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The Thai Royal Project Foundation
Since His Majesty's accession to the throne 52 years ago, not once have the sufferings of the Thai people been unknown to him or ignored. The king’s commitment to supporting his country has seen the development of over 4,000 Royal Projects, each reflecting His Majesty's concerns over the well being of his subjects. Whether the project is agriculture, irrigation, forestry or the environment the key purpose of each is to teach people the essentials of self-sufficient and environmentally friendly business practices. 34 Development Centres, to date, have been put in place by The Royal Project Foundation. The centres provide a base from which teaching and training is carried out to help stop issues such as opium cultivation, forest destruction and the Thai people are taught how to earn a good living without damaging natural resources as well as considering soil conservation and proper use of water.

In 2007 Thailand will celebrate the 80th birthday anniversary of their King, King Bhumibol Adulyadej and as part of the festivities there are numerous events taking place throughout the year. Nine Royal Initiative Projects have been specially selected; here is a brief summary of a particularly successful project, Doi Tung in Chiang Rai’s Golden Triangle. Doi Tung works to eradicate the supply of opium, drug use and rural poverty through Sustainable Alternative Development (SAD) such as education, training, humanitarian activities, conservation, fair-trade handicrafts, culture preservation and eco-tourism. The work completed to date has received the United Nations Award for SAD and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Award for eco-tourism.



Botanical gardens in Doi Tung, described as the most magnificent botanical gardens in Thailand, if not all of Asia