How a village’s desserts broke a cycle of bad debt
Chai Nat is a small province in the heart of Thailand. The Tha Chin River and fertile soil make it ideal for growing rice, but foodies also love its Taengkwa pomelo, whose thin, slightly grained peel holds treasures of tart sweetness. Despite this bounty, farmers are locked in a cycle of debt and increasingly affected by climate change. dtacblog spoke to Tipwan Netnak, the first female head of Ban Tha Samrong, a village in Chai Nat’s Sankhaburi district. To grow new income streams for her community--and with a little help from dtac Net for Living--she is harnessing the power of mobile connectivity to turn around Ban Tha Samrong's fortunes. “Our hometown used to be so abundant. Each year, we could grow three harvests of rice. But things began to change about eight or nine years ago when the first severe drought hit Chai Nat. As water became scarce, we could only grow rice just once a year. This means our income has also dropped,” said Ms. Tipwan. Fighting Poverty As Ms. Tipwan became village chief around that time, things were off to a rocky start. “Being the first female village head, I was blamed for bringing bad luck to the…