[email protected]

Dr.SathapornSangsupho,lecturerandthedeputyDirectorforAcademicAffairs,SchoolofAdministrativeStudies,MaejoUniversity.HereceivedhisPh.D.fromMaejoUniversityin Administrative Studies, Master Degree in MIS from Chiang Mai University andAgricultureProductionfromMaejoUniversity.HealsohasprofessionalbackgroundanddeepinterestinThaiTraditionalMedicine.

Dr,SurapolDumronggittigule

Correspondence:[email protected]

Dr,SurapolDumronggittiguleiscurrentlyalecturerofTheFacultyofEngineering,UniversityofPhayao,Phayao,Thailand.HereceivedBachelorDegreeofEngineeringfromChulalongkornUniversity,DiplomaandDr.IngfromNorwegianUniversityofScienceandTechnology,Trondheim,Norway.Heisaseniorprofessionalengineerinelectricalpower,twenty-fiveyearsexperiencesinelectricpowersystemanalysis,designspecification,energyefficiency,energyconservation,professionaltraininginstructorinenergyengineeringandtechnicalprojectmanagement.Etc.

smart village a sustainable model for community development · paro, bhutan from 4-6 november 2015...

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