The Economic Opportunities for Thailand’s Hill Tribes and the Need for Economic Agency

By: Yasmeen Farran

I find that because of modern technological evolution and our global economy, and as a result of the great increase in population, our world has greatly changed: it has become much smaller. However, our perceptions have not evolved at the same pace; we continue to cling to old national demarcations and the old feelings of “us” and “them.”

-Dali Lama[1]

Although the world is becoming more globalized, many indigenous communities, or communities of the fourth world,[2] still live in rural areas for several different reasons.[3] However, these rural communities have become more open to the outside world which has brought different economic opportunities. Many indigenous communities around the world struggle with economic hardship due to historic injustice stemming from colonization, theft of land, depletion of resources, paternalistic policies, and general oppression and discrimination.[4] Although indigenous communities constitute 5% of the world’s population, they make up 15% of the world’s poor and a third “of the world’s 900 million extremely poor rural people.”[5] Many of these communities depend on agriculture, but ethnic tourism has become a new source of income.[6] Thailand’s indigenous hill tribes find themselves in this economic situation.[7] This post will analyze the economic opportunities available to Thailand’s indigenous hill tribes and the costs and benefits of those economic opportunities.  

Thailand’s hill tribes are made up of approximately seven ethnic minority groups who were pushed into the highland area of Thailand along the boarder of Myanmar and Laos.[8] The tribes are traditionally nomadic but, currently, many have settled and become accustomed to the tough terrain of southern Thailand.[9] The tribes include the Karen, the Akha, the Hmong, the Lawa, the Lahu, the Lisu, and the Palaung.[10] The Karen make up the largest group at approximately 47%.[11] “Hill tribe people are among the most disadvantaged groups of the country, due largely to a lack of infrastructure, limited access to Thai citizenship and delayed land settlement (partly because of their traditional way of living in small communities and migrating frequently).”[12] Due to the expansive time of migration, modern country conflict, and evolving Thai laws, the legal status of hill tribe members moves between that of naturalized, alien, and illegal putting them at a disadvantage economically.[13]  

Because of obstacles to legal status, hill tribe members face higher rates of poverty than other groups in Thailand.[14] Economically, the hill tribes traditionally rely on agriculture as a means of income.[15] In addition to agriculture, many of these tribes sell traditional handmade items to supplement their income.[16] Many tribal members face employment obstacles and lack of access to government services which reinforces the hill tribes economic disadvantage.[17] These policies put extra pressure on agriculture, and many tribes routinely use slash and burn practices.[18] The Thai government has cited to these practices as a contributing factor to the destruction of Thailand’s forests and have taken policy action against the practice.[19] Some members of these tribes, who lacked tangible economic opportunities, turned to illegal opium growth as a means to make money which the government takes strict legal action against.[20] Although the Thai government has made efforts to provide the hill tribes primary education, tribal members struggle to gain access to higher education and post-study employment (in part due to obstacles to nationality).[21] Without upward mobility, economic opportunities are limited, and even though the Thai government has compelling interest in limiting slash and burn practices and the growth of opium, it has not provided access to economic alternatives.

A new form of commercial enterprise has arisen, but whether its benefits outweigh its harm is of concern. “Ethnic tourism is when travelers choose to experience firsthand the practices of another culture, and may involve performances, presentations and attractions portraying or presented by small, often isolated Indigenous communities.”[22] Some of the benefits of ethnic tourism are that it brings much needed income into remote communities, it allows these indigenous communities to enter into a capitalist market without having to compromise entering into national systems, it provides indigenous individuals the opportunity to earn an income without having to leave their local communities, and it can build cultural awareness.[23] However, there are many negatives, including the cultural impact of ethnic tourism.[24] In many of these indigenous communities, mature men are expected to support the family, but in the ethnic tourism industry the young and women earn more.[25] However, “commoditization of ethnicity” does not empower women to change their patriarchal societies in a positive way.[26] Additionally, although ethnic tourism brings in some money to these communities, it does not improve the overall situation of Thailand’s hill tribes.[27] Some of the largest issues with ethnic tourism is that it is often co-opted by outsiders and does not provide agency to the hill tribes.[28] Tour guides are usually outsiders, with limited understanding of indigenous culture, and do not share profits equally with villagers.[29] This leads to a lack of education among tourists which can lead to offending villagers.[30] However, overall, villagers enjoy interacting with tourists but desire the dissemination of more accurate information.[31] Overall, ethnic tourism in northern Thailand is executed in “a haphazard and irresponsible manner.”[32] These negatives show that, despite the positives, ethnic tourism of the hill tribes is in desperate need of reform and requires greater input from the indigenous communities at the center.

Another option being explored is allowing tribal artisans to expand their selling abilities by working with companies like Ikea.[33] Ikea has partnered with hill tribes to produce ceramics, tableware, and mulberry paper to be sold.[34] This is done through the initiative of the Doi Tung Development Project which was started by a member of the Thai royal family who spent a great deal of time with the hill tribes.[35] The goal of the project was to give hill tribes other economic opportunities outside of illegal activities.[36] It did help decrease the amount of illegal activity within the hill tribes and did help improve communities.[37] However, some of the issues with ethical tourism can also be found in this form of economic opportunity most importantly, the lack of tribal agency over these economic opportunities. Although it does provide an income, like ethnic tourism, it still involves outsiders entering the community for profit.

The hill tribe communities of Thailand remain in remote areas and struggle to gain recognition from the Thai government which in turn has led to economic disadvantage. This has created a cycle of economic strife within hill tribe communities. Although new forms of economic opportunity are growing for hill tribes, there is one extremely important element missing, agency. None of these opportunities are sustainable or truly empowering without agency. Hill tribes continued to be labeled as “them.” However, it is time for us to evolve our perceptions and understand that hill tribes deserve the same economic dignity as “us.”  

#Farran #Thailand #Economics #HillTribes

[1] Dalai Lama, An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life (Nicholas Vreeland ed. 2001).

[2] Kayoko Ishii, The Impact of Ethnic Tourism on the Hill Tribes in Thailand, 39-1 Annals of Tourism Research 290, 291 (2012).

[3] U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Urban Indigenous Peoples and Migration: Challenges and Opportunities (May, 2007), https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/6_session_factsheet2.pdf.

[4] U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs: Indigenous Peoples, Economic and Social Development, https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/mandated-areas1/economic-and-social-development.html (last visited Apr. 17, 2020).

[5] Id.

[6] Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Case Study on Education Opportunities for Hill Tribes in Northern Thailand (May, 2002), http://www.fao.org/3/ak216e/ak216e04.htm; Jeffrey Petry, The Tourism Industry and Northern Thailand’s Mountain Peoples: Research Project Focuses on Establishing Guidelines for Interaction, Cultural Survival Quarterly 23-2 (Jun. 1999), https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/tourism-industry-and-northern-thailands-mountain-peoples.

[7] Id.

[8] Eric, 7 Hill Tribes of Thailand, Thailand Hill Tribe Holidays: Responsible Travel Around Northern Thailand, https://www.thailandhilltribeholidays.com/hill-tribes-thailand/ (last visited Apr. 17, 2020). 

[9] Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, supra note 6; Eric, supra note 8.

[10] Eric, supra note 8.

[11] Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, supra note 6.

[12] Id.

[13] Id.

[14] Id.

[15] Id.

[16] Id.

[17] Id.

[18] Chupinit Kesmanee, Hilltribe Relocation Policy in Thailand, Cultural Survival Quarterly 12-4 (Dec. 1988), https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/hilltribe-relocation-policy-thailand.

[19] Id.

[20] Id.

[21] Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, supra note 6.

[22] Using Rainforest Research: Understanding Ethnic Tourists- the Tjapukai Experience, Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management (May, 1999), https://www.wettropics.gov.au/site/user-assets/docs/ethnicTourism.pdf.

[23] Ishii, supra note 2 at 291-292.

[24] Id.

[25] Id. at 307.

[26] Id.

[27] Id.

[28] Petry, supra note 6.

[29] Id.

[30] Id.

[31] Id.

[32] Id.

[33] Celestine Bohlen, These Villages in Thailand are Part of the Global Economy. Go to Ikea to Find Out, The New York Times (Nov. 19, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/19/business/thailand-doi-tung-women.html.

[34] Id.

[35] Id.

[36] Id.

[37] Id.