BANGKOK: Six years ago, Somsak “Pai” Boonkam drew up a plan with two villages in northern Thailand for tourists to stay with local families and immerse themselves in hill-tribe culture. The aim was for the villagers to see some financial benefit from their country’s multi-billion-dollar tourism industry.
Pai was sure it would be a hit with tour operators in Bangkok — but he was wrong. “They weren’t even interested to go and inspect the places,” he said.
That pushed the former engineer, now 34, to set up Local Alike, a travel consultancy that promotes sustainable tourism in 70 villages.
“I grew up in the same situation where there weren’t many economic opportunities, so it attracts me to work for the people,” said Pai, who lived with his grandparents in a village in northeast Thailand until he was eight while his parents traveled in search of laboring work.
A growing number of young Thai entrepreneurs like Pai are getting involved in activities that have traditionally been the domain of the government and development groups — from providing water in remote communities to helping coffee farmers earn a fair income.
This new generation of business owners believes running companies that invest in tackling social and environmental causes is a better way to help than relying on donors’ whims.
“There are so many problems in Thailand that need to be solved,” said Pai. “I see (this as) the new pattern of doing business — doing good while making money.”
Half of Local Alike’s business units are now financially sustainable and it runs a development fund that supports local projects, he said.
Thailand’s transformation to an upper-middle-income country in less than a generation has lifted millions out of poverty, but inequality and deprivation persist.
Over 80 percent of Thailand’s 7.1 million poor people live in rural areas, and an additional 6.7 million are just above the poverty line, according to the World Bank.
The Southeast Asian nation of 66 million also faces serious challenges of environmental degradation and resource depletion caused by mass tourism, pollution, generation of waste and intensive farming, experts say.
Aliza Napartivaumnuay, 34, grew up in Kolkata, Rome and Seattle before moving back to Bangkok. She spent nearly a decade working in the retail supply chain before co-founding Socialgiver more than two years ago.
The online business offers deals on leisure services, including hotel rooms, restaurant tables and spa packages. The proceeds fund social and green projects, such as reforestation, children’s education and hospital beds for poor patients.
The idea was not to set up a business that spoke only to people who already care about such issues.
“We wanted to create something more inclusive and approachable by offering services users are accustomed to spending on,” said Aliza.
Many trace the birth of social enterprise in Thailand to the establishment in 1974 of Cabbages and Condoms, a successful Bangkok restaurant that funds sexual health education and provision.
But the concept only started gathering pace a few years ago, with incubators such as Change Fusion fostering start-ups.
Now there are businesses that enable blind children to learn using a special drawing board, or that train and employ people with disabilities. Others support widows and orphans affected by the conflict in southern Thailand, and use IT to help health professionals and charities develop mobile apps.
There are between 5,000 and 10,000 organizations in Thailand that fit the social enterprise model, said Nuttaphong Jaruwannaphong, director of the Thai Social Enterprise Office (TSEO).
Saks Rouypirom, 39, opened Broccoli Revolution, a trendy restaurant serving vegan, mostly organic food to help fund his non-profit Sati. Its projects include installing water filters in northern villages in partnership with US-based Planet Water Foundation.
“Sati means ‘mindfulness’ so it’s about being mindful of problems and solutions,” said Saks, who buys mushrooms for his restaurant from a street-child shelter and kale from farmers to whom he has provided the seeds.
“Being a business owner, you can make a conscious decision to support these causes,” added Saks, who was born and raised in the United States.
Still, for all the excitement about their potential, social enterprises face multiple challenges in Thailand, including a lack of regulation and limited access to finance.
It was “very difficult” to get investors on board to set up Local Alike, when they were told they would not see all the profits, said Pai. He received support from Change Fusion and entered business competitions to win funding.
In Thailand, companies seeking certification as social enterprises cannot pay more than 30 percent of their profits in the form of shareholder dividends, said TSEO’s Nuttaphong.
When Ayu “Lee” Chuepa wanted to help coffee farmers in his community earn a fair income, he had a hard time convincing villagers to work with him due to his youth and inexperience.
“My mother said that is to be expected. So I asked, ‘If you weren’t my parents, would you have joined me?’. They said, ‘Of course not. Are you crazy?’” he recounted, laughing.
Things have since improved. The Stock Exchange of Thailand, for example, now has an online platform that promotes investment in social enterprises.
But the public perception that such businesses offer lower-quality products still needs to be tackled, experts say.
“Since the beginning, I didn’t want to sell our products by making people feel pity. I want them to buy because they’re good,” said Lee, who belongs to the Akha ethnic minority.
He is now building his third branch of Akha Ama Coffee, with help from architects at Jai Baan Studio, another social enterprise that uses local resources and nature in its designs.
Lee hopes the division between social and traditional businesses will fade with time. “I want everyone in the world to be a social entrepreneur, doing good,” he said.
From tourism to coffee, young Thai entrepreneurs blend profit with social good
From tourism to coffee, young Thai entrepreneurs blend profit with social good
Nintendo says its new Switch 2 console will be released in 2025
- The initial reaction to the Nintendo Switch 2 was lackluster, and the company’s Tokyo-traded shares slumped 4.3 percent on Friday
LOS ANGELES: Gaming giant Nintendo revealed its newest console Thursday in a highly anticipated announcement gamers had been waiting for since rumors of its release first spread years ago.
But the initial reaction to the Nintendo Switch 2 was lackluster, and the company’s Tokyo-traded shares slumped 4.3 percent on Friday. Nintendo’s shares had surged to a record ahead of the announcement.
The successor to the Nintendo Switch system will be released this year, the promotional video says.
In the video, Nintendo showcases a larger version of the Switch that looks similar to its predecessor. It also shows the system’s controllers, or Joy-Cons, will attach to the side of Switch 2’s main unit rather than slide in.
The Nintendo Switch 2 will play Switch 2 exclusive games, as well as both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games. Some Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2, the company said.
The announcement did not provide many details on the console. Nintendo says more information about the system will be available during the company’s April Nintendo Direct event. The Kyoto-based game developer said it will also host “Nintendo Switch 2 Experience” events in several countries, where players can get a hands-on experience with the new system.
Those events are planned for cities such as Los Angeles, New York, London and Paris beginning in April. Ticket registration for those events begins Friday, Nintendo said.
Young gorilla rescued from aircraft hold recovers at Istanbul zoo
- Both gorilla species — the western and eastern gorillas, which populate central Africa’s remote forests and mountains — are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature
ISTANBUL: A young gorilla rescued from a plane’s cargo hold is recovering at an Istanbul zoo, officials said on Sunday, while wildlife officers consider returning him to his natural habitat.
The 5-month-old gorilla was discovered in a box on a Turkish Airlines flight from Nigeria to Thailand last month. After a public competition, he has been named Zeytin, or Olive, and is recuperating at Polonezkoy Zoo.
“Of course, what we want and desire is for the baby gorilla … to continue its life in its homeland,” Fahrettin Ulu, regional director of Istanbul Nature Conservation and National Parks, said Sunday.
“What is important is that an absolutely safe environment is established in the place it goes to, which is extremely important for us.”
In the weeks since he was found, Zeytin has gained weight and is showing signs of recovering from his traumatic journey.
“When he first came, he was very shy. He would stay where we left him,” said veterinarian Gulfem Esmen.
“He does not have that shyness now. He does not even care about us much. He plays games by himself.”
FASTFACT
The 5-month-old gorilla was discovered in a box on a flight from Nigeria to Thailand last month.
Both gorilla species — the western and eastern gorillas, which populate central Africa’s remote forests and mountains — are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
As Istanbul emerges as a central air hub between continents, customs officials have increasingly intercepted illegally traded animals.
In October, 17 young Nile crocodiles and 10 monitor lizards were found in an Egyptian passenger’s luggage at the city’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport.
Meta nixes diversity and inclusion program as it prepares for second Trump administration
MENLO PARK, California: Joining companies such as John Deere and Walmart, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta Platforms Inc. is getting rid of its diversity, equity and inclusion program that includes hiring, training and picking vendors, a company spokesperson confirmed on Friday.
The move, which was first reported by Axios, comes on the heels of the social media giant’s decision to end its third-party fact-checking program and scale back policies on hate speech and abuse.
Citing an internal memo sent to employees, Axios said the Menlo Park, California-based tech giant said the US Supreme Court “has recently made decisions signaling a shift in how courts will approach DEI. … The term ‘DEI’ has also become charged, in part because it is understood by some as a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some groups over others.”
In practice, this means Meta will no longer have a team focused on diversity and inclusion and the company said it will instead “focus on how to apply fair and consistent practices that mitigate bias for all, no matter your background.”
The company will also end it’s “diverse slate approach” to hiring, which meant that a diverse pool of candidates was considered for every open position.
Other companies that have ended DEI programs recently include McDonald’s, automaker Ford, Walmart and farm equipment maker John Deere.
US citizen denied entry into Poland after security staff object to handwritten notes in passport
- The unidentified passenger arrived at Krakow’s Balice airport on a flight from London
- She will remain at the airport for a return flight to London on Thursday
WARSAW: A US citizen has been blocked from entering Poland because her passport was defaced with handwritten notes, border officials said Wednesday.
The unidentified passenger arrived at Krakow’s Balice airport on a flight from London shortly after midnight, according to Justyna Drozdz, a local border security spokeswoman.
The woman was stopped at passport control because her document contained handwritten notes of locations and airport names under visa stamps from the countries she had visited.
The woman told border security staff she was unaware it was not permitted to write on passports or ID documents, Drozdz told Polish news agency PAP.
She will remain at the airport for a return flight to London on Thursday.
As a general rule, it is not permissible for the holder to write in a passport other than to provide a required signature and emergency contacts. Airlines and immigration officials often deny boarding or entry if they feel a passport has been damaged or defaced.
It was not clear why border officials elsewhere had not questioned the woman about her passport.
Iraqi archaeologists piece together ancient treasures ravaged by Daesh
NIMRUD: A decade after jihadists ransacked Iraq’s famed Nimrud site, archaeologists have been painstakingly putting together its ancient treasures, shattered into tens of thousands of tiny fragments.
Once the crown jewel of the ancient Assyrian empire, the archaeological site was ravaged by Daesh fighters after they seized large areas of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014.
The precious pre-Islamic artefacts destroyed by the jihadists are now in pieces, but the archaeologists working in Nimrud are undaunted by the colossal task they face.
“Every time we find a piece and bring it to its original place, it’s like a new discovery,” Abdel Ghani Ghadi, a 47-year-old expert working on the site, told AFP.
More than 500 artefacts were found shattered at the site, located about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Mosul, the city in northern Iraq where IS established the capital of their self-declared “caliphate.”
Meticulous excavation work by Iraqi archaeologists has already yielded more than 35,000 fragments.
The archaeologists have been carefully reassembling bas-reliefs, sculptures and decorated slabs depicting mythical creatures, which had all graced the palace of Assyrian King Ashurnasirpal II nearly 3,000 years ago.
Seen from above, the pieces of the puzzle gradually come together. Shards of what just several years ago was a single artefact are placed side by side, protected by sheets of green tarpaulin.
Bit by bit, the image of Ashurnasirpal II appears on one bas-relief alongside a winged, bearded figure with curly hair and a flower on its wrist, as the restoration brings back to life rich details carved in stone millennia ago.
Another artefact shows handcuffed prisoners from territories that rebelled against the mighty Assyrian army.
Partially reconstructed lamassus — depictions of an Assyrian deity with a human head, the body of a bull or a lion and the wings of a bird — lay on their side, not far from tablets bearing ancient cuneiform text.
“These sculptures are the treasures of Mesopotamia,” said Ghadi.
“Nimrud is the heritage of all of humanity, a history that goes back 3,000 years.”
Founded in the 13th century BC as Kalhu, Nimrud reached its peak in the ninth century BC and was the second capital of the Assyrian empire.
Propaganda videos released by IS in 2015 showed jihadists destroying monuments with bulldozers, hacking away at them with pickaxes or exploding them.
One of those monuments was the 2,800-year-old temple of Nabu, the Mesopotamian god of wisdom and writing.
IS fighters wreaked havoc at other sites too, like the once-celebrated Mosul Museum and ancient Palmyra in neighboring Syria.
The jihadist group was defeated in Iraq in 2017, and the restoration project in Nimrud began a year later, only to be interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and restart in 2023.
Mohamed Kassim of the Academic Research Institute in Iraq told AFP that “until now, it has been a process of collection, classification and identification.”
About 70 percent of the collection work has been completed at the Assyrian palace site, with about a year’s worth of fieldwork left before restoration can begin in full force, said Kassim, noting it was a “complex operation.”
His organization has been working closely with Iraqi archaeologists, supporting their drive to “save” Nimrud and preserve its cultural riches, through training sessions provided by the Smithsonian Institution with financial support from the United States.
Kassim said that the delicate restoration process will require expertise not found in Iraq and “international support” due to the extent of the “barbaric” destruction in Nimrud.
“One of the most important ancient sites of the Mesopotamian civilization,” according to Kassim, Nimrud is a testament to a golden age of “the art and architecture of the Assyrian civilization.”
The site was first excavated by archaeologists in the 19th century and received international recognition for the immense lamassu figures that were taken to Europe to be exhibited in London’s British Museum and the Louvre in Paris.
Other artefacts from Nimrud have been on display in Mosul and Iraq’s capital Baghdad.
The site has also attracted figures like British author Agatha Christie, who visited there with her archaeologist husband.
On a recent tour of Nimrud, Iraq’s Culture Minister Ahmed Fakak Al-Badrani hailed the “difficult” work carried out by archaeologists there, collecting broken pieces and comparing them to drawings and photographs of the artefacts they attempt to reconstruct.
The vast destruction has made it impossible, at least for now, to ascertain which antiquities were stolen by Daesh, the minister said.
And the process will take time.
Badrani said he expects that it will take 10 years of hard work before the marvels of King Ashurnasirpal II’s palace can be seen again, complete.
