CHAIPATTANA FOUNDATION & THE ROYAL PROJECTS
Realising that the government was hindered by bureaucracy and budget constraints, making it difficult to provide timely help for the people, particularly in times of crisis, His Majesty established the Chaipattana Foundation in 1988.The foundation targeted farmers, aiming to help improve yields through sustainablemeans, yielding long-term benefits, that would eventually allow farmers to be self-reliant.Simplicity and sustainability were the key goals in every Chaipattana project and most projects focused on agricultural problems. For example, soil problems such as soilacidity and salinity were addressed using natural means such as growing Sunn Hemp (Latin botanical name: Crotalaria Juncea) and legumes to improve soil conditions after rice harvests. The Royal Projects helped hill tribe villagers replace opium crops with commerciallyviable crops such as peaches, apples, strawberries and Arabica coffee.