Field Visit to the Rice God Foundation (Part 1): A Journey Back to Faith in the Land

Image source / Rice God Foundation of Thailand, Zeng Xuzheng

When doing community building in rural areas, as the issues you care about grow broader and deeper, you inevitably have to face the agricultural problems of the countryside.

In the south, community building groups, community colleges, and farmers' groups have interacted more closely in recent years. Facing the problem of an aging rural population, what everyone cares about most in their hearts is always this: where should agriculture go? What kind of industry can young people rely on to return home or stay? Based on this concern, in August 2008 a group of friends formed a delegation and went to Thailand to visit the Rice God Foundation.

The foundation's director, Mr. Daycha, is a legendary figure. Around 60 years old, slender in build, polite and friendly but not effusive, he speaks smoothly and quietly and is seldom agitated. His grandfather was Chinese and became wealthy by growing and selling rice, at his peak owning as much as three thousand rai of land. When he was young, Mr. Daycha entered a temple for a short period as a monk, a Thai tradition that also serves an educational function. During his time as a monk, he thought deeply about his family's historical experience and realized that his grandfather had become wealthy because of farmers, so he should find a way to give back to farmers. Therefore, after leaving the temple, he began to think about the situation of farmers and came to feel strongly that agricultural development after the Green Revolution was seriously flawed. He began to explore a path of practice, from the individual to the family and then to the situation of farmers; he tried non-chemical agriculture. From the situation of farmers to the failings of the Green Revolution, he established a foundation and worked hard to build new techniques to help farmers.