LESSONS LEARNED FROM SE-BASED DEVELOPMENT AND
CONCLUDING REMARKS
There are many examples of healthy communities in the whole kingdom that
have learned to change their course of development toward “Sufficiency Economy”.
Their activities are wide ranging based on the problems they are facing. Examples
range from sustainable agriculture, as discussed here in length, to fighting narcotic
drugs, coping with HIV/AIDs patients, preserving the community forest, sharing
water resources, to name a few. There are some lessons we learned during the
process, both success and failure.
Managing the Environment to Build a Healthy Community
Lack of appropriate knowledge and know-how to manage the environment
during the process of economic activities contribute to natural resource and
environmental degradation. However, as rural ways of life are highly
interconnected with nature, some local people can observe the relationships
between the deterioration of the environment and the worsening of their
livelihoods. As earlier discussed, the impacts include both economic hardship and
poor physical health. Through their painful experiences, they learn to see the
importance of and necessity for the conservation of natural resource and the
environment. This is especially the case with those who are well equipped with
local wisdom and indigenous knowledge. These wise locals not only practice
sustainable agriculture and protect the forests but also live in harmony with nature.
Local communities led by these people also learn to live wisely in accordance with
the SE concept. The philosophy of SE suggests that production and consumption
should be moderate and reasonable, for us to live in balance with nature in a
sustainable way. To preserve natural resources and to manage environment
skilfully are ways of createing self-immunity for both the individual and
community, as prescribed in SE.
A Community Self-reliance Building Approach
The underlying principle to implement SE is self-reliance. Community selfreliance
does not mean isolation. It means moving toward or finding ways to best
utilize its resources first before looking for external support. On the economic front,
it implies expanding the base to produce basic necessities for residents. Later, it can
focus on existing resources for more value-added production. This way, the
community will be better insulated from sudden shifts in the price and supply. At
the environmental front, the principle of self-reliance will force community to give
emphasis on preservation of natural resources and environment—one of their
important assets. At an advance stage of “Sufficiency Economy”, a network of selfreliant
communities could pool some of their funds and invest in one another’s
community corporations. This would diversify investment options and lower risk,
in a way that continues to benefit businesses that are locally owned and operated.
The self-reliance principle is in line with the step-by-step development approach.
Sufficiency Economy and Healthy Community 21
A Sequential Step-by-step Development Approach to cope with Changes and
Globalization
The philosophy of SE emphasizes the right sequence and step-by-step
approach of development. In the rural area, or where applicable, each household or
community should be able to obtain food security, at minimum, to achieve
sufficiency at the smallest unit. The next step is to work cooperatively and
generously towards one another in building a strong community. To ensure
sustainability, these steps must be burst out from within, not by imposing or
pressuring from outside. The lessons from our development experiences show that
a development approach, which aims at rapid economic progress but incompatible
with the country or people conditions, will give rise to imbalance in many fronts
and consequently heightening the problems, as seen in the past or in many
countries.
Thailand’s Development at the Crossroads
At present, many policies and programs initiated by the government as the
so called dual track development approach mark an improvement in attaining the
development approach of SE as discussed above. However, there are still some
discrepancies that need to be noted. For example, some programs are aimed at
increasing income, while ignoring the importance of reducing expenses. Others
may aim at expanding opportunities without preparing the people with
appropriate knowledge or know-how. Sequencing and step-by-step development
appear to be ignored both at the policy and implementation stages. It is vital that
good and firm foundation serves as a strong basis for development otherwise it
may shift development out of a sustainable track.