Development Principles
“Help The People To Help Themselves.”
That is, the sustainability of development is that the community can proceed, continue and develop further by themselves, think, analyze and solve problems by themselves. and self-reliant
The Roi Chai Rak project is guided by the working principles and the royal guidance of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX). The Grandmother Fa Foundation believes in human potential and carries out development activities to elevate the quality of life, ensuring community stability and sustainability in terms of economy, society, culture, and the environment. It focuses on developing human resources to “think, do, and adapt” to cope with changes and continuous learning, earning a living ethically, self-reliance, and continuous development. Therefore, sustainable development takes time, step by step, adhering to the principles and royal guidance of His Majesty the King. The 3S Model, known as Survival, Sufficiency, and Sustainability, is used as a model for sustainable development.
Survival
Survival emphasizes on developing and improving an access to basic life necessities including water, soil, forest, basic infrastructure, and public health. At the same time, community members should be able to lower their household expenses and increase income from licit activities through diverse development activities. Ultimately, the community members must have enough money for household consumption and do not need to rely on loans for daily lives. The natural resources must not be further destroyed and the community is able to manage the natural resources themselves.
Sufficiency
Sufficiency emphasizes on the increase of productivity and value of their products and services which allows the community members to be able to sustain themselves financially. Community members should have secure incomes and savings and be able to reduce or repay their debts, acquire higher education, know their rights and duties, follow the community rules, promote local cultures and take a proactive part in managing, preserving and restoring the ecosystem.
Sustainability
Sustainability emphasizes on community members being selfimmune. Self-immunity according to the Sufficiency Economy refers to having ethics and moral considerations, having a social responsibility, adhering to the good governance practices, managing natural resources in a sustainable way. The community members should have sound judgement and appropriate actions; to lead the community development activities; to solve local issues by themselves; and to exchange and dissemination of knowledge within and outside the community.
Each community has different natural and occupational resources, leading to different levels of quality of life. Some communities may be at the Survival level, where they can sustainably maintain their lifestyles, have sufficient food throughout the year, and are free from debt incurred for food or household expenses. Others may be at the Sufficiency level, where they have regular income to consistently pay off debts and have improved education and living conditions. Some communities may be transitioning towards the Sustainability level, where they have savings, comprehensive insurance coverage for income, health, and education, and can stand on their own feet, eventually becoming entrepreneurs in the future. Therefore, it is crucial that the development team studies and analyzes each community’s level and identifies areas for improvement to create a suitable development plan based on a stable but adaptable foundation. This will allow the community to “help themselves genuinely” in the future.