The ardent
wishes of H.M. King Bhumibol to provide a better
living standard for the Thais in remote areas
have spread to every corner of the country as
are evidenced by more than 3,000 royal development
projects. About 100 km from Bangkok, on Highway
304 in Khao Hin Son Sub-county, Phanom Sarakham
County, Chachoengsao Province, is situated Khao
Hin Son Royal Development Study Centre, which
is the earliest royal study centre (among the
existing six) established to solve natural resource
and environmental problems.
In August 1979, after H.M. King Bhumibol presided
over a ceremony to inaugurate the statue of
King Pinklao* at Khao Hin Son Sub-county. His
Majesty analysed the soil conditions and conceived
the idea of transfroming such a barren land
into a development study centre. On an occasion
not long after that, the King talked about the
land as follows, "At the time of the area
study the land was found to be difficult to
improve due to plenty of rocks underground ...even
the cassava plant, which could withstand drought,
could not grow here. This meant there was no
fertilizer and no water underground at all.
Only sand was found here. So, a thought came
to my mind that Khao Hin Son had to be developed
to be a land that plants can grow."
In the initial phase of the centre's operation,
some officials reported that the centre would
make the loss outweigh the gain. His Majesty
disagreed and made a remark which reads, "...later
on, several organizations mentioned that the
soil here was not of good quality and could
not be used and that there shouldn't be a project
here because it would not make enough money
to cover the cost. But I told them that in Thailand
there were lots of low quality soil. If you
said the soil here was not of good quality,
and you wouldn't develop it, at last the whole
country would become desert. The officials understood
and tried to improve the soil quality. Now,
rice or any other plants can grow here."
That was how Khao Hin Son became a one-stop
centre for agricultural development. Various
activities and projects are operated at the
centre such as the growing of vetiver grass
to conserve water and soil; the use of liquid
fertilizer, the replacement of pesticides with
natural substances and so on.
Since the establishment of the centre, the surrounding
deteriorating forests have been restored into
good conditions and the 1,869 rai or 2.99 sq
km area has been developed to be a model for
the local people and their neighbours.
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*Prince Pinklao is King Rama IV's beloved
younger brother. After his accession to the
throne, he made the Prince the second king.
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