The Mae Fah Luang Foundation (Thai: มูลนิธิแม่ฟ้าหลวง; RTGS: munnithi mae fa luang) (MFLF) is a private, non‐profit organization established to improve the quality of life of people in poverty and deprived of opportunities. It manages numerous projects in Thailand as well as other countries in Asia. The foundation's mission focuses on three main areas: “improving social and economic development, preserving the environment, and supporting local art and culture.” In 1972, Her Royal Highness Princess Srinagarindra (Princess Mother), grandmother of the present King of Thailand, Vajiralongkorn, founded the Hill Crafts Foundation to offer market access for craft-making villages in the northern highlands. It was renamed the Mae Fah Luang Foundation in 1985, after the name given to the princess mother by the ethnic minorities, 'royal mother from the sky'. The new name indicated the growing scope of social development efforts the foundation was assuming based on the ideas and philosophy of the princess mother. In 1988, the MFLF initiated its flagship project, the Doi Tung Development Project, on Doi Tung in Chiang Rai, with the goal of providing people with sustainable livelihoods. The MFLF developed the Sustainable Alternative Livelihood Development (SALD) model, which emphasizes understanding the needs of the local people and their socio-geographical realities, as well as integration and involvement of all levels. This model has been replicated in its projects in Thailand, Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Indonesia.
History The Mae Fah Luang Foundation (MFLF) was founded in 1972 by Princess Srinagarindra as the Thai Hill Crafts Foundation under the Royal Patronage of Her Royal Highness. The Hill Crafts Foundation addressed the problem of poverty and poor living conditions faced by the ethnic minority groups in northern Thailand by promoting and marketing their handicrafts to supplement their income, as well as teaching them skills and disciplines such as Thai language, basic math, and health education at Rai Mae Fah Luang in Chiang Rai (today known as the Mae Fah Luang Art and Culture Park). In 1985, the Thai Hill Crafts Foundation was renamed the Mae Fah Luang Foundation under the Royal Patronage of Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother, as it initiated more extensive rural development projects. The MFLF undertook its first comprehensive development project, the Doi Tung Development Project, in 1988 at Doi Tung to tackle opium cultivation at its root: poverty and lack of opportunity. The project aimed to create self-sufficient communities that would become independent of external support and well equipped to adapt to the changing environment. Today, this work is known as the SALD model. The Hall of Opium, an exhibition hall, was established in 2003 to educate people about illicit drugs, especially opiates, in order to reduce drug abuse. With the development of the Doi Tung area and easier access to schooling opportunities, the Rai Mae Fah Luang, which previously offered boarding and education facilities to ethnic children, was transformed into the Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park in 2008, in line with its mission to preserve and support local art and culture. The MFLF has continued to expand its efforts in supporting vulnerable communities in Thailand and internationally, playing an important role as an intermediary between state and private organizations. The subsequent projects target the root causes of poverty by addressing areas of health, livelihood, and education based on the identified best practices from the Doi Tung Development Project, as well as the development philosophy of the princess mother.
Flagship projects
Doi Tung Development Project (1988-2017)
The Doi Tung Development Project (DTDP) started in 1988, covering approximately 15,000 hectares of the Doi Tung area, in the Golden Triangle, a major region of opium production, impacting 11,000 people in 29 villages. This mountainous watershed area had been subject to slash-and-burn cultivation, opium cultivation, and trafficking of both human and arms. The project aimed to resolve problems faced by locals, from lack of health care, education, and governmental support, over a span of 30 years (1988–2017), in three phases: Phase I (1988–1993): This phase ensured the basic necessities of life, providing basic health care, including drug rehabilitation, developing infrastructures such as roads and reservoirs, and reforesting the area. Schools, health care centers, and a cottage industry training center were built. New crops, such as coffee and macadamia, were introduced to replace opium. Phase II (1994–2002): The second phase focused on creating a sustainable model through which the locals could generate income and become self-sufficient by establishing occupational development centers for agriculture, agro-processing, handicrafts, and tourism. The Doi Tung brand was created to serve as the main channel of income to finance social activities of the DTDP. It includes four business units: food, handicrafts, horticulture, and tourism. The DTDP became financially self-sustainable by 2001 through the Doi Tung brand. It has now established over 20 cafes and stores throughout Thailand. Its products range from coffee and macadamia to clothes, housewares, and stationery. Phase III (2003–2017): This phase is about strengthening the business units and to make sure that income-generating entities are stabilized. This final phase prepares to transfer the management of the DTDP from the MFLF to the local people by emphasizing the training of human resources In 2003, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recognized the DTDP as one of the world's best examples of alternative development. In 2009, the Secretary General of the MFLF received the Schwab Foundation's "Social Entrepreneur of the Year for the Region of East Asia" for the MFLF's efforts in combating social problems and improving people's quality of life while restoring the natural environment. In 2012, the DTDP partnered with the housewares company, IKEA, to create the Allvarlig tableware collection. In 2013, Ikea entered into a partnership with Doi Tung to produce ceramics, tableware, and mulberry paper sold in the limited edition collections Annanstans and Hantverk.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
