The national “basic needs survey” reported that in 2008 rural people derived 58 percent of their income from off-farm employment and enterprise (Table 49 in this report). In Ban Tiam, a northern Thai village where I have been working for the past 7 years, the basic needs survey results suggest that the proportion of off-farm income is 73 percent, considerably higher than the national average. There are certainly problems with this sort of data collection, and I think that the Ban Tiam survey significantly understates cash-crop income, but the movement of Thailand’s rural economy away from agricultural pursuits is clear and survey results are borne out by a range of local studies. (I would be very interested in hearing about other data sources on this important issue.)

However, many rural households are not making a simplistic transformation from agrarian to non-agrarian lifestyles, or following the path of proletarianisation predicted for them by many old-style scholars of agrarian transformation. In fact, as Jonathan Rigg and others have argued, they are developing economically diversified and spatially dispersed livelihood strategies in which agricultural and non-agricultural pursuits are intertwined. As a result, rural households are increasingly multi-functional and multi-sited, combining an economically and spatially stretched out portfolio of livelihood activities.

Neither the “sufficiency economy right” nor the “community culture left” in Thai public life has come to grips with the social, economic and political implications of this profound transformation.

The Jordanians may have the glamour, but Thailand’s royals come up trumps on matters green. The environmental blog Grist has a list of the 10 greenest royals. My favourite, Charles, tops the list. He is an endangered species in his own right and deserves the highest recognition.

But run your eye down the list (gentlemen, move on past Jordan please) and you will find that Thailand has two of the greenest members of the world’s royal elite.

There may be some shock and disappointment that the king and the queen (As the King is the water, I shall be the forest – Queen Sirikit) do not themselves feature (I am sure they would round out the green dozen). But given that generational change is in the air it is only appropriate that Princess Chulabhorn Walailak and Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn take the honours (in positions 6 and 9 respectively).

Chulabhorn has been honoured for, among other things, “studying the health risks that air pollution poses to traffic police in Bangkok” (motorcades?). Sirindhorn earns ninth spot for helping with “preserving the biodiversity of plant life”. She is pictured showing how plant ecosystems and daily attire can be practically combined.

I have seen some mean-spirited talk by the internet chattering classes about the so-so environmental credentials of these hi-so mo-so royals (I stole that line), but that sort of sarcasm should be treated with the contempt it deserves.

At about 8 am there were 30 to 40 taxis parked at Royal Plaza, the same number of red colored subarus – small passenger vehicles, all from Thonburi – one loudspeaker wagon, and at least a dozen intelligence officers. Slowly more taxis arrived, maybe 100 to 200 altogether. No Blue Shirts though. But a few people in Bhum Jai Thai shirts and jackets, and several ministry officials.

Stickers were handed out to put on the cars, “Don’t pull the sky down low – stop the petition!”, and similar slogans.

 At about 9 am the show began. First the taxi drivers were called to get breakfast. They lined up, received a stamp on the arm, a coupon, and food. The Bhum Jai Thai party song was played on loudspeakers.

So far so good.

But then several taxi drivers approached me, and complained:

 “They said they will give us 300 Baht petrol coupons, but we got nothing, just those food coupons!”

“I can’t even get my taxi out – they blocked our cars with these subarus.”

“They cheated us, they said we should come because of mother’s day, and said nothing of Bhum Jai Thai. Now they put stickers against the petition on our cars, and tomorrow I want to go to the Red Shirt rally – how can I get these stickers off?!”

Supamas Issarabhakdi, deputy spokesperson for Bhum Jai Thai appeared, handed out stickers, posed for the cameras while applying stickers to a taxi, and gave an interview.

A not very enthusiastic crowd of taxi drivers formed a line in front of the loudspeaker wagon, a speech was held, an oath to the monarchy was spoken, songs were sung, and after the Royal anthem everybody disappeared quickly.

A few officials still hung around. One man with a plastic bag handed a large wad of cash to a man from a taxi organization, who quickly slipped the money into his pocket when he saw me taking photos. The bagman soon got into the back of a Mercedes and disappeared.

At about 10.30 the show was over.

Effort: lackluster.

Execution: thank you very much for the amusement

Enjoy the hunt! (Click on the image for a much larger, search-friendly, version.)

I’m off to have mine checked!

“You have to first survey and study your land and jot down input and output information such as budget for fertiliser, seeds and labour needed. And then consider the balance between production cost and income.”  To achieve this, Mr Chantee said, thorough study and understanding are essential.

Thanks to the Bangkok Post for this extraordinary sufficiency economy insight.

As poor Thais learn more about their rights, demand greater transparency and exhibit less tolerance for privilege-based behavior and extraconstitutional interference in government by the army and other quarters in the elite, the pressure to reconcile the needs of different sections of Thai society will increase.

That tipping point may yet be some years off. Yet the elite would do well to acknowledge its imminent arrival and prepare itself. If it faces up to this reality, there is still time to shape the outcome and secure a role — albeit a diminished one — for itself.

- Extracted from Colum Murphy, “Populism Erodes Thailand’s Old Order”, The Wall Street Journal, 5 June 2009.

…Members of the public will be encouraged to join different projects initiated by His Majesty the King, particularly ones involving the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy. The goal is to prevent people from becoming too obsessed with political conflict.

- A quote from Suthep Thaugsuban (Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister with responsibility for security), “I underestimated the red shirts: Suthep”, The Nation, 24 May 2009.

Govt approves 2nd phase of sufficiency community project.

The government has approved the second phase of the sufficiency community project worth Bt5 billion, Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu said Thursday. The second phase covers 17,000 communities. Earlier, the government allocated Bt6.05 billion for the first phase that covers 3,000 communities, he said.

The first phase of $ufficiency was certainly much more generous (about 2,000,000 baht per community) than the second phase (only about 300,000 baht per community). What’s going on? If anyone has any details on how much $ufficiency two million (or 300 thousand) can buy, please let us know.