Why: Addressing Climate Challenges

Historically, traditional mulberry silk-making communities in Northeastern Thailand have suffered from poverty exacerbated by frequent droughts and floods. Climate change impacts now threaten the entire value chain in major silk-producing provinces like Buriram, Chaiyaphum, Nakon Ratchasima, and Surin. Previously, some villagers faced zero income during disasters. This project addresses the urgent need to transition these communities into “smart farmers” to protect their traditional livelihoods and hand this heritage to future generations.

What: Scaling Innovative Solutions

This project is a first-of-its-kind initiative in Thailand to tackle sericulture through the lens of climate change adaptation. Supported by a $110,000 grant, the program replicates a successful pilot model from Surin across three additional provinces.

  • Target Areas: Buriram, Chaiyaphum, and Nakon Ratchasima.
  • Focus Groups: Primarily women villagers who sustain family traditions and roles in the community.
  • Key Interventions: Education on disaster risk reduction, sustainable production, and testing innovative technologies.

How: Sample Project Activities

The project achieves its goals through a structured set of capacity-building and technical activities:

  • Climate Adaptation Training: Organizing one-day workshops to train participants on the use of six key technologies: the “Fahfon” weather forecast app, agro-forestry, aquaculture, crops development, solar cells, and precision farming.

     

  • Soil Preparation Exercises: Conducting field exercises to introduce specialized soil preparation techniques, specifically for orchards and seeding.
     
  • Design Thinking Workshops: Facilitating three-day intensive workshops where villagers use design thinking tools to identify community challenges and devise their own localized climate adaptation plans.
     
  • Gender Empowerment Sessions: Implementing training on the “gender lens” and the UNDP gender marker to ensure that both men and women are represented in decision-making and that climate plans are inclusive.


 

  • Digital Marketing Partnerships: Partnering with platforms like Lazada to provide training on digital marketing for organic silk products, helping farmers increase their income by reaching online customer groups.
     
  • Social Marketing for Officials: Providing training to local government organizations (such as Tambon Administration Offices) to help them promote the uniqueness of local silk products.
     
  • Global Knowledge Exchange: Conducting field studies to world-renowned sericultural sites, such as the Hangzhou Silk Museum in China, to inspire new heritage management and farming practices.
  • Impact: Building Resilient Communities

The project’s expansion aims for substantial socio-economic growth and environmental resilience:

  • Beneficiary Reach: Directly benefiting 2,240 people and indirectly supporting 4,480 individuals.
  • Geographic Scale: Covering approximately 9,000 acres of mulberry farming land in the three new provinces.
  • Economic Growth: Targeting a 20% increase in income for mulberry silk farmers through improved production and online sales.
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  • Knowledge Transfer: 500 trained villagers are expected to share their expertise, effectively doubling the number of people competent in climate adaptation technologies.
  • Proven Success: In the initial pilot, 83.8% of participants gained a better understanding of climate change, and over 1,000 villagers successfully adopted weather forecast apps to manage heat waves.
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