LOCATION : [H.M. BIRTHDAY] [MY FUTURE] [MY OFFICE] [MY RTAF] [MY COUNTRY] [MY WEB]
     
Khao Hin Son, a Royally Initiated Priject (1986).

At the present time (1986) there are approximately nine hundred "Royally Suggested" development projects troughtout the Kingdom of Thailand. Some, such as those in the Chiang Mai area, are very well known; others, such as Khao Hin Son, have had less public attention.
The Projects are classified basically as Integrated Rural Development Projects (IRDP) which include land settlement and infrastructure; water resource development; community development; natural resources conversation and preservation; agricultural and vocational development; health; and others, including education and crop research development. The country is considered to have four regions - the north, northeast, central, and south. Within these regions, there are six "Royal Development Center". These are centers of both study for development, and study of development, or the methods of development.
The first Royal Development Center was initiated about seven years ago, following a gift of land to His Majesty the King by a villager in Khao Hin Son, Chachoengsao Province. His Majesty accepted the land - not for His personal use, but to be used for a center for experimental agricultural studieds, in a quest for alternative crops suited to that area.
The land in the area of Khao Hin Son is very poor and unproductive; the main crop is tapioca. When the project was begun at Khao Hin Son the low fertility, sandy soil showed only spare, scrub growth. The first problem was to provide and adequate water supply, and to find a way to use available water to the very best adventage. In an entire year, rain falls on and average of only 114 days!
The "Khao Hin Son Development Demonstration Center Project Under His Majesty the King's Advice" is located in Amphoe Phanom Sarakham, Chachoengsao Province. (The name Khao Hin Son means, roughly, "A mountain made from piled-up stones"). Today (1986) the initial project area of 264 rai has been enlarged to approximately 1,387 rai, and is green and flowering proof os what can be accomplished by planning, implementation coordination -- and plain hard work. Project management is under the Project Administration Committee, but policy and management are besed exactly on the King's advice.
Cover crops and legumes were planted early in the development, and plowed under to provide humus and nutrients to the soil. Crops are rotated to improve and maintain the soil, and year-round cropping is practiced.
Simple dykes, built from crop waste, serve both to prevent soil erosion and to hold moisture. In the rolling, hilly areas, crops are planted in horizontal rows, rather than vertical -- this too helps to prevent rapid water run-off and soil erosion.
Back to previous menu or Back to main menu or Return to the Top.