Next to the main residence of His Majesty the King in Bangkok is a place that is a huge benefit to the people of Thailand
Hidden away in the heart of bustling Bangkok is a very unusual place, a huge open area with a dairy farm, rice paddies, a forest with large native trees and a group of small factories, all overlooked by its neighbour, the most popular and most respected man in the country.
Surrounded by high walls and guarded by soldiers and police, the Chitralada Villa is part of His Majesty the King's main compound in Bangkok, but inside it looks nothing like people expect a royal property to look like. It looks like an experimental farm that one would expect to see in a rural area, rather than in the heart of a city of at least 10 million people. To enter Chitralada Villa and to see and learn about the Royal Chitralada Projects His Majesty initiated is a very special experience for anyone, Thai or foreigner.
Chitralada Villa is not your typical royal residence - in fact, there is no other palace in the world like this. It is an agricultural research farm, aimed primarily at boosting the income and knowledge of Thai farmers and of Thai people in general.
All of the palace officials, including Dr Rosarin Smitabhindu, the Deputy Director of the Royal Chitralada Projects who welcomed the Spectrum team, were broad-minded and very helpful. The security people who guard the palace were also friendly and courteous.
The visit was a memorable experience and one that helps to understand the wholehearted devotion of the Thai people to His Majesty.
THE ROYAL CHITRALADA PROJECTS
Throughout his 63-year reign His Majesty has devoted his intellect and physical strength to working for the benefit and happiness of the Thai people.
During his reign, the King has made numerous trips to all parts of the country to meet people and learn about their living conditions in order to improve their standards of living, to promote the sustainable use of natural resources and to protect the environment.
In 1960 His Majesty revived the Royal Ploughing Ceremony, an ancient tradition, to give an auspicious start to the new rice planting season and to boost the morale of farmers. Then in 1961, on His Majesty's instructions, the Rice Department brought in different rice varieties from all over Thailand to run experiments in a paddy field in the palace grounds.
In that year His Majesty also drove the first prototype of a tractor known as the "Iron Buffalo", which was designed by a Thai engineer. He sowed rice seeds and harvested them himself. Part of the annual harvest from His Majesty's experimental paddy field is used for the Royal Ploughing Ceremony the following year.
The Chitralada Dairy Farm is considered to be the starting point of the semi-profit projects. After receiving a gift of a few head of dairy cows and one bull in 1962, His Majesty donated some of his personal funds towards the construction of the Chitralada Dairy Farm in the palace grounds. The farm was set up to conduct research and to disseminate dairy farming techniques, as well as to promote the consumption of milk.
Concerned about the health of the Thai people, especially those in remote areas, His Majesty then started a study of fish farming as a source of low-cost but high quality protein.
He started with an experiment on the Java Tilapia species, which he reared himself before settling on the Tilapia nilotica species that was presented to him by then Crown Prince Akihito of Japan in 1965. The King gave the fish the Thai name of Nil, taken from its scientific namesake of nilotica, and promoted the fish species among Thai farmers.
Agricultural projects aside, His Majesty's vision also extends to the county's energy needs. There has been a lot of study and reseach into renewable energy at the Royal Chitralada Projects. It started with the use of wind power and water pumps, followed by finding an alternative fuel to run vehicles. In 1985 His Majesty explored the viability of producing alcohol from sugar cane, as he foresaw a future oil crisis and a possible market drop in sugar cane prices.
Later on molasses, a waste product from sugar production, was used to produce alcohol - called ethylalcohol - which was mixed with benzene or gasoline to produce gasohol. The alcohol is also turned into many different products such as solid alcohol, facial cleansing gel, hand gel and perfume.
Apart from the agricultural and scientific projects, the Royal Chitralada Projects also took a big interest in handicrafts.
The Royal Candle Factory buys pure bees wax from keeper co-operatives to make candles for royal use. This was a way for His Majesty to save the national budget and also help support bee-keeping.
There is also an area producing and processing paper made from mulberry leaves, which was built to commemorate Her Majesty Queen Sirikit's 60th birthday in 1992.
A GUIDED TOUR
Dr Rosarin Smitabhindu has been working with the Royal Chitralada Projects for 33 years, and everyone in the palace knows and respects her. Because of her depth of knowledge about the projects and her excellent command of English, she usually looks after foreign dignitaries and guests.
Dr Rosarin said the objectives are to study, experiment and research projects aimed at solving different problems associated with agriculture. Once they have results, the projects are used for demonstration purposes, so members of the public can visit, study and make use of the knowledge gained.
"The projects are divided into two types: Non-profit and semi-profit. Non-profit implements His Majesty's initiatives in the field of development of the agricultural productivity with importance given to the long-term improvement of the farmers' quality of life so they could then become self-sufficient, and at the same time conserve the natural resources.
"Semi-profit projects," Dr Rosarin added, "involve studies and experimentation on the processing of agricultural products that are sold, but not for making maximum profit or business competition. The profit taken in is used for further development of the Royal Chitralada Projects.
"In the implementation of the Royal Chitralada Projects, the emphases are placed on implementing His Majesty's initiatives called 'Sufficiency Economy' that encourage the villagers to become self-sufficient and to improve their long-term quality of life."
Dr Rosarin took Spectrum on a two-hour tour of the facilities and projects, describing their functions and answering questions.
"Before the project started, there were only big trees, vegetation and some buildings here, nothing else. Now we have 36 facilities with many projects that include a demonstration forest - this was one of the first projects initiated in 1961 - experimental rice fields, plant propagation, factories and research and development units," she said.
"We grew gradually from only 32,000 baht donated by His Majesty in 1962 to construct factories and plants. At that time we sold milk in glass bottles inside the grounds of the palace and then it spread to schools nearby. We made some profit and started to produce pasteurized milk.
"The Royal Chitralada Projects have been a big benefit to the whole country. Many farmers have been trained here. Recently one who has about 70 goats came here to be trained in cheese making.
When asked which is the most interesting project, she replied: "During this time many groups come here to see the exhibits of dieselhol, gasohol and bio-diesel. But normally, especially for the Thai students, it is the dairy products that interest them the most.
"The profit is very small, but this is not our objective. The biggest aim is knowledge and self-sufficiency to benefit farmers and the country - and not only for the Thai people.
"Salaries for our staff, materials and new equipment come from our budget. We are manufacturing about 150 different products under the Chitralada brand and supply them to more than 3,000 7-Eleven shops throughout Thailand, also to supermarkets and other outlets. The UHT milk is the biggest seller for us. We don't export abroad.
"You can come here and copy everything, including the recipes for drinks. We will give it to anyone for any product," she said. "No copyright laws apply here. Our King is perhaps the world's hardest working monarch."
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