His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua, next the Crown Prince, visited them in the year 2000 after learning that their life would change for the better after forty years.
His imperial efforts to excavate Nong Ung, a dried-up 430-rai lake, improved the ground quality in the community and revitalised a broken forest, improving the people ‘ lives.
In 2018, Yasothon government Nikorn Sooksai stated that his Majesty the King had drained Nong Ung for use as a water supply for agriculture and fish farming, as well as having improved the area in order to ensure people could live in a jungle in a responsible way.
” Nearly the entire region is dry,” says the mayor. There are plenty of tuna. This aristocratic job site has grown in popularity as a popular destination for youth and study trips. Kids stay overnight, walk, and absorb the concept of natural reference protection”.
The 150 ray of territory around Nong Ung has been designated for citizens to make a living by growing large branches, fruits, and vegetables, keeping some for use, and selling the relax. According to the government, the residents of the area are now able to make the most of it.
The Support Foundation job and the Ban Kham Nam Sang validity market center are close to Nong Ung. The jobs Nong Ung and Ban Kham Nam Sang serve as model projects for people to learn from.
Because the area was a low-lying plain where the Chi River and Yang supply spewed through and inundated the neighborhood every rainy season, seven of the region’s 15 settlements were previously plagued by chronic flood. Rice areas and streets were flooded.
Water shortfalls forced the locals to occupy more than 1, 000 ray of the 3, 006-rai Dong Mun group forest to engage in rotating cultivation and search for wild products and firewood during the dry seasons. Eventually, the land was very badly spoiled for cultivation, prompting many visitors to depart for work in big locations.
In the past, four settlements in this tambon had been cut off from the outside world by annual floods and were only available by flat-bottom boats, according to Somsak Tawinan, commander of the queen initiated Nong Ung enhancement job. Just off-season wheat farming was possible because most places were flooded during the rainy season.
The former HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn and Her Majesty Queen Sirikit visited those in tambon Kho Nua who were constantly flooded during the rainy season on November 28, 2000. The Queen concentrated on helping locals after their plane touched down at Ban Nam Kham School, while the then-Crown Prince declared he wanted to travel to Nong Ung to look for a solution to its flood problems.
Damrongsak Thepwathee, chairman of the Kho Nua Tambon Administrative Organisation, who was present during the royal visit in 2000, recalled:” After the municipal governor’s greeting, representatives from the Royal Irrigation Department invited the Crown Prince to relieve fish into another lake, but he refused and pointed at a chart saying he would like to go to Nong Ung, which he saw from the royal plane.
No preparation had been made for the visit. Later, the Crown Prince, accompanied by a few royal aides, drove to the swamp after checking the map. The road was dirt at the time, and it was about four kilometers from the school to Nong Ung.
” The royal vehicle’s wheels were later stuck in a sand hole. The Crown Prince walked and spoke with a villager who was caring for some buffaloes after leaving the Land Rover near the swamp. He inquired as to what the swamp’s name was and how often it was flooded. The Crown Prince inquired about dredging the swamp when the villager claimed there was no water because of the drought. The villager replied,’ Yes'”.
The Crown Prince had three significant initiatives to take to improve the state of the area.
First, Nong Ung must be dredged, unclogged and turned into a source of water for farming and fish cultivation. Second, improving the soil in the areas around Nong Ung requires the planting of trees and vetiver grass to stop soil erosion. Third, it is necessary to revitalize the area around Nong Ung so that people can coexist peacefully with the environment.
The Queen and the Crown Prince had made a wonderful visit to the villagers. The change was excellent. The dry swamp, which has been full of weeds since I was born, has water all year round, and the villagers make the best use of the water”, Mr Damrongsak noted.
Nong Ung was unclogged after the royal visit to give the area more room for retaining water and allowing more fish to grow there. The 100 rai of surrounding land was improved by the soil brought from the dredging. It was later distributed to 120 former forest encroachers for farming, according to the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s sufficiency economy theory.
Residents of seven villages close to Dong Mun forest, who had been largely occupied by villagers for watermelon planting, were later held a public hearing. All the villagers collaborated after hearing HM Queen Sirikit’s words about forest conservation, according to Tianchai Setsuwan, a former village headman and also a former land encroacher.
Mr. Somsak, the project’s coordinator, said the local community was strong and eager to help revitalize the encroached forest land. As the soil is sandy, suitable trees like ironwood were chosen for reforestation.
Within three years of planting them on Yang wood in the forest, Dong Mun forest has grown fertile and full of termites, puffball mushrooms, and several other kinds of mushrooms.
Many of the 7, 000 tambon Kho Nua residents get paid to collect and sell mushrooms from the woods. Because they are large and in high demand, the prices have increased from 100 baht to 300-350 baht per kilogramme. With a value of 4 million baht per year, up from 1 million baht previously, the forest now produces twice as many wild products as it did in the past. Only termite mushrooms can produce about 2 million baht.
Additionally, there are co-operatives and a facility where red-ant eggs, wild products, and mushrooms can be preserved through canning in the Nong Ung development project. Under the acclaimed Wanathip brand, it sells canned mushrooms and other wild foods.
Things got better when we started planting trees in the forest and established a committee that, at first, represented seven villages and now includes 15 villages. More wild products are produced in the forest because it is more fertile. The project is very good in terms of leading to villagers ‘ improved livelihoods”, Mr Tianchai said.
The Office of the Royal Development Projects Board, the Royal Irrigation Department, and other water resources-related organizations took action on King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s royal initiative by constructing five reservoirs in Ratchaburi 33 years ago.
On April 10, 1991, the villagers in the Suan Phung district visited Ban Thai Prachan and Ban Huay Muang residents in tambon Yang Hak and Ban Huay Muang in tambon Tanaosi.
The Crown Prince then took the initiative to find more water sources for the neighborhood’s farming and consumption. These reservoirs retain water both from downpours and from watersheds in the Tanaosi mountain range.