Before Phrakhru Sakorn Sangvorakit came to Wat Yokkrabat at Ban
Phrao in Samutsakorn, most people who lived there were impoverished
illiterate farmers. The area was often flooded with sea water which
destroyed the paddies and left the people with no means of subsistence.
Realizing that poverty could not be eradicated unless new crops
were introduced, since salt water was ruining the rice fields, Phrakhru
Sakorn suggested planting coconut trees, following the example of a
nearby province (Sivaraksa, 1992:50).