Dare to Return

By Prisana Kongwong, Khaosod, Thailand

When asked why he resigned from an engineering career to start anew as a farmer,Pasawut “Jack” Roongrasmi, 33, simply replied,”Because I wasn’t happy.”

Like him, dozens of young men and women in Thailand are turning away from the modern comforts of big cities, determined to make a self-sufficient life for themselves through agriculture. To help them, a grassroots network of experienced farmers has developed a “smart” agricultural community called “Dare to Return,” assisting the youngsters in setting up their farms with modern and sustainable methods.

“I went through all kinds of training but I wasn’t able to build upon what I had,” Roongrasmi said. “The training I got from the Dare To Return initiative opened a whole new dimension for me. I was able to learn from those who had experience working and living a better life, and little by little I was able to transform myself.”

The Dare To Return initiative is a collaborative effort to empower a new generation of self-sufficient farmers in Thailand, at a time when rural populations are aging. According to the Thai National Economic and Social Development Board, the number of people over 60 living in the countryside rose to more than 11 million in 2017 – or 17 percent of the total population.

The network aims to encourage young people who emigrated to the cities to return and develop their rural hometowns with innovative farming technologies. They believe agriculture is a vector of sustainability and resilience that can provide a long-term foundation for a society ready to adopt technological change. Through mutual assistance, community learning and self-transformation, they hope to bridge the gap between old and new generations and build the basis for a more collaborative society, improving the quality of life for all.

“Once I internalized the fact that I am a farmer, I found that it’s a much better life than that of a salaried worker. I’ve gone further than I ever thought I would. Agriculture works beautifully when it becomes a state of mind, focused on doing what is actually feasible,” Roongrasmi said.

He now claims to be happy with his 1,600-sq. meter farm in Chiang Mai’s Mae Rim rural district, where he uses automatic irrigation and electrical supply systems to grow bromeliad plants for export. He is also taking classes at Mae Jo University, studying the optimization of light for plants.

Purich Singkharaj, also 33, has a horticulture degree from Chiang Mai University. Born into a family of farmers, he chose his career path as a journey of self-discovery, among other reasons.

“After graduating, I used to work six days a week, doing overtime every day, until the company sent me to Nigeria for three years,” he said, noting that the trip gave him the chance to think about what he really wanted from life. “I realized that I was wasting my time, and that I should start my own farming operation while I still had the strength.”

Two years after returning to Thailand, he decided to open a homestay guesthouse. Visitors could use the land surrounding the house to grow onions, rice and organic strawberries.

“My return to Thailand coincided with an economic recession. I had zero capital apart from my chickens and my plants,” he remembered. “My income came from day-to-day product sales. But I had time to pursue my interests in art and music, unlike when I was working at the company. I like this version of me better.”

Aside from owning and running the Innkham Homestay and producing organic chrysanthemums and strawberries, Singkharajorganizes one of the Dare to Return networks of new-generation farmers. He also helps care for orange and lychee orchards on several hectares of family-owned land in Chiang Mai.

Duangjai Sirijai holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and lives in her family home in Chiang Mai’s Doi Tao rural district. The 38-year-old woman worked in Chiang Mai for seven years before transferring to Bangkok. But her life changed when her parents fell ill, forcing her to return to her hometown.

She started preparing her move three years ahead of time – saving money, renovating the family home, making investments, and learning about agriculture, particularly longan fruit.

Because the sandy soil of her land is particularly suitable for growing roots and tubers, Sirijai turned to permaculture farming methods. She prepped the soil for four months, growing groundnuts, then cultivating Japanese mountain yams and onions. Her agricultural activity is small-scale and focuses on quality, she said.

Today,Sirijaiowns two longan orchards, which she harvests in and out of season. The first has 130 trees on 1.1 hectares, while the second has 60 trees on one-half hectare.

Her farming activities not only provide for her family of six, but also help others in the community learn how to develop their own operations. She makes some of her land available to the Doi Tao Agricultural Learning Center, where she teaches agriculture.

Sirijai’s determination has inspired a whole network of Dare to Return farmers who are now fully integrated into local communities and organizations.

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This article was written for Impact Journalism Day 2018, a collaborative programme initiated by Sparknews gathering over 50 prestigious media outlets worldwide whose combined readership reach out to 100 million readers. On Impact Journalism Day (16 June), these outlets published stories about innovative solutions that help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Discover all Impact Journalism Day stories at http://impactjournalismday.com/read-our-stories/