Farmers and consumers working together

The Hat Yai-Satun Green Market

For the last decade SAAN has been promoting Alternative Agriculture in southern Thailand, and networking with many similar groups around the country and world. Getting farmers to change over from chemical-intensive farming to more environmentally friendly, sustainable agricultural practices has been the main work, and has occupied most of the SAAN resources.

Over the last several years SAAN has slowly been broadening its scope of activities to include consumers - without a reliable market for theproducts of sustainable agriculture, farmers who do make the change risk having their work go for naught, if they cannot find buyers for their products.

The new CSA/Green Market office in Hat Yai.

Educating consumers to switch to SusAg products can often be a challenge, especially in these times of economic hardships, because SusAg products are often more expensive than products grown in large monocultures with heavy chemical inputs, which are often susbsidized in various ways by government policies. It is a slow process, having various meetings, establishing a core group of supporters who understand the problems both to personal and environmental health posed by chemical agriculture, and who are willing to devote time in a consumer's organisation to help support the farmers and convince other consumers to join in.

Kumrab Phanthong, SAAN Coordinator (left) discusses the merits of Fermented Plant Juice with Christine Munro, Canada Fund Coordinator in Thailand (right).

Much work has been done, however, and the results are starting to show. In June of 1998 SAAN received a Special project Grant from the Canada Fund to run a Pilot Project on starting a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) project in southern Thailand, with an aim to forwarding this coalition of farmers and consumers. With this seed money, it was possible to hold a number of larger meetings, bringing consumers and farmers together, and letting each describe what they would expect from such an agreement. Various field trips were undertaken also, and many people indicated a willingness to become more involved in planning a CSA in the area.

Villager selling her handmade brooms at the market.

In a traditional CSA there are two central concepts - the farmer will be paid for the season's produce at the beginning of the season. This was not possible in the current pilot project because of consumer resistance, and it was felt that rather than give up on the project altogether, an alternative would be looked for. Eventually it was decided to establish a Consumer-Producer Green Market - a place where only organically grown produce would be offered for sale, along with a selection of other products ranging from herbal tea to handicrafts would be sold.

Indigenous vegetables at the Green Market

This market was first opened in March 1999, and has been quite successful in the first three months of operation. Farmers practicing non-chemical forms of agriculture come from as far as 100-150 km away, as well as many others who support SusAg and other alternatives to the global economy.