OUR HISTORY

From Doi Tung to the World

What began with livelihood development has grown into an integrated way of working, one that treats people’s wellbeing and the health of nature as inseparable.

Doi Tung: proving change is possible
At Doi Tung in Chiang Rai, communities once dependent on illicit livelihoods worked side by side with the Foundation to build a different future. Together, they restored forests, protected local culture and turned skills into real income. Coffee, crafts and other enterprises connected local people to markets, creating jobs that families could rely on. By 2000, the Doi Tung Development Project had become financially self-sustaining through its social enterprises, showing that development can stand on its own when communities own it.

Doi Tung remains a living model, where we continue to learn, adapt and respond to new challenges.

Sharing what works, across borders
The lessons of Doi Tung have since travelled across Thailand and around the world, including to communities in Myanmar, Indonesia and Afghanistan. In each place, we listen first, work alongside local people and partners, and adapt our approach to their culture, needs and challenges. The goal is always the same: to strengthen people’s ability to manage their own livelihoods, resources and future.

Our 3S approach: Survival, Sufficiency, Sustainability
Communities have different needs at different stages. We support them step by step, from meeting basic needs, to building secure livelihoods, to lasting self-reliance. Local leadership, learning and respect for cultural identity ensure that communities guide their own development.

How we work today
Building on decades of field experience, the Foundation works across four connected areas:

• Area-based development: Working hand in hand with local communities through a holistic, integrated approach that addresses health, livelihoods and education. Together, we help communities restore forests and biodiversity, and nurture young people and local change makers so that learning and local capability grow from within, enabling communities to lead their own sustainable development and build lasting resilience. 
• Social enterprise: Through the DoiTung brand, we partner with local farmers and artisans to turn their skills and products into stable, long-term access to markets. By upholding quality, adapting to changing market demand and continually developing people’s skills, our social enterprises create dependable jobs and income, so communities can grow with confidence and sustain their own development. 
• Nature-based Solutions: Growing our impact beyond individual communities, we bring our model to entire landscapes and regions by restoring ecosystems that sustain both livelihoods and the environment. Together with local people and the private sector, we measure and verify the carbon captured by community forests, turning it into carbon credits that create new income for those who protect them. We also advance biodiversity conservation and knowledge in Thailand and the wider region. 
• Sustainability advisory: Drawing on decades of field experience, we help businesses turn sustainability and ESG commitments into real action on the ground, serving as the last-mile link between corporate goals and lasting impact. Our specialists in waste management, water management and forestry work alongside companies to make their operations more sustainable. We also share our knowledge through courses for like-minded organisations and nature workshops for children, inspiring the next generation to care for nature. 

Grounded in people, growing in reach
Our reach continues to grow, but our purpose remains the same: to expand opportunities, strengthen people’s ability to act, and help build resilient communities where people and nature thrive together.