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Earth Net Foundation

The Earth Net Foundation received registration as a non-profit organization on 12 October 2000. The Foundation’s main objective is to promote and support initiatives related to production, processing, marketing and consumption of organic food, natural products and ecological handicrafts.

 

The current board of director compose of (as of 31 December 2010)

  • Mr. Wiboon Khemchalerm (Pioneer of sustainable agriculture and former Senate) President
  • Ms. Rewadee Prasertjareansuk (General Secretary of Thai NGO-CORD) Vice President
  • Mr. Thawatchai Taositrakul (Rice Mill, community enterprise) Vice President
  • Mr. Theerasit Amornsaensuk (Marketing and business management) Vice President
  • Mr. Worawet Thamrongrunlak (former government officer) Board Member
  • Mr. Theerapol Niyom (Business management) Board Member
  • Dr. Anuchat Poungsomlee (Dean, Faculty of Environmental Study, Mahidol University) Board Member
  • Ms. Jularath Nirathisayakul (fomer media presenter) Board Member
  • Mr. Vilarth Taecahpiboon (social activist) Board Member
  • Mr. Chanin Piyawanitfatian (lawyer) Board Member
  • Ms. Triyada Trimonka (gender) Board Member
  • Mr. Prajuab Tontinon (business management) Board Member and Treasurer
  • Mr. Vitoon Ruenglert Panyakul (organic agriculture)Board Member and General Secretary

The Earth Net Foundation has 3 main Departments

1. Organic Agriculture
This programme was initiated since 1999 with a main aim to promote organic farming through mobilizing local knowledge and strengthen participatory technology development. Programme’s activities include training, workshop, and setting up local learning processes through “Farmer Field School” and “Participatory Technology Development”.
At present, Earth Net Foundation is working with 16 organic producer groups producing rice, vegetables, fruits, cotton, silk, coconuts, coffee, and mulberry tea in 9 provinces including: Yasothorn, Khon Kaen, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Chachoengsao,  Prachinburi, Prachuab Kirikun, Surin, and Uthaithani. See more information about these producer group at Work>> Producer.

2. Community Enterprise
This programme is linked with the Organic Farming Programme. This programme focuses on organizing community group organization for local enterprise development. Programme’s activities are:
    * Product Research and Development (food processing)
    * Quality Assurance for food processing
    * Community Enterprise Management
    * Local Market Development
    * Good Governance Development

3. Green Consumer
This Programme focuses on consumer education and campaign to promote a socially and environmentally responsible lifestyle.  Activities include mohthly consumer e-newsletter (Thai language), public awareness campaigns, and education activities focusing on sustainable lifestyle.

The Earth Net Foundation is also active in consultancy and climate change adaptation.

 

Our Key Activities and Milestones

 

 

Year 2009

  • Initiated a 3-year project to support climate change adaptation in Thailand, support by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation
  • Participate in regional organic conference in Souel, Korea "2009 East Asia Organic Conference" (17 - 19 November 2009)
  • Organized training in 3 countries in Asia (Bhutan, Laos, and Myanmar) for FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific on "Regulations, standards and certification for agricultural exports"
  • Conducted study on eco-trade in Greater Mekong Subregion for the Asian Development Bank and organize training workshop for representatives from the GMS countries
  • Conducted study on "Harmonization และ Equivalence for Organic Regulatory System" for the Thai National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards Office (ACFS)
  • Be guest speakers and consultant to the Korean Federation of Sustainable Agriculture for the development of organic aquaculture in Korea
  • Run bi-monthly e-newsletter on global organic trade for the Thai Ministry of Commerce
     

 

Year 2008

  • Started the project "Water Management in Organic Agriculture System Development for Global Warming Mitigation, Yasothon" to support small-scale rice farmers to cope with climate change. The project was financed by OXFAM Great Britain
  • Organized a network meeting of Thai organizations working on local seed saving and support an organic seed network
  • Joined the National Commission on Organic Agriculture Development to oversee the national organic agriculture development strategies and action plans of various government agencies
  • Attended the regional organic agriculture conference "Organic Asia- The Way Forward" in Sarawak, Malaysia (28 - 31 October 2008)
  • Assisted the establishment of the Thai Permaculture Network
  • Conducted a feasibility study for the East Water Company on "Environmental Learning Center"
  • Conducted a study on the staus of organic agriculture research and innovation in Thailand for the National Innovation Agency
  • Run a consultancy project "Support to Trade Promotion and Export Development in Lao PDR" for the International Trade Center (ITC) to study the organic agriculture in Lao and organize capacity training for stakeholders


 

Year 2007

  • Together with the Green Net Cooperative acquired a 20-rai land (3.2 ha) in Tambol Can-Noi, Kam Kuan Kaew Disctrict, Yasothon Province, to build an organic agriculture learning center and organic rice packing facility
  • Organize a 2-day national organic seminar on "Today: the Future of Thai Organic Agriculture" with over 120 participants from farmers, extension officers, researchers, NGOs, private sectors, and government officials)
  • Support the development of internal control system (ICS) and organic certification for PROFIL in Lao PDR
  • Conducted a study and recommendations of how to develop national organic markets in Vietnam for ADDA
  • Helped the International Trade Center (ITC) to organize a 3-day "Regional Conference on Organic Agriculture in Asia"
  • Become the global partner for the MESA Program (Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture) helping young people from Thailand  to go to learn and work on organic farms in the United States of America over one growing season or one year (see more details)

 

Year 2006

  • consultancy service to PROFIL, Laos PDR, on the project "Development of Organic Certification Model for Lao PDR"
  • consultancy service to Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) to implement training under the project "Organic Conversion Pilot Program: Capacity Building for Post-Free Trade Central America" for 2 years
  • consultancy service to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to undertake research on "Appraise of certification costs for farmers and farmer’s organizations under different certification schemes" for 3 months
  • Vitoon R. Panyakul, the General Secretary of the ENF, was awarded, the "innovation ambassador" in organic agriculture by the National Innovation Agency (NIA), Ministry of Sciences and Technology

 

Year 2005

  • ENF initiated a project on "Organizing the Organic Fairtrade Rice Chain: Building Grassroots Competency" with the main objective to support grassroots' initiatives within the Asian region to improve their rice chain management. This project was supported by HIVOS, the Netherlands
  • ENF received a research grant from National Research Council Thailand to conduct a study on "Organic Agriculture Center in Yasothorn". This research focused on documenting the complete organic rice chain undertaken by ENF and GNC as well as synthesizing ENF's and others' knowledge and experiences on organic farming extension.
  • Resarch collaboration with the Department of Economics, Chulalorkorn University to implement activities under a research project on "Public Policies for Food Safety and Sustainable Trading". The project was financially supported by the National Public Health Foundation
  • consultancy service to the International Trade Center (ITC) to implement the project "Strengthening the Export Capacity of Thailand's Organic Agriculture" together with the National Innovation Agency, Ministry of Sciences and Technology. Two set of training were organized, three generic one for public sector and two technical one for the staff of the ACFS (National Office of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards)
  • Specail disaster rehabilitation activities were organized to help tsunami victims. Donated fund from various sources was distributed to over 40 students as educational scholarships and supports to schooling activities, including building a small library with volunteer works from "Nok SayRee" studnent club, Mae Jo University.

 

Year 2004

* Organized study tour and training for Cambodian Community Cooperative for Rural Development (CCRD), to learn about organic and fair trade project
    * Joined the Alternative Agriculture Network and Sustainable Agriculture Foundation (Thailand) in "Sustainable Agriculture Fair" at Kasetsart University Bangkok Campus, 18 - 21 November 2004.
    * Implement a consultancy project for the ACFS (National Office of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards) on developing knowledge and competency in organic certification and accreditation. The project is done together with Grolink, Sweden

 

Year 2003

  • Two eco-tours were organized for consumers for them to visit organic producer groups, one to visit vegetable growers and another to visit rice farmers
  • Three Thai books were published by ENF, i.e. Organic Rice, Organic Markets, and Situation of Thai and Global Organic Agriculture
  • A big year for Earth Net when it host several international event for one week, 2 - 9 November 2003. More than 200 people form 36 countries worldwide came to attend a series of event consist of
    • international seminar on "Justice in Sustainable Agriculture" organized by Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) and Social Accountability in Sustainable Agriculture (SASA), 2 - 5 November 2003
    • regional workshop by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) on organic vegetable production and export from Asia, 3 - 5 November 2003
    • IFOAM international trade conference, 6 - 8 November 2003
    • IFOAM workshop on local marketing on 9 November 2003

 

Year 2002

  • The "Organic Rice Day" was co-hosted by 4 organizations, i.e. Community Organization Development Institute (CODI), The Yasothorn Civil Society, Sustainable Agriculture Foundation (Thailand), and the Earth Net Foundation. Main objectives of this event were to promote organic rice farming among farmers in the northeastern region and to encourage more local farmers to convert to organic agriculture. There were well over 1,700 attendance in training and over 10,000 people visited this 3-day event, majority of whom were farmers in the region.Follow-up activities, including in-dept training, are offered in 2003 to further advance the organic agriculture conversion among interested farmers.
  • The Earth Net Foundation hosted the pilot audit of Social Accountability in Sustainable Agriculture (SASA) for organic rice producer group in Thailand. The pilot audit’s main aim is to develop guidelines and tools for the implementation of social audits in sustainable agriculture. In order to achieve this goal, four international organizations are conducting a series of twelve pilot audits in developing and industrialized countries alike: FLO (Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International), SAI (Social Accountability International), SAN (The Sustainable Agriculture Network) and IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements). The audits are joint learning exercises where auditors representing each of the four systems learn about each other’s methodologies and tools for agricultural audits and together examine how to improve social auditing activities.
  • Hosting an international training on "Organic Agriculture Development" (OAD), organized by Grolink (a international organic consultancy company). Three training had been organized since 1999 on an annual basis. The purpose of this OAD follow-up is to review how the participants in the three OAD training programmes have been able to implement their respective development plans and to offer trainees new inputs and updates on developments in the organic sector. The overarching aim and objective is to support professional competency and institutional engagement in organic agriculture where OAD participants are working.
  • Published ""Introduction to Organic Agriculture" and another on "Organic Jasmine Rice Production and Management Handbook

 

Year 2001

  •  Green Net Coop and Earth Net Foundation organized 2 public workshop of eco-textile on "Ikat Dye" and "Indigo: The Living Dye".
  • Organized public seminar on ""Entering World of Organic Agriculture". Speakers were resource persons from International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and International Organic Accreditation Services (IOAS). The seminar was attended by 170 participants. The main issued discussed in the seminar include organic standards, certification, accreditation, and how the Thai government should formulate its policies to support organic agriculture and trade.
  • The Earth Net Foundation together with Green Net Coop, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative, and Organic Society (Thailand), IFOAM, and KF Supermarket (Sweden) organized the first "IFOAM Organic Shrimp Consultation". Eighty six people participated in the event to discuss experiences in organic shrimp farming, organic shrimp standards, and specific recommendations to IFOAM Standard Committee on organic aquaculture standards.
  • The Earth Net Foundation was requested to host the UN-ESCAP regional workshop on "Exploring the Potential of Organic Agriculture for Rural Poverty Alleviation" during 26-29 November 2001. A total of 34 participants attended the Workshop. Vitoon R. Panyakul, ENF General Secretary, was among the national experts selected by ESCAP to prepare country report and made presentation during the Workshop.
  • Published two books on "Sustainable Agriculture: The Future Agriculture" (a Thai translation of ILEIA’s "Farming for the Future" and the "Organic Agriculture Standards Comic".

 

Year 2000

  • The Earth Net Foundation was registered.
  • Green Net Coop and the Earth Net Foundation launched the eco-textile programme. The objective is to promote new perception of Thai local natural dye textile such as the natural dye, natural fiber. This programme links the eco-textile production with consumer marketing. The first activity was the "Thousand Weave, Hundred Textile" fair and the seminar on "Future Direction of Thai Local Textile".