member Doi Tung Development Project Sustainable Development doi tung coffee Chiang Rai Thailand Macadamia

Macadamia

Macadamia is one of the tree crops in the economic forest. It is a long-term crop because the first harvest occurs only after 7-10 years. Local people already had agricultural skills but they were unrefined; working in the economic forests with the Foundation helped provide on-the-job training. It took more than 12 years for the first commercially viable harvest to come appear because the Project was also learning by doing.

Today, through continuous improvement and local innovation, each nut's use is maximised. The nut shell is used in compost for fertiliser; the hard woody shell is used as fuel, and macadamia ash is mixed in to glaze Doi Tung ceramics for a unique hue. Doi Tung macadamia nuts meet international quality standards, and are exported to Japan.

Without reforestation with economically valuable trees and the creation of the Navuti Company, the Doi Tung Development Project might not have achieved the level of success that is evidenced by the lush green forests and improved quality of life for communities. Reforestation is a small starting point to revive the abundance of nature at Doi Tung, to renew this prime watershed area that is the source of life-sustaining water for countless lives here in Doi Tung and the rest of the country.