Five years ago Wat Doi Pha Som initiated an environmental revitalization process in the Samoeng District based on the principles of sufficiency economy. The initial development projects addressed the necessary prerequisite to any reforestation project, which was sufficient natural water resources. The soil quality in the local area was very dry with little nutrients and very limited growth potential.
Phra Sangkom Thanapanyo Khunsiri from Wat Doi Pha Som in Chiang Mai, Thailand devotes himself to promoting "sufficiency economic practices" among the local communities
Modern farming methods had made local farmers dependent upon expensive chemical fertilizers to regenerate soli nutrients for each year's crops.