7 Social Enterprises That Are Transforming Thailand
“Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry.”
Bill Drayton, CEO, and Founder of Ashoka
One of the many good things that happened to me during the Social Sabbatical in Thailand was to come to know several local social entrepreneurs. They are individuals who burn with the desire to make a positive social impact and believe they can do it in a sustainable way.
They are hard workers, passionate, creative, and resilient. They get things done. As someone said, they “usually combine a business school brain with a social worker’s heart”.
Talking with them has been deeply inspiring. It’s like drinking a huge can of Red Bull full of optimism, energy, solidarity, and passion. I would like to share here, some of the amazing things they are doing.
· Art for Cancer supports the quality of life of cancer patients in Thailand, using art and creativity as a medium to create the right attitude in coping with cancer. Through creative products, services, and other activities, they help patients and their families to generate an income to cover medical expenses and connect them with other patients, individuals, and social organizations.
· Siam Organic (Jasberry) is a social enterprise that aims to solve the problem of farmer poverty (an issue that affects 17 million farmers in Thailand) through innovative organic products like Jasberry® rice. Beginning with just 25 farmers in the first year, Siam Organic is now working with over 2,500 farmers, helping them out of poverty.
· Klongdinsor designs assistive devices to enable people with disabilities to do more. Using yarn and Velcro, they developed a tactile drawing pen for children with visual impairment.
· De Quarr is a social enterprise that supports artisans from communities in northern Thailand, helping them to develop and commercialize quality production processes, respectful of the environment and tradition. They also add some innovative designs to the products to create a contemporary local craft.
· Steps offers education programs for young neurodiverse people, runs inclusive business models such as cafes, and offers consultancy to help organizations diversify their workforce.
· Moreloop is a service solution provider to maximize surplus fabric value and minimizes waste in the fashion industry. They sell surplus fabrics and upcycle them into new products with the goal of making the circular economy a reality.
· DoiTung has transformed a community located in Chiang Rai Province from its dependence on opium cultivation and trafficking into a community that possesses pride and dignity, transformed illicit livelihoods into honest and stable incomes, and transformed denuded mountains into lush green forests. They did it through a people-centric development approach and comprehensive measures that covered health, livelihoods, and education. They developed six business units: coffee and macadamia, handicrafts, Cafe DoiTung, tourism, and horticulture.
