Doi Tung Development Program
Doi Tung Development Program
About 3 hours by road from Chiang Mai is the lesser-known city of the north – Chiang Rai. It is in the middle and has all three boarders of Thailand, Laos and Burma coming together at one point. This town has gone through one of the biggest transformations seen anywhere in Thailand.
It’s hard to believe that just over 20 years ago, the people of Doi Tung lived a very different existence to the one they do today. Back then they grew opium poppies. They dealt opium, there was drug-running going on, forests were being decimated, there was people smuggling and this was not a nice place to live. In about 1988 the Princess mother got involved. She developed the Doi Tung Development Project, which was all about creating a sustainable industry and living and lifestyle for the people so they lived in a better place and a better way.
One of the great dilemmas of the King’s was working out which crop would deliver the best value for the farmers so they would stop growing opium. Of course, it was just changing one drug to another and these days the hills are planted out with a mass of the most popular legal drug – caffeine. Over the top of that coffee is macadamia nuts.
Thanks to the program, the 29 villages of 6 different ethnic groups now live here peacefully, harmoniously and self-sufficiently. Without the program, kids would never have been able to play in the streets like they do today.
Not far away is The Mae Fah Luang Garden, which was originally built as a summer residence for the Princess’ mother. It now houses a museum and displays the work of how she improved the lives of local hills tribe people.
Just around the corner from the Royal Villa is the Village Garden, which is a truly remarkable garden. The village was once based here but the Princess mother asked them to move to a new location because this was the hub of opium trading. Instead, she wanted to create a garden, which featured European flowers because many Thai people would never have the chance to travel to Europe. If they visited this garden they could experience the wonders of the World in one location.
For more information about the Doi Tung Development Program, visit www.doitung.org
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