“Help for the hill tribes and the Hill Tribes Development Project has given direct benefits to the tribes by helping them to grow useful crops and enabling them to have a better standard of living. One of the reasons underlying the creation of the project was humanitarianism; the desire that these people living in remote areas should become self-supporting and more prosperous. Another reason, and which has received support from all sides, was to solve the problem of heroin…..a further reason which is very important is that, as is well known, the hill tribes are people who use agricultural methods which, if left unchecked, could bring the country to ruin. In other words they cut down trees and practice ‘slash-and-burn’ methods which are totally wrong. If we help them, it is tantamount to the country in general having a better standard of living and security.”
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great’s speech at
the Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, 10 January 1974
The Royal Project:
Start Small, Growing Strong
With His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great’s philosophy of sufficiency economy according to the principle of “Understanding Empathy and Development” that the Royal Project has followed vigorously for 54 years in order to solve many highly critical problems of poverty, illegal farming, inequality and natural degradation in Thailand that once caused His people vulnerable, and helping them achieve their stability and sustainability. The Royal Project Model has proved to be highly effective as it has magnified an outstanding outcome that 512,986 people from 1,131 villages of the highland areas have received holistic knowledge-based development that they have become self-reliant and live happily by farming temperate crops instead of doing opium cultivation and even living with forests in a sustainable way. The highland areas in Thailand is the source of raw food materials with the highest quality which is safe altogether to farmers, consumers and environments.
The Royal Project Perspectives
B.E. 2512
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great (King Rama IX) graciously established the Royal Project to eliminate opium cultivation and to improve living conditions of hill-tribe people as well as to rehabilitate highland natural resources and environment in a sustainable manner.
B.E. 2560
His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua (King Rama X) has determined to nurture, conserve, and extend the Royal Project to ensure the prosperity of his people.