Showing 41 - 50 of 62
Encroaching on villagers' rights
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 07/01/2015
» As a New Year's gift, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has promised to return happiness to the people by giving 53,000 rai of state land to landless villagers. On paper, it looks like a generous present.
Bringing the old back to life
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 10/11/2014
» House No.114 in Soi Damnoen Klang Tai, near Democracy Monument, was once the kind of place that gave passers-by goose-bumps. Neither painted nor decorated, the teak wood colonial-style house exuded an air of desolation. But despite its age, the foundations were strong and solid. Built in 1945 in the reign of King Rama VIII, the house belonged to the late ML Ditsaphong Noppawong Na Ayudhaya and his wife Salee.
Heating up the rhetoric
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 27/08/2014
» Last week, not long before he was taken into custody by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), consumer activist Ittiboon Onwongsa looked totally free from worries as he sealed parcels of pamphlets with duct tape. The 20 boxes were to be transported to Songkhla province in time for the Aug 19 start of a 950km protest walk from Hat Yai all the way to Bangkok.
Functional reading
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 04/08/2014
» Sarinee Achavanuntakul wears many hats — she’s a writer, translator and journalist who has combined her passion for economics, social ventures, business ethics and her green agenda into a career. An economics graduate from Harvard University, Sarinee worked in the well-paid finance industry, moved to sustainable businesses and social ventures, then made a mark in the media and literary fields.
The big trade-off
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 01/07/2014
» Since the European Union curtailed its diplomatic relationship with Thailand last week in response to the coup, there has been a simmering resentment from some Thai citizens.
Punching above their weight
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 30/06/2014
» After the notable success of its efforts to popularise the annual book fairs it holds in Bangkok, the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand (Pubat) is gearing up to promote small, stand-alone bookshops operating throughout the Kingdom. Held between June 21 and 29 this year, Thai Independent Bookstores Week managed to attract the participation of 41 independent bookshops based in Bangkok and other urban centres. Pubat secretary Pichet Yimthin recently spoke to Life about his organisation’s plans to help small-scale booksellers and why he thinks they provide a valuable service and play an important role in our society.
A golden opportunity for change
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 04/06/2014
» Everything that glitters is gold, but not for villagers at Ban Na Nong Bong, who live at the edge of a gold mine in Loei province. Since Thung Kham arrived to extract gold in 2003, villagers have complained that the company is poisoning its water source and farmland and harming their health.
Plan Bee
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 07/05/2014
» ‘You need to do it smoothly but you need to do it quickly,” Donrohmanh Noomoui, aka Bang Roh, says through the mosquito-net veil that covers his entire head. In his right hand is a knife, and in the left a sticky honeycomb buzzing with live bees. His audience, who appear as nervous and jittery as the bees themselves, are villagers of Ban Koh Kram in Krabi province’s Muang district and are in training to become expert beekeepers. Keepers of the Asiatic honeybee (Apis cerana) to be precise.
Conservationists join anti-government movement
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 19/02/2014
» An interesting development to the current anti-government movement is the appearance of several conservationists who have joined “the fight”. Many have shown up around the city to represent villagers affected by development projects initiated by the state, with a joint purpose much more complicated than just to topple the caretaker government.
Shopping au naturale
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 29/01/2014
» When Tesco Lotus prepared to launch its first two "no plastic bag" stores in Koh Samui and Phuket last December, store clerks were instructed to exercise utmost patience and prepare to take earfuls of complaints.