THAILAND – Kok Edoi Community’s Farmers Market

Srakaew Province, Thailand — Kok Edoi Community was established in 1997 by villagers from 6 villages in Thapparat Sub-district, Ta Phraya District, Srakaew Province near the Cambodian border. The villagers were moved out from their original farmland because the Border Patrol Police wants the land for military practices in 1993. After joining the Assembly of the Poor (AOP) to fight for land rights, the government agreed to give the land to the villagers (88 households). However, the process of land transfer is slow and is still not completed now. The villagers, therefore, decided to occupy the land and founded Kok Edoi Community.

Kok Edoi Community is in the degraded forest areas with less rainfall, constant drought, and unfertile soil. Because it is not a legal village, the villagers cannot get public facilities such as electricity and water supply. Kok Edoi Community practices collective leadership and collective management of all the community affairs, including land use and natural resources management. In terms of production, after many years of trial and error, the villagers concluded that forest products generated better income for them. Consequently, in addition to cash crops, the villagers make the community forests and family forests to grow forest products. Eventually, the villagers decided to build a simple market to sell their products after. They found that the market can be a good business. The villagers expanded and developed the physical and sanitary conditions of the market.

The market was formed from the daily collective saving scheme (the Krabang (bamboo tube) Fund), with the few Baht contributions per day from the sellers. The saving fund grew steadily. Eventually, it was broken into several funds to provide community welfares to improve their quality of life.

The Kok Edoi Community Market of Forests Goods is managed and owned collectively by the community. The fund is also raised within the community. Almost all households in the community are engaged in the management of the market which is located in front of the Kok Edoi Community by the main road connecting the Central and Eastern Regions to the Northeast Region. The market sells forest products and traditional Northeastern food products including bamboo shoots, mushrooms, forest vegetables and fruits, small animal meats, fish, and edible insects, etc. The goods are a popular food among rural people. With the good and convenient location, tourists and workers stop by the market on their way to visit Northeast Region or to visit their hometown. The sale is especially good during the long holidays or festivals.    

Innovations / Good Practices  

• The market was formed from the daily collective saving scheme (the Krabang (bamboo tube) Fund), with the few Baht contributions per day from the sellers. The saving fund grew steadily. Eventually, it was broken into several funds to provide community welfares to improve their quality of life.
• The market is invested, operated, and managed by the community in a collective manner. Different committees are set up to take on the various roles and responsibilities required in managing and maintaining the market, and almost all members in the community are engaged in the management of the market.
• Household members take multiple responsibilities–they are producers, sellers, and administrators for the market. 
• The market connects closely with the production of the community. The community households grow their family forests and work collectively in community forests to produce fresh, seasonal, native, and organic forest products.
• The market has rules for sustainable production and sustainable forest product collecting in the family forests and community forests to ensure that the villagers do not encroach into the natural forests nor destroy the biodiversity of the forests.
• The market supports the community in conservation actions such as prevention of forest fires and protection of Sanctuary for Fish and Bullfrogs.
• The market supports the community to survey its natural resources and native food genetic resources. Therefore, the market sellers/producers know the cycle of the products. The seasonal food calendar is made and displayed in the market to educate the consumers about the availability of food year-round.

Impact

• The economy of Kok Edoi Community is getting better, despite the infertility of land and drought. With the diversified traditional and forest food production based on seasonal food calendar, they can earn income all year long.
• Because of the lesser dependence on cash crops than before, the villagers do not need to depend completely on the external market or middlemen. For the forest and traditional food products that are produced or collected within their family forests, they can set fair prices. The consumers are willing to pay, although the prices in Kok Edoi market are higher than other markets’ prices, because of the trust in product quality.
• The market generates a good income for the community members. Many families call their children who are factory workers to return to the community to help on the farm and the stalls in the market. This solves the problems of the broken family due to the economic migration. The families become stronger.
• Everyone can have roles in the market including management roles. The participation of women, elders, and youth in the community is increased. The community gets stronger and grows in solidarity.
• The market can provide for the welfare of the community members such as transportation to hospitals and schools, allowance for the elders, etc.    
• There are many elder male and female villagers who have traditional knowledge about native food and native plants. Many of them are healthy enough to continue growing or collecting forest food in the family forests. Their knowledge is still practiced and handed over to the new generation.
• The community ecosystem and natural resources are improved due to activities such as making forest fire breakers, fish and bullfrog sanctuary, etc.
• Most significantly, the market is the driving force of the community. It supports and interconnects with the community in many ways, e.g. agroecological production, economic activities, natural resources management and conservation, collective leadership, welfare, infrastructure (water and electricity) cultural and festival event, advocacy, etc. 

Facilitating Factors  

• The Kok Edoi villagers have experiences in collective work from their struggle for land rights. They can apply the experiences in the management of the market.
• There are villagers who have knowledge about traditional and native food and forest food. When villagers fail at cash crops and decided to try growing native food and forest food, they can learn from these farmers.  
• The community strictly enforces the rules on sustainable native and forest food-collecting, fish and bullfrog sanctuary, and other ecosystem conservation. Consequently, the farmers can ensure the supply of diverse, fresh, seasonal, and eco-friendly food to their own market. 
• The good location of the market, which is on the main road connecting Central and Eastern Region to the Northeast region.  
• A number of TV documentaries about the community and the market’s story as a member of the Assembly of the Poor that struggles for land rights have been broadcasted.
• Social media, like Facebook and Instagram, increases the visibility of the market.

Challenges

• Because the government has not yet given ownership of the land to the community, it is still not a legal village. The villagers have to continue the fight for land rights. The proceeds from the market are used for the struggle.
• The community cannot access public facilities such as electricity and water supply. The community has to depend on solar energy which is not enough. Without electricity, the sellers cannot keep some fresh products for a long time. Solar energy is not enough to draw water from the natural swamp for the market’s toilets for customers, which is a challenge for the market’s sanitation.   
• The climate crisis is also a great challenge that worsens the drought and infertile land problems.
• At the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are fewer tourists and traveling consumers due to the prohibition of interprovincial travel.  
• Although the villagers have collective working skills, they need to improve the accounting and cost management skills.

Lessons Learned

• Collective leadership and collective management enable the community to operate their business unit with the participation of all members. Individually, the community members used to think that they cannot do the selling or running a community business, but collectively they were able to do it.
• The market is attractive and profitable because the villagers make a year-round product calendar of seasonal native foods which ensures the supply and in turn, builds trust among the customers.
• Cash crops cannot guarantee a stable income because the prices are controlled by middlemen or agribusinesses. The villagers need to diversify their sources of income and avoid dependence on cash crops.
• The understanding and trust from consumers are important to sustain the market and to gain fair prices.
• When the community can control and manage their natural resources, the community can contribute to a stronger rural economy which will bring people of working age back to the community, making the rural community even more viable and livable.

Recommendations

• Land rights are important for both agricultural production and rural economy. The government must not discriminate and prohibit the community to access infrastructures due to the prolonged land dispute. Basic services such as electricity, alternative energy, local public funds must be granted to make the rural people economically survive.
• The government must support the localization of food production and food systems in order to strengthen the rural economy and the small-scale farmer community.
• The government must amend the laws that restrict or obstruct the rural economy, e.g. laws on local rice wine. Making local rice wine can add more value to the local rice and wild herbs available in Kok Edoi Community. But the law makes it difficult for the community enterprise to produce the products.

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