Chang Hua Mun - Thailand Farming At It’s Best

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Chang Hua Mun - Thailand Farming At It’s Best

Our motor vehicle review featured in this edition of Hua Hin Today is about a Nissan March. We used this opportunity to take a drive to the Royal Project and demonstration farm at Chang Hua Mun. This was a pleasant trip of about 60 kilometres from Cha-Am through farmland in the Tha Yang District in Petchaburi Province on good roads and a recommended ‘Sunday drive’ to experience the Petchaburi farming countryside.

What’s In A Name?

Chang Hua Mun literally translates as "weighing a potato", but it’s spoken as a pun for "let it be that way” or “who cares”. It is one of those Thai emotional expressions when there is a feeling of - “Okay, I’ll face it whatever it will be”, or “forget about it”. It is also meant as an appreciation, an expression of regret, or even to say never mind. It is spoken more intimately than ‘Mai Pen Rai’, and used within a family context or between friends.

Chang Hua Mun is also the name of a very successful Royal Project. A story is told about the King receiving gifts of vegetables and leaving some potatoes on small scales in his office. He next saw them when they were budding (still on the scales) so he brought them to Petchaburi and gave them to farmers to use as breeding stock.

This project started in 2008, when King Bhumibol purchased in two plots of land near the Nong Seua Reservoir. The land was initially 120 Rai (47.5 acre) then a further 130 Rai (51.3 acres) totaling 250 Rai (98.8 acres). The land had been degraded and was unwanted with significant soil damage from chemical contamination. It has now been restored and developed into an agricultural and livestock showcase and a model of sustainable farming practices.

What Will You Find?

• Wind Turbines and Solar Panels for power generation


• Organic fertiliser production


• Bio diesel production


• Fruit growing crops including many kinds of bananas, dragon fruit, papaya, lemons, pumpkin, sugarcane &, coconuts.


• Vegetable crops such as asparagus, sweet basil, cherry tomatoes, peppers, watercress okra & bitter gourd.


• Post harvesting with cleaning, trimming, grading and packing for distribution.


• A Dairy Farm with a free range herd of Holstein Friesians, milk production and processing.

It is much more than ‘agro-tourism’ but visited by students, scholars and farmers. The aim is to provide anyone who is interested in understanding sustainable agriculture best practice and seeing it in operation.

People living in the area also benefit from employment, better communication, electricity and water resources. Since the establishment of the Project in 2010, His Majesty has visited the project constantly to monitor its progress and last attended in December 2013.

Our host at Chang Hua Mun was Ms Saiturn Hintong or Khun Joy as she is better known. Her role is about public relations and she proudly wears the Royal Insignia on her uniform. She is one of about 80-90 workers at the Project. She told us that there are around 26,000 visitors each month with about 10% being foreign residents or visitors. Of course Members of the Royal Family are the most eagerly anticipated visitors and every Wednesday fresh produce is taken to the Royal Palace.

It’s fair to say that attracting Thai people has priority with only a minimal amount of English language information on hand. However, perhaps with a Thai friend along for the ride, it is a user friendly destination for all visitors. There are both bicycles and open motorised transport for farm tours available and a Thai restaurant to satisfy any hunger urges.

Chang Hua Mun is a highly recommended destination to experience a different ‘taste of Thailand’.

-- Hua Hin Today 2014-03-03

[sirocco]

Hello,

Can we visit the farm? Thank you for your reply.