SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AS A WAY OF LIFE UNDER THE SUFFICIENCY ECONOMY PHILOSOPHY: A CASE STUDY OF BAAN OMLONG, MAESAB SUBDISTRICT, SAMOENG DISTRICT, CHIANG MAI PROVINCE

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to study about sustainable development under the philosophy of sufficient economy. The boundary of study focuses on Baan Omlong community under Samoeng District in Chiang Mai, as the outstanding area being approached by H.M. King Bhumibol's theory, so-called “BORWORN”, a part of the sufficient economy. The research is mainly to find key components of the sustainable development in the community while understanding factors affecting the community achievement in the sustainable way. In addition, the research shall discover factors obstructing the community development at the same time. The research methodology was involved by qualitative research. It was conducted through in-depth interviews using unstructured interviews, including the participant observation, for a period of two months in order to gather efficient insight data. The review found that home (“Baan” in Thai), temple (“Wat” in Thai), and school (“Rong Rean” in Thai) were three major pillars driving overall Thai society, more or less, to move on. The research discovered that the sufficient economy initiated by H.M. King Bhumibol was able to minimize Baan Omlong’s problem in terms of economic, social, and environmental dimensions simultaneously, and create the sustainability to the community in the long run. The research finally realized that the community should have the guidelines of conservation or tourism management plans which were also formed and presented to the community for lifelong development.