The Regional Centre for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD) is a subdivision within the Faculty of Social Sciences of Chiang Mai University (CMU), Thailand established in 1998. The centre aims to attain a better understanding of sustainable development issues in South East Asia by integrating social science and natural science knowledge.
Running a graduate program, the centre prides itself on its focus to both research and teaching. Core aspects of the program include resource management, highland agricultural systems, social science, health, environmental impact assessment and ethnic and gender relations.
Green gateway of RCSD building in CMU
Prasit Leepreecha, a Ph. D researcher from the RSCD, kindly gave us an introductory lecture on Thailand – with his core focus concerning the indigenous Hill Tribes of the North which makes up part of the minority of the Thai population. Leepreecha illustrated how these Hill Tribes contain histories and face challenges which are quite different to those found further south. One aspect that Leepreecha placed considerable emphasis on was the opium trade.
During the era of colonization, the Hill Tribes in Northern Thailand were major players in the production of opium. Previously, the tribes were subsistence farmers, but the continual burgeoning of colonial influence and prime agricultural conditions for cultivation soon made the area infamous for its opium production.
In many instances, the Hill Tribes people became addicted to opium which caused paralysing problems within their communities and with their dealings to outside investors. The opium wars in China (1839-1857, and 1856-1857) added to the Hill Tribes woes by creating fears of regional instability. To make matters worse, poverty amongst the Hill Tribes was reaching an alarming scale.
During the 1950s, the Thai Government decided to take action by establishing the National Committee for the Hill Tribes which delegitimized smoking and trading of opium. However, its production was still a major source of income to many Hill Tribes which brought on further complications. For example, policies made against the use and cultivation of opium could potentially further escalate the degree of poverty in the region. The government, recognizing this potentiality, worked hard to ensure that the Hill Tribes had the support and the incentive they needed to discontinue opium production.
The solution was to persuade the tribes to convert to a more stable, less dangerous and economically viable production of cash crops (including cabbage and fruits). This project, known as the Royal Project, was initiated by his Highness King Rama IX and has been commended on an international scale for its success. The Royal Project is viewed as one of the major success stories in Thailand’s modern history as it has considerably improved the lives of Thailand’s poorest grade (the Hill Tribes) whilst simultaneously weaning them off opium production.
However, this remains only one of the myriad of issues that has greatly impacted the plight of the Hill Tribes over the last centuries. The opium narrative should be viewed as vital to any comprehensive understanding of the Hill Tribes, but definitely not as the only narrative there is. In fact, for many Hill Tribes opium production and the many problems it caused is now a thing of the past.
Times have changed, and with it a new focus has emerged. Despite the government’s effort to ensure economic sustainability, the Hill Tribes still face significant challenges— primarily concerning matters of education, citizenship, land recognition, land preservation, legal representation and rights recognition— but they go into the future stronger and more unified than ever.
Dr. Leepreecha regretfully mentioned that he could only give a brief overview of the history and plight of the Hill Tribes in the time available as a more comprehensive understanding would take weeks and weeks. Nonetheless, we thank Dr. Leepreecha for the time he so generously gave and the RCSD for being so hospitable and allowing such an opportunity to take place.
We wish the RCSD all the best in their future research and can only hope that their future findings are as rich and well documented as the ones presented to us.
During the era of colonization, the Hill Tribes in Northern Thailand were major players in the production of opium. Previously, the tribes were subsistence farmers, but the continual burgeoning of colonial influence and prime agricultural conditions for cultivation soon made the area infamous for its opium production.
In many instances, the Hill Tribes people became addicted to opium which caused paralysing problems within their communities and with their dealings to outside investors. The opium wars in China (1839-1857, and 1856-1857) added to the Hill Tribes woes by creating fears of regional instability. To make matters worse, poverty amongst the Hill Tribes was reaching an alarming scale.
During the 1950s, the Thai Government decided to take action by establishing the National Committee for the Hill Tribes which delegitimized smoking and trading of opium. However, its production was still a major source of income to many Hill Tribes which brought on further complications. For example, policies made against the use and cultivation of opium could potentially further escalate the degree of poverty in the region. The government, recognizing this potentiality, worked hard to ensure that the Hill Tribes had the support and the incentive they needed to discontinue opium production.
Dr. Prasit Leepreecha eagerly elaborating on Thai tribal issues
The solution was to persuade the tribes to convert to a more stable, less dangerous and economically viable production of cash crops (including cabbage and fruits). This project, known as the Royal Project, was initiated by his Highness King Rama IX and has been commended on an international scale for its success. The Royal Project is viewed as one of the major success stories in Thailand’s modern history as it has considerably improved the lives of Thailand’s poorest grade (the Hill Tribes) whilst simultaneously weaning them off opium production.
However, this remains only one of the myriad of issues that has greatly impacted the plight of the Hill Tribes over the last centuries. The opium narrative should be viewed as vital to any comprehensive understanding of the Hill Tribes, but definitely not as the only narrative there is. In fact, for many Hill Tribes opium production and the many problems it caused is now a thing of the past.
Times have changed, and with it a new focus has emerged. Despite the government’s effort to ensure economic sustainability, the Hill Tribes still face significant challenges— primarily concerning matters of education, citizenship, land recognition, land preservation, legal representation and rights recognition— but they go into the future stronger and more unified than ever.
Dr. Chayan Vaddhanaphuti, the Director of RCSD
Dr. Leepreecha regretfully mentioned that he could only give a brief overview of the history and plight of the Hill Tribes in the time available as a more comprehensive understanding would take weeks and weeks. Nonetheless, we thank Dr. Leepreecha for the time he so generously gave and the RCSD for being so hospitable and allowing such an opportunity to take place.
We wish the RCSD all the best in their future research and can only hope that their future findings are as rich and well documented as the ones presented to us.
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