A HELPING HAND

#RESPONSIBLETOURISM

Supporting Thai enterprises during your travels is one way to ensure your tourist baht is being used for good, staying local and addressing social problems. By Julie Miller

From top-end resorts to humble coffee shops, here are six socially responsible experiences in Thailand making a difference by encouraging tourists to be a force for change.

1. RIDE TO PROVIDE Ride to Provide’s epic long-distance guided bike ride provides funding for the remarkable Hands Across the Water charity. A new ride has been announced for 2023, covering 800 scenic kilometres along the Gulf of Thailand in eight days.

2.

CABBAGES AND CONDOMS

One of Thailand’s original social enterprises, dating from the 1970s, Cabbages and Condoms is a restaurant chain with outlets across the country, with proceeds funding sexual health education, family planning and sustainability programs. With the cheeky motto “our food is guaranteed not to cause pregnancy”, it’s unsurprising the quirky restaurants serve traditional Thai fare alongside bold decorations with condomadorned mannequins.

3.

PHU CHAISAI MOUNTAIN RESORT

Giving back to the local community while preserving traditions and reuniting with nature is the mantra of this boutique five-star resort nestled in the forest-cloaked Doi Mae Salong Mountains of northern Thailand. It’s owned by a Thai designer of royal heritage, and experiences offered to guests include giving merit to local monks on horseback, visiting the resort’s tea plantation and learning about organic gardening.

WATCH

Hands Across the Water’s Ride to Provide.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Ride to Provide cycling tours © Hands Across the Water; a message for customers at one of Cabbages and Condoms cafes © Cabbages and Condoms; Phu Chasai Mountain Resort © Julie Miller

4. DOITUNG PROJECT 5. AKHA AMA COFFEE 6.

COURAGEOUS KITCHEN

Initiated by the Princess Mother in 1988 to provide an alternative income for Golden Triangle hilltribes in the opium trade, this project incorporates horticulture, coffee growing, hospitality and tourism. By visiting the gardens, museums and shops of this enterprise, you directly support livelihoods as well as the environment. What started as one local Akha village’s attempt to produce and market their own artisanal, organic coffee at a fair price has resulted in the establishment of three hip cafes in Chiang Mai. Each cup of coffee purchased in the cafes sends funds directly back to the small village outside of Chiang Mai. Offering several food-related experiences – including expeditions to vibrant local markets, street-food tours, and noodle-making demonstrations – Courageous Kitchen provides a fun and informative tourism experience while helping marginalised youth and children across Bangkok.

THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Akha Ama Coffee; Doitung Project © Sirinada Santiprechajit/ Tourism Authority of Thailand; learning about Thai ingredients with Courageous Kitchen RIGHT, FROM TOP: Orphaned kids helped thanks to Ride to Provide tours © Jeng Rocker; Peter Baines © Van Middleton Photography

INTERVIEW

Riding to provide

After 2004’s wave of destruction, a wave of compassion is providing a future for orphaned kids thanks to Hands Across the Water’s founder Peter Baines. By Deborah Dickson-Smith

HANDS ACROSS THE WATER was founded in 2005 to help children orphaned by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Since then, through various fundraising programs, the Australian charity has raised more than $27 million, and now runs seven homes and projects throughout Thailand, supporting over 350 Thai children and their communities. As well as providing a place to live for vulnerable children, Hands Across the Water now also manages university scholarship programs.

“A big part of our fundraising has been around the creation of meaningful shared experiences. In 2009, we started with a bike ride where we rode from Bangkok down the east coast,” says charity founder Peter Baines.

“We now have three main routes that we ride each year. One is Bangkok to Khao Lak, one is from Nong Khai down to Ubon Ratchathani or Yasothon, and then another is from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi.”

These guided cycling events are a regular feature on the fundraising calendar, and when borders were closed, the foundation organised cycling tours in Australia and New Zealand. To find out more about taking part in a fundraising cycling tour, visit handsacrossthewater.org.au.