intro

Introduction

Welcome!

My name is Paul Lightfoot, I'm a freelance writer and consultant, British, and I have been writing about and working on rural development in Asia and other topics since the mid-1970s. This page summarizes some of the articles I have written over the years. I have included several published newspaper articles and a few travel pieces and short fiction. You can click on the titles to get more complete text-only descriptions of the projects and full versions of the articles.

I have been fortunate to work on several rural development projects that were designed and implemented in some of the world's most spectacular landscapes and among our most intriguing and distinctive cultures. Getting to know these places has been fascinating, but the main attraction has always been the people. Take a good look at my pictures of some of them: the eco-forester in New Britain, the dairy farmer in Pak Chong, the chairman of a micro-credit group in Surin, the gem-cutter in Ubon, the gloriously tattooed lady in Kalinga, the silk knitter in Siem Reap. But for an accident of birth any of these fine people could be you or me, and the projects that my articles describe might have been their best hope and may have changed their lives.

Everything in this site is drawn from my own experience. I'd be delighted if you would like to contact me, you can do so at this address: paullightfoot@mac.com

Articles on rural development

Each of the following articles concerns some aspect of rural development in Thailand, mostly within the Northeast region.

The first seven articles look into what happens when small-scale farmers try to introduce new forms of agriculture that are not traditionally practiced and require new skills and a certain level of financial investment. Each of these articles focuses on the experience of a few specific individual farmers who were taking part in a particular project, and all the projects discussed were supported by grants from the European Commission and implemented by the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), Thailand’s main source of farm credit. All these projects shared the overall objective of encouraging farmers to devote less of their land to cassava and more to other crops while at the same time raising their incomes.

The remaining articles focus on a topic of concern at the time, rather than on any particular project.

Except for those indicated, these articles were published in The Nation, one of Thailand’s two main English-language daily newspapers, between 1990 and 2001.

You can see the full text of each article by clicking on its title, then click on the image at the top of each article if you want the illustrated Adobe Acrobat (pdf) version. You will need to install the freely distributed Acrobat Reader to open them.

	The dilemma of a multi-million-baht EC project This article describes how outdated and inefficient procedures for issuing land tenure documents threatened an otherwise promising project in eastern Thailand. (Click here for the illustrated pdf version, 368 KB)
Silk project set to re-mould farming life A commercial company introduces a new form of silk production that is technically different but potentially much more profitable compared to traditional methods in the province of Chaiyaphum. (Click here for the illustrated pdf version, 300 KB)
	What the Loei fruit farmers can achieve Farmers in the province of Loei plant mango and tamarind trees as a significant departure from their normal crops. (Click here for the illustrated pdf version, 360 KB)
Credit to small farmers needs fine-tuning Small-scale farmers in Surin organize themselves to try new approaches to saving and borrowing money. (Click here for the illustrated pdf version, 328 KB)
	Cashew: the potential and the problems Farmers in Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat) province plant cashew trees in a new venture, to reduce their traditional reliance on cassava and other annual crops. (Click here for the illustrated pdf version, 252 KB)
Integrated fish farming concept catches on Farmers in Nongkhai and Sakon Nakhon provinces convert their fields in to fishponds, with varying success. (Click here for the illustrated pdf version, 252 KB)
	It’s no child’s play down on the cattle farm Farmers in the Pak Chong area of Korat province try raising new and demanding breeds of dairy cows to capitalize on Thailand’s growing market for milk products. (Click here for the illustrated pdf version, 312 KB)
Forests of rubber? Farmers in eastern Thailand replace their cassava with rubber trees, in the face of tough land tenure problems that government agencies struggle to cope with. (Click here for the illustrated pdf version, 304 KB)
	BAAC’s long term problem / BAAC’s long term solution These two articles discuss the reasons why Thailand’s leading source of loans for farmers promotes long-term loans for small-scale farmers, the problems they face and possible ways forward. (Click here for the illustrated pdf versions: problem, solution, 116 and 112 KB respectively)
The banker, the farmer and the gem-cutter Although activities other than farming account for surprisingly high proportions of people’s incomes in rural areas, very little support is available for enterprises outside of agriculture. This article looks at some examples of small rural businesses and the problems they face. (Click here for the illustrated pdf version, 296 KB)
	No quick fix to rural debts Early in 2001 the new government planned to introduce sweeping new policies for dealing with farmers’ growing levels of debts. This article looks at some farmers who could be affected, particularly Mrs Phim (pictured left). (Click here for the illustrated pdf version, 136 KB)
Environment to benefit from global comparison This article reviews an international study of environmental sustainability and assesses how Thailand stacks up against other countries at similar levels of economic development. (Click here for the illustrated pdf version, 300 KB)
	No 'quick fix' in the poverty debate I wrote this article in response to the widespread discussion leading up to the G8 meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, in July 2005. It was published in the Western Morning News, Plymouth, England, 5th July 2005.

Travel articles

Phu Kradung

This is an account of a hike up the picturesque ‘Phu Kradung’ mountain in Northeast Thailand in February 2001 (unpublished). (Click here for the illustrated pdf version, 52 KB)

Taking the train south

This article describes a train journey from Bangkok to Singapore at the end of 1990 (The Nation, Bangkok, Sunday 17 February 1991).

Tiger by the tail

Here are a few observations on the fascinating country of Bhutan after my visit in April and May 2001 (Keunsel, Bhutan’s only English language newspaper at the time, 23 June 2001). (Click here for the illustrated pdf version, 40 KB)

Short fiction and other short pieces

	Non’s tree This story is about a boy who suffers a traumatic experience in a Thai village. The story is based on an event that actually happened in Prachinburi province about 1990 (unpublished).
The weaver This is an imaginary account of someone who does the kind of work that I do. Regrettably the nature of the story is not as far removed from reality as we might hope (unpublished).
	The driver’s tooth This story is completely true except that I have changed all the names. The action took place in a village 15 kms west of the Thai regional city of Khon Kaen, during the year 2000 (unpublished).
Racing through Bangkok Describes a foot race through some of Bangkok’s busiest streets in 1984 (Distance News, City of Hull Athletic Club, March 1984)
Dancing with the morning sun Explains how to pretend running before breakfast every morning doesn’t hurt (unpublished).
	Running with a Garmin Forerunner GPS Discusses the capability and accuracy of a GPS device designed for runners. Published in the 25th July 2005 issue (number 789) of the e-magazine TidBITS (http://www.tidbits.com/tb-issues/TidBITS-789.html)