Occupational Development Projects

Coffee Cultivation is one of our projects that is helping families enjoy a better standard of living. The highlands of Northern Thailand provide the ideal climate, altitude and soil to produce premium quality Arabica Coffee. LWMI has helped over 500 families to develop coffee cultivation to subsidize their incomes.

The credit goes to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned for 70 years from 1946 to 2016, making him the world’s longest-reigning monarch. The king worked tirelessly throughout his life for the benefit of the Thai people; He is greatly loved and honored by Thai people everywhere. King Bhumibol introduced Arabica Coffee to Thailand as a substitution crop for opium. The king’s foresight to help the people through coffee cultivation was truly visionary. Opium production has been eliminated in Thailand; crops like coffee, fruit, vegetables and flowers now provide income.

Coffee cultivation, backed by the Forestry Department of Thailand, helps to reclaim land that was destroyed through primitive slash and burn farming techniques. It allows rural families to create an income on a relatively small area of land.

This may be easier than you think! It only takes US$500 to establish a family with a small coffee farm. The initial planting is 500 trees. Independent, small scale farmers receive training, oversight, seedlings and supplies to start. Most farmers increase their planting on their own after learning the principals. LWMI’s rural development team oversees the project until the farmer is producing coffee and an income.

Years of slash and burn cultivation by highland farmers has had negative effects on the environment. Land use is now being restricted and farmers are required to produce a living on smaller plots of land. Coffee is an answer to this pressing problem requiring only a fraction of the land space that rice or corn cultivation requires. Coffee can subsidize a family’s income and enable them to meet the government’s requirements for limited land use.