Sob Khun Model

The destruction of nature and environment is a major global problem. If we allow such problem to persist, it will continue to intensify and become chronic. Human beings and other living creatures may be faced with irrevocable climate change. At present, the global population has recognized and shifted its focus to said problem while stepping forward to raise awareness through various projects and activities. The private sector has played a pivotal role at the forefront and encouraged everyone to engage in restoring nature and the environment. As a member of the private sector, Charoen Pokphand Group, too, acknowledges and pays attention to natural and environmental problems. We have supported and educated communities to raise awareness and love for forests which is like their home. A locality where we have promoted such concept is Sob Khun Village in Tha Wang Pha district, Nan province, which is also a reforestation area under the “Sob Khun Model”.

Sob Khun: From Mountain Village to Carbon Sequestration

‘Ban Sob Khun’, a small village on a distant mountain in Tha Wang Pha district, Nan province has transformed from drylands to what is now an abundant watershed forest as a result of the dedication of the villagers and the support from Charoen Pokphand Group in reviving forests to support a sustainable way of life.

At its initiation five years ago, most villagers who had been engaged in shifting cultivation begun to turn away from old practices and embraced new concepts that could create jobs, generate income and revive forests. Thus, they joined the Sob Khun Model, a project where the Group offered the villagers knowledge on the cultivation of coffee and mixed crops in order to reduce forest areas destroyed by shifting cultivation. As coffee is grown under shaded conditions, shade trees, such as charcoal tree, monkey jack, padauk, bombax ceiba and fig, were planted, leading to reforestation in the process. Agricultural practices at Sob Khun Village are based on a family farming concept. As coffee cultivation does not require as much land as shifting cultivation which relies on large cultivation quantity in order to obtain a worthwhile compensation, some areas could be left untouched to allow nature to self-recover. Such process is called “abandonment” or reforestation without planting. Such effort received good cooperation from the villagers.

At present, Ban Sob Khun has built forests and created jobs for numerous families. The villagers believe that this knowledge can be passed on to their children in the future. As a result of the community’s perseverance and unity, Sob Khun today is not a mere mountaintop village that grows coffee and builds forests, but it also contributes to saving the planet through carbon sequestration.