A few days ago the Bangkok Post featured “a village designed specifically around the royally-initiated sufficiency economy principle” on its front page. Here it is:
The accompanying article reports that …
[the village has] begun to take shape in Betong district of Yala, apparently inspired by Her Majesty the Queen’s admiration of the geographical beauty of the local area. Betong municipal mayor Khunawut Mongkolprajak said a budget of 164 million baht has been allocated to build the village close to the Thai-Malaysian border. It is the first village of its kind in the restive border region. He said he had accompanied the Queen on one of her trips to Betong and she spoke of the district’s beautiful landscape and its fine weather. The mayor added that she had made it known she wanted a house built for her in the district… The Queen’s words prompted the municipality to establish the sufficiency economy village equipped with a study pavilion for her. About 50 houses in the project have been completed, with most now occupied by former communist insurgent, the majority of whom work on nearby farms in a royally-initiated development programme. Another 20 houses are currently under construction. The sufficiency economy principle stresses the importance of living within one’s means, said Mr Khunawut.
This is only a sketchy account, but from the report and photo some of the key design features for a sufficiency village are starting to emerge:
- Locate pleasant rural site suitable for visiting dignitaries and the construction of a rural retreat.
- Build village on an exposed ridge top, highly susceptible to erosion.
- Construct village to resemble barracks.
- Allocate a large amount of money to demonstrate the importance of sufficiency (164 million baht for about 70 houses).
- Add one “study pavilion.”
13 responses so far ↓
1 Pig Latin // Apr 10, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Maybe the Queen’s ‘house’ cost 150 million baht? That might be cheap for her!? How much did other ‘houses’ for her cost? Baby steps!
Apologies to Thai people who find my remarks superfluous and inflamatory. However, since when do demi-God’s submit to economics? I haven’t yet, but like palace decorations, there are only so many things you can do with 2 min noodles.
2 Jon Fernquest // Apr 10, 2007 at 7:27 pm
Why don’t they have a design contest and have some students come up with some creative interpretations of HMK’s ideas?
With no disrespect intended, the above uniform linear design with dirt instead of vegetation and an ominous soldier peering down upon it, looks like a penal facility. I’m sure that’s not what they intended, but unfortunately that’s what it looks like.
3 anon // Apr 11, 2007 at 4:10 am
164 million baht for about 70 houses? In an area where the land is worse than worthless due to the insurgency? That’s 2.3 million per house!
You could build a three-story 6 bedroom luxury mansion with that much money.
And people say the Baan Ua Arthorn project was a waste….
4 Guantanamo // Apr 11, 2007 at 7:34 pm
A sixth feature can be gleaned from the photograph: Place village under military guard. Another feature would most probably also be to require villagers to wear yellow. Someone puts a red t-shirt in the wash and all of a sudden its Guantanamo Bay orange.
5 Guantanamo // Apr 11, 2007 at 7:36 pm
…and the study pavilion completes the panopticon.
6 Srithanonchai // Apr 11, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Don’t the houses look quite small, and where are their occupants supposed to earn their living?
7 gurus // Apr 12, 2007 at 4:57 am
Yes , Its my Thailand , dont permit to criticite all everthing about these.
8 gurus // Apr 12, 2007 at 4:59 am
yes , but I can’t recommend for that , someday , I could
9 Johpa // Apr 13, 2007 at 4:03 pm
The picture does not remind me of any village anywhere in Thailand. The architecture does remind me of the first wave of improved bungalows on Koh Samui circa 1983. It also reminds me of a low security prison farm.
10 New Mandala » Thaksin’s immoral economy? // Apr 30, 2007 at 12:34 pm
[...] how credible such a sufficiency based idiom of engagement may be. For the residents of at least one model sufficiency village it may be a bit hard to [...]
11 kuson // Jul 9, 2008 at 8:25 pm
I think 16x Million Baht / 70 houses = 2.x million thb per house is too simplistic and dangerous to conclude — i.e. Jumping to Conclusions.
Perhaps there’s infrastructure costs (roads, pipelines, electricity)? Perhaps 70 houses is only part of the bigger plan? Perhaps Soldiers there to guard the construction workers? The houses are built of inexpensive materials (at least the image) — there’s no way that they add up to 2.x million per house, so possibility that it is part of larger plan.
Lots of information here is not given, so its better not to conclude.
But yes, I do agree that eventually if it were to demonstrate Sustainability, it must be able to sustain itself, with lowest energy consumption and highest utility for the baht, with all the necessary ecosystem, and hopefully also simplistic beauty designed in. If the idea is genuine, it could be like the “100 dollar laptop for children” – something worth investing in.
What I hope is, it is the “Raw Seed” that will be refined eventually to make it reality.
Ideally perhaps eventually it will be a “100 dollar home, with brick mud and some sort of inexpensive roofing”, plus a communal tv (5 tv sets, one tuned to each of the Thai Channel, so people don’t fight over the remote control) and a footsal dirt football so the community can be formed (community should share the resources quite well), including security services. I think these are the next steps — Sustainable Communities & Best Practices
12 kuson // Jul 9, 2008 at 8:27 pm
dirt football above means “dirt football field”
13 SiamCollective // Jul 10, 2008 at 11:21 am
Loveg live The Queen !
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