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
Once the people of Yokkrabat started growing coconuts, he advised them not to sell the harvest, because middlemen kept the price of coconuts low. With assistance from three nearby universities that were interested in the development and promotion of community projects, the people of Yokkrabat began selling their coconut sugar all over the country. In addition to advocating the cultivation of coconut plantations, Phrakhru Sakorn led the villagers to grow vegetables and fruits and encouraged the growing of palm trees for building materials and the planting of herbs to be used for traditional medicine. Fish raising was also advised. Under his guidance, within a few years the people’s livelihood improved significantly
Phrakhru Sakorn believed that a community’s basic philosophy should be self reliance and spirituality. He urged Yokkrabat residents to first determine what they need in their family before selling the surplus to earn money and buy things they could not produce by themselves. In this way, villagers depended less on the market