Established in 1988, the Doi Tung Development Project (DTDP) was initiated by Her Royal Highness Princess Srinagarindra and is operated by the Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage. The DTDP aimed to transform a community from its dependence on opium cultivation and trafficking into a community that possessed stable incomes and transformed denuded mountains into lush green forests.
What do they do?
Most villagers in the area lived in dire poverty without any basic public amenities and were uneducated. Furthermore, the armed militia was in the area, which resorts to deforestation, opium poppy cultivation, drug and sex trafficking for the survival of villagers.
The project covers 29 villages in Chiang Rai Province in Thailand, with a total population of 11,000 people of six ethnic groups. DTDP has helped to improve the well-being of the people, provide life skills training, and create a stable income for every member of the community through five business units: food processing, handicrafts, café, tourism, and agriculture.
It has provided an opportunity for the people of Doi Tung to create products and services for the world with handicrafts, coffee, and macadamia plantation, tourism, and horticulture, which help them to become a true model for sustainable development.