The social and economic correlates of demographic change in a northern Thai community (original) (raw)

The Demographics of a Village of Recently Settled Hunter- Gatherers in Thailand

The Mla Bri of Thailand are thought of as being recently settled hunter-gatherers. They lived in the forests of northern Thailand until the late twentieth century, but have settled into four separate communities since that time. This paper describes the demographics of one these groups since the late 1990s based on census data from 2013, and mortality records since settlement.

Jean Michaud. 1997. Economic transformation in a Hmong village of Thailand. Human Organization 56(2) : 222-32.

1997

The article presents one of the montagnard societies of Thailand, the Hmong, and considers the traditional and the modern patterns of wealth. A set of observations of the visible signs of wealth in one village is further developed by a detailed appraisal of the economic performance for the year 1991. A synthesis of data reveals that within the context of a more and more complete integration with the market economy and the increasing monetarization of exchanges, the maintenance, and even the augmentation, of household wealth seems to be tied to the ownership of the means of production to the detriment of the customary cooperation within the lineage. The possessors of these means grow well-off-or, at least, have the means to do so-while those lacking them are, at best, in a phase of economic stagnation which mutual help cannot suffice to overcome. The result is necessarily a widening of the gap between the rich and the poor.

Villages in Northern Thailand Continuities Adaptations and Change in Nan Province

Journal of International and Public Affairs, 2020

This paper reflects on recent agrarian economic change across rural Thai societies, based on a month-long fieldwork stint in June 2019. Focusing on Nan province, Northern Thailand, this study outlines key agrarian transformations and continuities occurring in Thai agrarian society that put the concept of the village to the test. Changing economic rationalities in agriculture and variable risk levels are found to shape farmers' choice of livelihood strategies.

" Making of Community " in a Commercialized Community in Northern Thailand * RAKYUTIDHARM

The community-based development approach has been applied to development projects for a long time. Recently the Thai government launched the " sufficiency economy " policy, which promotes subsistence agricultural production and claims to strengthen rural communities. However, on the ground implementation of this policy does not necessarily result in the strengthening of rural communities as the government claims it does. A strong sense of community can be built among farmers even if they practice commercial agriculture. Strengthening a community, however, is dependent neither on subsistence farming nor commercial farming. Rather, as I argue in this paper, the idea of " community making " involves collective actions in relation to political and economic conditions. I will illustrate this point by examining the process of strengthening an upland community in Northern Thailand through agricultural practices of farmers in relation to their political and economic conditions.