More Than the Sum of Their Parts:

Transcription

1 18 T H A I L A N D More Than the Sum of Their Parts: The Construction of a Building for the Baan Bangla Savings Group GENERAL INFORMATION Country: Thailand Location: Phuket Province, Thalang District, Pak Klong Sub-district Community: Village of Baan Bangla Number of Beneficiaries: 139 households Workshop Section: Capacity-building Infrastructure Implementing Institution: Food Security Project for Phang Nga Bay Coastal Communities Head: Mr. Pichet Pandam Details of Institution: Address: 39 Moo 3, Tambon Pak Klong, Amphur Thalang, Phuket 83110, Thailand Tel.: (+ 66) rapoo-andaman@yahoo.com Implementation Period: 1 September August 2007 Budget: $20,

2 218 VOLUME 14: EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACHES TO RECOVERY FROM NATURAL DISASTERS: POST-TSUNAMI EXPERIENCES S U M M A R Y The project aimed to construct a multipurpose building to support community development activities in three areas: alternative livelihoods through community business, financial security through savings and welfare schemes, and sustainable management of natural resources. It was implemented through a communitybased organization (CBO), with additional support from an inter-village network that helped to leverage the impact of the project s activities through knowledge-sharing and policy dialogue. This project is an exemplary case of how the South-South cooperation principles are applied at the village level among marginalized communities with remarkable impact, which goes beyond economic benefits. B A C K R O U N D A N D J U S T I F I C AT I O N Phuket is a small island but it has been a well-known tourist destination for a long time. The western side of the island is crowded with tourists, hotels, restaurants and all kinds of tourist-attraction activities. The eastern side, which is only a 15-minute drive from the western side, is the opposite. The villagers still maintain a traditional way of living and are engaged primarily in coastal fishery. Baan Bangla, a small village situated about 20 kilometres east of the Phuket provincial town, is no different. The 139 households earn their living from aquaculture, coastal fishing and smallscale pará rubber plantations. During the past 10 years, however, there has been a rapid expansion of housing projects for urban middle-class people into this local area. The villagers were worried that their natural environment and harmonious way of life would be affected. They have also been fighting with respect to community land issues for more than a decade to resist illegal claims on their public land by private investors. The last piece of public land where the old savings group building is located is connected to a community mangrove forest that is well protected by the villagers. In 1999, the village savings group was established to serve as a community financial institute. According to Arun Bamroongna, head of the Baan Bangla Savings Group, the Group takes deposits from its members on a regular, monthly basis and provides loans at a 2 per cent interest rate per month to its members, who invest the money in their production activities. Some set up a small trading business and many invest in aquaculture. They raise fish and shells in cages in the canal, which is connected to the sea. The Baan Bangla Savings Group has constantly grown. Its membership expanded from 36 to 86 households and the savings rose from 350,000 baht before the tsunami to 760,000 baht only one and a half years after the disaster (Source: September 2007 report, Baan Bangla Savings Group).

3 More than the Sum of Their Parts: Thailand 219 After the tsunami, the role of the Savings Group became more relevant. It provided interest-free loans to 36 households that had lost their fishing boats and tools and to the village women s group, which also had lost its handicraft products in several souvenir shops along the Patong beach. With such a loan, the women s group was able to restart its business. It made crystal necklaces, earrings, pins, rings, etc., which are very popular with Muslim women in Phuket and nearby provinces. When our handicrafts were wiped away by the huge waves in December 2004, we didn t claim anything back from the souvenir shops. They were in a much worse situation. The Savings Group lent us a helping hand. It gave us a loan to restart our business. I went to a government training course in Bangkok to learn to make crystal jewellery. Now we are back on track again. Our jewellery items are popular in Phuket. Muslim women like to wear them when they get dressed up. Wanna Hakaew, Leader of the Bangla- Andaman Women s Group The old building of the Baan Bangla Savings Group was a temporary oneroom structure, built with the primary objective of marking the community s ownership over its last piece of public land near the community s mangrove forest. As the Group grew and the issue of outsiders encroachment on the community s land became more and more crucial, the villagers wanted to have a more permanent and well-equipped building to use as an operation centre for their savings and to pursue their long-term development objectives. O B J E C T I V E S The project had the following multidimensional objectives: to construct a permanent building to be used for the operation of the village savings, community business and mangrove protection activities; to enhance the capacity of the Baan Bangla Savings Group and the inter-village savings groups network in addressing financial and environmental problems that have an impact on the security of their livelihoods; and to promote knowledge-sharing and peer-to-peer support through an inter-village networking process. O U T C O M E S The intended tangible outcomes of the project were as follows. a two-storey building 4.5 metres by 12 metres would be constructed and adequately equipped; and the building would be used as the community s multi-purpose centre, for example, offices of savings and mangrove protection groups, a centre for fish grading and collective selling, a tsunami evacuation centre, a forest watch centre and a community meeting room.

4 220 VOLUME 14: EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACHES TO RECOVERY FROM NATURAL DISASTERS: POST-TSUNAMI EXPERIENCES The intended intangible outcomes were as follows: the community s capacity in grant planning, grant management and management of construction projects would be increased; a holistic approach in dealing with interconnected livelihood and environmental issues would be adopted by the community and other villages within the same ecosystem, and the inter-village networking process would be strengthened. A C T I V I T I E S, A C H I E V E M E N T S A N D I M PA C T A C T I V I T I E S A N D T H E P R O C E S S The activities can be classified as two types: project activities, which include those relating to the construction and utility of the building, and networking activities, which contributed greatly to the achievement of the project. Project Activities Selected leaders from the village savings group and the community went on an exposure trip to similar projects within the Phang Nga Bay Community Savings Groups Network. Following the trip, a local contractor with proven knowledge of the geographical and climate conditions of the area was engaged to draw the building design and the blueprint. Labourers for the construction were recruited from the community to create local income opportunities. The Baan Bangla Savings Group committee was responsible for procuring the construction materials, monitoring and inspecting the construction, and managing the budget. Owing to the fluctuation in currency exchange rates, the amount received (in baht) was much lower than originally planned and the Group had to use part of its fund to top up. Low-interest loans were also provided from the Phang Nga Bay Community Savings Groups Network as an advance for the delayed project budget from Bangkok. The construction was completed in August 2007 and a religious ritual was held as a blessing for the new building. On 2 September 2007, an official opening ceremony was organized, presided over by the Vice-Governor of Phuket and attended by hundreds of partners from Network villages, local schools and university students, government agencies and local media. After the opening session, the Vice-Governor and some guests were taken on a boat tour around the community s mangrove forest by youth groups from villages within the Phang Nga Bay Community Savings Groups Network. Towards the end of the event, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was jointly signed by the Governor, the villagers, the Network members, and those who volunteered to support the community s initiatives on mangrove forest protection. The MOU was by no means a legal commitment but rather an expressed intention of the community and its partners to protect the environment for local and global benefits.

5 More than the Sum of Their Parts: Thailand 221 Important Facts about the Bangla Mangrove Forest Total coverage is approximately 1,200 rai (1,920,000 square metres). 500 rai are protected as a strictly conservation zone. 264 rai (two plots) are allocated for community utilities, such as firewood, food supplies and construction. The rest is a reforested zone. The forest is rich in biodiversity, with more than 200 kinds of native flora and fauna species such as the horse mussel, cerith, clam, blue swimming crab, banana prawn, sea grass and coastal coral reefs. During the 2004 tsunami, the mangroves protected the village from the huge waves; no one was killed and only fishing gear in the sea was destroyed. Networking Activities The success of the project is due partially to strong support from the Phang Nga Bay Community Savings Groups Network for Social Development. This support took many forms such as: advice on project design and management arrangements; provision of low-interest loans to solve a budget deficiency problem; monitoring of visits to the construction site; and knowledge-sharing on organizational and financial management. As a member of the Network, the Baan Bangla Savings Group also participated in other Network activities, including: donating financing to support most-affected communities in Ranong Province in the aftermath of the tsunami; supporting the development of environmental protection plans in eight out of ten villages based on one common principle: community participation in the sustainable management of natural resources; conducting a participatory survey of community mangroves in six villages and developing a database on community natural resources; supporting land use and a forest zoning exercise in two villages; and participating in action research to develop alternative livelihood activities from seafood and mangrove non-timber products. These activities have strengthened collaboration between the Phang Nga Bay coastal communities and their collective ability to address common problems. As one of the Network members stated: Our Network is as rich as our mangrove. The mangrove is rich in biodiversity but our Network is rich in diverse knowledge and experience. When we synergize, we

6 222 VOLUME 14: EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACHES TO RECOVERY FROM NATURAL DISASTERS: POST-TSUNAMI EXPERIENCES become stronger and have more confidence to fight any problems. Within a more complex globalized world, however, things are not always easy. For the communities around Phang Nga Bay, a new emerging threat brought about by globalization remains. An international project to construct a yacht landing port within Phang Nga Bay has been launched and will inevitably affect the livelihood of small fishery households within the Network. Therefore, a big challenge lies ahead and the Network s capacity in policy dialogue will need to be strengthened to ensure the community s participation in decision-making on any new mega projects that would have an adverse impact on its life. S T R E N G T H S A N D W E A K N E S S E S Strengths of the project included the following: a high level of community participation in all stages of the project implementation; the strong support from the intervillage savings groups network; a close tie between livelihood and environmental activities through an integrated approach; the community s ability to engage high-level officers in the project activities; and the proven experiences and credibility of the executing nongovernmental organization (NGO). Project weaknesses included: a budget deficiency due to rising costs of construction materials and fluctuation of the currency exchange rates; and limited capacity of the community and its network to deal with mega projects that have adverse effects on its life. P R O J E C T P L A N N I N G A N D D E S I G N T H E P R O C E S S Before the project was initiated, Baan Bangla had prepared its development plan, which includes activities in three areas: alternative livelihoods through community business, financial security through savings and welfare schemes, and sustainable management of natural resources. The grant project was discussed among committee members of the Baan Bangla Savings Group and community leaders to assess its potential contribution to the overall achievement of the village plan. It was agreed that the grant would be used to construct a multi-purpose building for the operation of the Savings Group and the centre for fish grading and selling because it would be located near a canal that is the venue of community aquaculture activities. The building could also be used as a centre for a forest watch and mangrove protection group. The specifications of the building

7 More than the Sum of Their Parts: Thailand 223 were jointly identified by the Baan Bangla Savings Group committee and community leaders to accommodate needs of different activity groups. The Savings Group committee was assigned responsibility for project implementation. It was in charge of the procurement of construction materials, monitoring and financial management. A local contractor who used to work with a big housing estate project was hired to do the construction while labourers were recruited from within the village. R E P R E S E N TAT I V E N E S S The project was designed in consultation with representatives of most households in the community through a series of meetings. These representatives included men, women and youth groups. Other important figures of the village such as religious leaders and the leaders of the Mangrove Protection Group and the Bangla-Andaman Women s Group were also fully and regularly consulted by the project committee. E VA L U AT I O N A few Group and Network members with construction knowledge volunteered to help with inspection work and visited the site every week. Formal monitoring was conducted by the Group committee. A workshop to share construction progress with other villages in the Phang Nga Bay Community Savings Groups Network was also held as an official monitoring exercise. P A R T N E R S H I P S I M P L E M E N T I N G I N S T I T U T I O N S The Food Security Project for Phang Nga Bay Coastal Communities facilitated the project implementation and community learning process throughout the whole period. In particular, it mobilized extrabudgetary resources and coordinated with a wide range of external partners to participate in the opening ceremony of the building and the signing of the MOU. The participation of these partners could eventually lead to their future support to the community s self-initiated efforts in sustainable environmental protection and livelihood development. R O L E O F G O V E R N M E N T Government officials who supported the community s voluntary initiatives on mangrove protection included the provincial Vice-Governor who signed the MOU prepared by the community; the Provincial and Tambon Administrative Organizations that participated in the opening ceremony of the building and expressed their interest in setting up field offices in it; the Marine and Mangrove Research Institute, which gave technical advice on mangrove protection; and local universities and schools that participated in reforestation activities and expressed interest in bringing their students to learn about nature from the mangrove as part of the curriculum.

8 224 VOLUME 14: EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACHES TO RECOVERY FROM NATURAL DISASTERS: POST-TSUNAMI EXPERIENCES N G O PA R T N E R S H I P S The story of the Baan Bangla Savings Group was reported in local newspapers, with a focus on growing worries among the villagers about the construction of an international yacht landing port in Phang Nga Bay. A suggestion was made to involve community representatives in a multi-stakeholder committee to revisit the advantages and disadvantages of such a project before it was pursued. The Phang Nga Bay Community Savings Groups Network also provided peer-to-peer support through knowledge-sharing, monitoring visits and participation in the opening ceremony of the building and mangrove rehabilitation activities. C H A L L E N G E S A N D C O N S T R A I N T S The project addressed development challenges in several areas. As an infrastructure project, its immediate contribution to the community s infrastructure needs was realized as the old building of the Baan Bangla Savings Group was very small and poorly equipped. Through the implementation of the project, the community s capacity in managing selfsustained development was also enhanced. Knowledge-sharing through inter-village networking, which was a part of the project design, was also regarded as a continual channel for the development of human capital. With its enhanced capacity, the community and its network could collectively address their concerns about unsustainable policies and a regulatory framework regarding the community s management of natural resources. L E S S O N S L E A R N E D Key lessons learned from the project included the following: Networking among communities that share common problems could result in a stronger impact of the solutions as well as increased community confidence to tackle the problems. The concept of South-South cooperation can be applied even at the village level through peer-topeer support or the networking process, which goes beyond a financial contribution. For more complex issues, the network should be strategically expanded to include a wider range of partners and expertise to address the problems collectively. R E P L I C A B I L I T Y The project model has been replicated simultaneously in another three villages within the Phang Nga Bay Community Savings Groups Network through the South-South Grants Facility (SSGF) funding. In all cases, the infrastructure development project was designed and

9 More than the Sum of Their Parts: Thailand 225 implemented through a community empowerment process and communitybased organizations (i.e., village savings groups). The Baan Bangla Savings Group committee served as facilitators and mentors to the other three groups and, at the same time, learned as new lessons emerged from the extension. Regular meetings were held among these projects to share the progress and lessons learned from one another. F U T U R E P L A N S L I V E L I H O O D D E V E L O P M E N T A new community group on caged crabs and fish keeping will be established. The cages will be kept in a canal behind the building. The backyard of the building will be used as a fish and crab grading and selling centre. F I N A N C I A L M A N A G E M E N T The Baan Bangla Savings Group will invite applications from new members. Its activities will continue to benefit its members and the rest of the community through various welfare funds. Rules and regulations of the Group will be reviewed and revised after the new committee is elected next year. E N V I R O N M E N TA L P R O T E C T I O N The Mangrove Protection Group will continue its forest watch and reforestation activities. The community s mangrove forest will serve as a learning site for school and university students. The community will take due action to protect its natural resources as stated in the MOU. Its participation in the Network activities will continue, especially in policy dialogue to secure the community s production base. Connections with a regional or national people s network will also be established, especially when dealing with issues that the local communities do not have the capacity to address by themselves. P U B L I C A T I O N S A N D R E F E R E N C E S Unofficial Documents for Internal Project Use Memorandum of Understanding between UNOPS and Food Security Project for Phang Nga Bay Coastal Communities (2006). Progress Report on the Implementation of the Phase Two SSGF Projects in Thailand (2007). The Baan Bangla Savings Group, Monthly Report (September 2007). The Construction of a Building for the Baan Bangla Savings Group, project completion report (2007). Field Interviews: Key Interviewees Mr. Arun Bamroongna, head, Baan Bangla Savings Group. Ms. Wanna Nga-kaew, head, Bangla-Andaman Women s Group.

10 226 VOLUME 14: EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACHES TO RECOVERY FROM NATURAL DISASTERS: POST-TSUNAMI EXPERIENCES Mr. Boonluan Bamroongna, a household representative. Ms. Yupa Petyala, a household representative. Contacts: Case Study Documented by: Ms. Walaitat Worakul walaitat@hotmail.com; walaitat@loxinfo.co.th Project Contact: Baan Bangla Savings Group, Moo 8, Tambon Pak Klong, Amphur Thalang, Phuket, Thailand