0 The Essence of Life Skills Textbook Sufficiency Economy Course (WS21001) Lower Secondary Level (Revised Edition B.E. 2554) Non-Formal and Informal Basic Education Curriculum B.E. 2551 (A.D.2008) Office of the Non-Formal and Informal Education Office of the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education Not For Sale This textbook is published under the expense of the Budget Bureau in support of lifelong learning ©ONIE, Office of the Permanent Secretary Academic Document: No. 5/2556
1 The Essence of Life Skills Textbook Sufficiency Economy Course (WS21001) Lower Secondary Level Revised Edition B.E. 2554 ©ONIE, Office of the Permanent Secretary Academic Document: No. 5/2556
2 Preface The Ministry of Education announced the use of the Non-Formal Curriculum of Basic Education Level B.E. 2551 on 18 September B.E. 2551 in place of the criteria and methods of non-formal education management according to the Curriculum of Basic Education B.E.2544. The Non- Formal curriculum was developed according to the principles of philosophy and basic beliefs of the non-formal education whose target group are adults with continuous experience of learning and cumulative knowledge. In the fiscal year of B.E. 2554, the Ministry of Education established the strategic plan to propel the educational policy in order to increase people’s potentialities of career competition for the increasing and stable income; to enable people to be well-disciplined morally and ethically; and to create personal accountability in each individual’s mind. The Office of Non-Formal Education, thus, reconsidered its Curriculum of Basic Education Level B.E. 2551: its principles, objectives, standard, expected learning outcome, and all the substances in all 5 learning groups. In order to meet the requirements of the Ministry of Education’s policy, all the textbooks have to be improved by adding more substances on careers, morals, ethics, and preparation into an ASEAN Community in all the subjects that are correlative. But the new textbooks still focus on their traditional principles and methods of textbooks development. That is to say, the textbooks must enable learners to do the self- directed learning, to perform the activities, to do the exercises in order to examine their knowledge and their understanding. There are also some discussions among the learning group or studies more from learned people in the local areas, other learning sources and other media. The current improvement of the textbooks was undertaken in co-operation with academic experts of each subject field, and authorities involved in learning management who did some studies, and collected some data and body of knowledge from various media; and then rewrote the textbooks with complete matters that met the requirements, the standard, the expected learning outcome, the indicators and frames of the subject matters. The Office of Non-Formal Education wishes to express its sincere thanks to all the people involved and also hopes that this series of textbooks will benefit learners, teachers and others of all levels. If there might be any advice, I, on behalf of the Office of Non-Formal Education, would like to thank you ever so much for your help, I really appreciate it. Mr.Peasert Boonrueng ONIE Secretary-General November 2554
3 Page 7 Contents 20 28 Preface 50 Textbook Instruction 85 Learning Substance of Sufficiency Economy Course 86 for Lower Secondary Level Chapter 1 Sufficiency Chapter 2 Earn a Living Sufficiently Chapter 3 Plan Sufficiently in Working Chapter 4 Sufficient Life Network Bibliography Organizers
4 Textbook Instruction A Textbook on Sufficiency Economy for Lower Secondary level is published for non-formal educational students. Studying this subject, the learners should 1. Study for understanding the major topics, learning substance, expected learning outcomes, educational standards, and subject outline completely. 2. Study carefully the details of each chapter’s content,follow the instructions according to the ways of answering so that learners can recheck and restudy before moving on to the next chapter. 3. Take a post test of each chapter to be better in understanding and summarizing the contents again, also in doing an activity of each chapter. Learners can discuss their knowledge with teachers or the same-class fellows 4. The textbook consists of 4 chapters : Chapter 1 Sufficiency Chapter 2 Earn a Living Sufficiently Chapter 3 Plan Sufficiently in Working Chapter 4 Sufficient Life Network
5 Course Outline of Life Skills : Lower Secondary Level(WS21001) Learning Substance Sufficiency Economy is a philosophy His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej bestows on guiding Thai people the way of living in moderate practice, especially a globalizing economic development. Sufficiency means moderation, reasonableness, and the need of self-immunity for good protection from impact arising from both internal and external changes. Knowledge, vigilance, and high carefulness of knowledge’s application for planning and managing are also important as well as reinforcing nation’s people the moral fiber of virtue, honesty, and proficiency to become hardworking-patient- intelligent-and-vigilant ones. Moreover, to become the people of quality and prompt for the world instant change in artifact, society, environment, and culture. Expected Learning Outcomes 1. To be able to explain the concept, principle, definition, and significance of Sufficiency Economy philosophy. 2. To be able to explain the way of applying a philosophy of Sufficiency Economy in living. 3. To realize and perform in the way of Sufficiency Economy principle. 4. To advise and support the family members to realize and perform in the way of Sufficiency Economy principle. Course Outline Chapter 1 Sufficiency Subject 1 Background, Definition, and Principle of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy Subject 2 Seeking for Knowledge Chapter 2 Earn a Living Sufficiently Subject 1 The Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy and the Management of Learners, Family, and Community Natural Resources
6 Subject 2 The Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy and Earning a Living Chapter 3 Plan Sufficiently in Earning a Living Subject 1 Planning in Earning a Living According to the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy Subject 2 Occupational Project and Program According to the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy Chapter 4 Sufficient Life Network Subject 1 The Successful Community and Man Distributions and Support of Works According to the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy Subject 2 Building a Sufficient Life and Occupational Network According to the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy Subject 3 Sufficiency Economy’s Processing Procedure
7 Chapter 1 Sufficiency Learning Substance Sufficiency Economy is a concept and regulation for every people from every state -family, community, and country- of living in a middle path way, especially the economical developing sufficiently due to a globalizing change with moderation, reasonableness, and self-awareness of any changes occurred from both internal and external factors. Learners have to be knowledgeable, omniscient, and careful, along with having appropriate knowledge and morality realization in order to balance and be well prepared of every objective, societal, environmental, and cultural change from outside. Expect Learning Outcomes To be able to explain the concept, principle, definition, and significance of Sufficiency Economy philosophy. Course Outline Subject 1 Background, Definition, and Principle of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy Subject 2 Seeking for Knowledge
8 Subject 1 Background, Definition, and Principle of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy Background of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy Sufficiency Economy is a philosophy of living and performing guidance bestowed by His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Thai people since 1974 : “…a country’s development has to be step-by-step. It is vital to build basic structures basically which are people’s moderate gaining, moderate consuming, and moderate use by using economical but rightful methods and equipments. After having a secure foundation, an economic state and prosperity have to be improved as well…” and after that, His Majesty the King has emphasized on being self-reliant by holding to the moderation, reasonableness, and self-awareness strategies in order to moderately gain, moderately consume, and moderately use. He also reminds Thai people of not being careless, realizing in a rightfully step-by-step development, and having morality as a pattern in behaving and living. In 1997, Thailand has suffered from the economical crisis which is considered to be a good lesson of unbalanced and unstable development that affects most people’s livelihoods. One reason of this occurrence is the development without considering of a country’s potential and property and of humans’ or system’s readiness. Another is from so much economical dependence on the foreign countries in knowledge, in investment, and in marketing ways without well-enough, secure, and strong basic foundation or self-awareness of any change occurred from both internal and external factors. This lesson has resulted in every people from every states – government, community, individual business, and technical specialist – paying more attention in a way of developing and living of the Thai people, also, in His Majesty the King’s royal thought of developing and living according to the Sufficiency Economy, and studying very carefully about the Sufficiency Economy in order to be able in applying it in the daily life. Office of the National Economics and Social Development Board (NESBD) has invited the specialists from various organizations and institutes to consider His Majesty the King’s speeches about the Sufficiency Economy which have been given to the Thai people in various occasions and then give the definition of it and use it respectfully as a guidance in making the 9th National Economic and Social Development Act(2002-2006) and the 10th National
9 Economic and Social Development Act(2007-2011) for promoting the citizens from every states and every social segments to understand the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy and use it as the life’s standard way which leads to a balanced and sufficient development, people’s peaceful lives, vigorous community, and secure country. Definition of Sufficiency Economy philosophy Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy is a philosophy of concept, principle, and guideline for every people and organization – family,community,and country – in developing country in the middle path way by considering the moderation, people’s and environment’s potentials, reasonableness, and self- awareness. To achieve this, it is important to use a rightful knowledge consciously and carefully along with morality, be united and kind, and collaborate the others with no exploitation. As a result, it will lead to the balance and sufficient harmony and development prompt for any globalizing changes. Concept’s principle of Sufficiency Economy philosophy His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej has developed the Sufficiency Economy philosophy for Thai citizens to achieve life’s middle path and also to maintain a theory of sufficient development. This theory, considered to be a life’s basic foundation between local society and global market, has a prominent point as a balancing way of using a reasonable natural principle in developing modernly and internationally without resisting globalism. The philosophy of Sufficiency Economy has been important in the period time of 1997, when Thailand wants to maintain its economic stability so that it can rely on itself and develop the crucial policies for restoring country’s economy by creating a self-reliant economical principle. Thai people, as a result, will be able to earn a living sufficiently. This philosophy is also applied to be used by lots of regional projects and by Chitralada Villa Royal Residence. His Majesty the King has royal thought that it is not important for Thailand to become a Newly Industrialized Countries(NIC), what is important is the ability of using moderation and self-reliance, the middle path, in avoiding any of the country’s instable change. He has also mentioned that sufficient lives can possibly improve a community structure by having 2 factors : 1. The amount of products must relate to the amount of consumption in the production. 2. A community must be able to manage its resources completely. The results are 1. Sufficiency Economy can maintain the appropriate populations. 2. The ability of using technology properly. 3. The ability of maintaining the balance of ecosystems without any intervention from the external factors.
10 At this moment, a government has used the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy as its policy as can be seen in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, B.E. 2550(2007) section 78(1) that “Thai government organization administration, in order to develop a society, country’s economy and security sufficiently, has to support a management according to Sufficiency Economy, also mainly consider country overall’s benefit.” Developing according to the Sufficiency Economy means the development which considers the middle path and non carelessness by regarding of the moderation, reasonableness, and self-awareness, also, using the knowledge omnisciently and use virtue in planning, deciding, and working. The philosophy of Sufficiency Economy has 5 considered principles : 1. Concept principle it is the philosophy of guidance in rightful living and behaving based on the Thai traditional lifestyle which is applicable of all time and is the way of looking through the world as a changing system. This philosophy focuses mainly on getting free from any danger and crisis which leads to secure and sufficient development. 2. Characteristics Sufficiency Economy can be applied for everyone from every state by mainly emphasizing on living in the middle path way and step-by-step development. 3. Definition of the Sufficiency is comprised of 3 characteristics which are : 3.1 Moderation means not-much-or-not-less sufficiency with no exploitation on learners themselves and other people. To do whatever, it is important to have the moderation and enough for the necessity, also be suitable for their own, for environment, and for each traditional culture. In order to consider the moderation’s level, it is need to be knowledgeable and omniscient in planning, and be moral in deciding, for example, not exploiting on the others, not causing society any problem, and not destroying nature and environment. 3.2 Reasonableness means the state of deciding about this sufficient level which has to be reasonable by considering of every related cause or factor and carefully considering on various outcomes which could occur as a result of this action on people themselves and the society. It is also important to consider the fact, law’s concept, morality, virtue, and cultural effect. Considering relation between causes and related factors continually and systematically would result in succeeding efficiently and having fewer failures. To achieve this, it is need to be reasonable, hardworking, patient in gathering data systematically and always studying, be omniscient in deciding by using knowledge in a rightful way. 3.3 Self-awareness means the state of being well-prepared for every effects and changes in economy, society, environment, and culture in order to be immediately adaptable. It can be called that self-awareness is the state of not- too-risk behaving with no carelessness and with considering of every possibly occurred situation so that learners would prepare themselves promptly and work fluently which will result in long-term benefits and last-long happiness.
11 4. Condition In order to consider and behave sufficiently, it is need to gain the knowledge and morality as follows : 4.1 Knowledge condition consists of being well-known knowledgeable in every related field and carefully considering this relation for planning, also being cautious in the operating steps. 4.2 Morality condition : morality required for using as the standard for country’s citizens is comprised of morality realization, honesty, patience, diligence, consciousness , living rightfully and properly, no greed, being kind, and taking responsibilities of living among the others. 5. Way of behaving/result which is expected to gain after applying the Sufficiency Economy in life as the balanced and sufficient development, also the changes in every part - economy, society, environment, knowledge, and technology. Conclusion of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy The Middle Path Moderation Reasonableness Self-awareness Knowledge Condition Morality Condition (Omniscience ,Cautiousness,Carefulness) (Honesty, Hard-working,Patience, Generousness) Life/Economy/Community Balance/Security/Sustainability Figure : Sufficiency Economy’s Concept The Sufficiency Economy system has focused on the ability of people to earn a living sufficiently and to be economical and moderate in using the incomes without running up the debts, also saving some of the incomes, spending some in helping the others and some for accessory factors, for example, for travelling and entertainment. The reason why the way of living sufficiently has been well-known is that capitalism today has resulted in people’s luxurious living and misspending of the unnecessary things, for instance, overconsumption, various entertainments, beauty, fashionable
12 dressing, gambling, etc. Consequently, people who do not have enough money would probably borrow it in order to satisfy their need, doing this would result in being in debt circularly and unavoidably unless they have changed their lifestyles. Thirteen famous thinkers from all over the world have agreed with the Sufficiency Economy principle and have given their interviews as the introduction of Sufficiency Economy to the rest of the world, for instance, Professor Sankt Wolfgang, a German important natural specialist has paid attention in the application of Sufficiency Economy philosophy to make it become well-known in Germany. Amartya Kumar Sen, an Indian professor and the economic Nobel prize winners in 1998, said that Sufficiency Economy was a way of using necessary things for living and using the opportunities sufficiently in good living, which did not mean to be lack-of-need but means living according to the middle path, also not giving priority to incomes and richness,but to the worth of human’s life. Lyonpo Jigmi Yoeser Thinley, King of Bhutan, has given his opinion that if Thailand determined the Sufficiency Economy to be a national agenda and behaved seriously according to this, it could possibly create a new world of Sufficiency Economy, and at last this principle would become the world’s principle which, if succeeded, Thailand would be the leader. This philosophy of Sufficiency Economy has been highly honored by The United Nations(UN). Mr. Kofi Annan, as the UN’s secretary general, has presented The Human Development Lifetime Achievement Award to His Majesty the King at 26th May 2006 and has given a speech that the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy is useful for Thailand and other countries in the world which can begin behaving by building the self-awareness from people themselves to the bigger state such as community and economy. Mr. Hakan Bjorkman, acting for the director of UNDP in Thailand, has praised the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy and said that the UNDP has realized in His Majesty the King’s vision and concept. Plus, the UN has promoted the UN’s members- 166 countries- to hold to this principle in developing countries sufficiently. Concept of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy A speech of Sufficiency Economy His Majesty the King has bestowed upon Thai people aims at holding to Thai lifestyle by living in the middle path (In Thai “Matchimapatipata”) in order to be self-reliant using a self-reliant principle which comprises of 5 respects(Office of the Royal Development Projects Board,2004:2-3) : 1. Mind respect Try to rely on and be conscious to their own and to a country kindly and creatively, be strong, be compromised, and be honest as bestowed by His Majesty the King’s royal words about the development
13 “…People must have a good-mind foundation,which is being firm in virtue, and in intention of working successfully, plus, they have to gain strategies in working in order to become successful sufficiently and sustainably…” 2. Social respect Each community has to collaborate with each other and become a strong community’s network as bestowed by His Majesty the King’s royal words “…In order to work all together without being in descending order, it is important for everyone to attempt in working to the utmost and to have good information so that all works become the supportive ones…” 3. Natural resources and Environmental respect Use and manage wisely, also in writing up, by holding to a principle of sustainability and highest advantages as bestowed by His Majesty the King’s royal words “…If conserving an environment properly, it might endure for more than 100 years. Until then, our descendants might be able to solve the problem, which will be their own businesses, ours is to maintain the environment as much as possible…” 4. Technological respect According to the quickly environmental change and the fact that new technologies have both good and bad ones, it is important to distinguish them according to the traditional folk wisdom and to use only ones that meet the environment’s, topography’s, and Thai society’s demand as bestowed by His Majesty the King’s royal words “…Thing the poor community needs is an agricultural knowledge of using new technology properly…” “…Using large technologies fully in the country’s main occupation will result in troubles…” 5. Economical respect In the past, developers aimed at increasing the incomes without focusing on decreasing the expenses, right now, however, they have to change their minds which means that they have to mainly aim at reducing the expenses and at living moderately, moderately consuming, and in using moderately so that they can live on their own as bestowed by His Majesty the King’s royal words “…The reason why I want everyone to try to seek the knowledge and build their own security is that they can have progressive and happy livelihoods with moderately use and moderately consumption as a first step. The next step is to be honored of being able to live by their own …” “…If we cooperate each other even a little, our country would be able to be free from a crisis…”
14 Importance of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy The philosophy of Sufficiency Economy is important for both country’s and human’s development in many ways : 1. Sufficiency Economy is a philosophy that is very important in eliminating the poverty and in reducing the economical risks. 2. The philosophy of Sufficiency Economy is a standard of building a community’s power and developing its potential in order to be a foundation of country’s development. 3. Sufficiency Economy plays an important role in improving a company’s responsibility for a community by creating long-term profitable procedures in challenging company. 4. The principle of Sufficiency Economy is very important to government’s good governance improvement. 5.The principle of Sufficiency Economy can be applied in creating National Policy in order to be self-aware of every situation occurred simultaneously, to improve any of the policy, and to set strategies for supporting the balanced and sustainable growth. 6. In order to foster sufficient conscious, it is vital to adjust both humans’ popularities and thought so that they could help in humans’ development. 7. The philosophy of Sufficiency Economy helps people live with moderately use, moderately consumption, moderately living, self reliance, and abstemiously happiness. 8. The philosophy of Sufficiency Economy lets people live among the others and society happily, kindly, generously, and charitably without having an exploitation. 9. The philosophy of Sufficiency Economy helps people live sustainably among nature and environment without destroying them. Also, it helps people appreciate and be conscious in natural resources’ and environment’s conservation.
15 10. The philosophy of Sufficiency Economy lets people live with culture, tradition, history, intellect, popularity, and learners or community fundamentalisms. Subject 2 Seeking for knowledge Humans’ seeking for knowledge occurs as their requirement of improving their own lives and their own beings. As a result of that, humans eager to know, to see , and to understand natural and environmental phenomena in order to understand and accept the truth of them. Humans’ seeking for knowledge is from : 1. Experience It is a method of each person’s seeking for knowledge that occurs by chance, for example, Charles Goodyear has discovered that heating rubber latex will increase its endurance and let it be used in tire’s production all around the world, or can occur by trial and error, for example, a jungle traveler who has gotten rash from insects, not having vanishing cream, he, instead, used one kind of leaf and was cured, and learnt of that leaf’s property of curing the rash. 2. Authority is a method of seeking for knowledge from specialists’ or other acknowledged people’s - philosopher, leader, or priest – saying, or from culture and tradition which has been told or written about by acknowledged people. 3. Deductive Reasoning is seeking for knowledge from reasonable relation between major fact and the minor one, then concluding it. Major fact : is an arrangement of the well-known fact. Minor fact : is the specific arrangement of each case which is related to the major fact. Conclusion : is the summary of the relation between the major fact and the minor one. It has been said that deductive reasoning is the conclusion from the major to the minor fact.
16 Example of the reason of deductive reasoning Major fact : Every children of a village headman is brilliant. Minor fact : Pongprai is the village headman’s second son. Conclusion : Pongprai is brilliant. 4. Inductive Reasoning is seeking for knowledge in an opposite way of the deductive reasoning by searching from the minor facts, looking for the same, the differences, the relations, and then concluding it. Example of the reason of inductive reasoning Minor fact : People who suffer from last state of cancer, each of them cannot be cured and must have died in the last. So : Every people who suffer from the last state of cancer must die. 5. Scientific Approach is the method of seeking for knowledge Charles Darwin and John Dewey have developed using Reflective Thinking and Problem Solving as the standard. It is the study of fact and knowledge by observing and behaving according to various theories, then examining the discovery, revising, and repetition. A state of producing new knowledge from cyclically related process by using the scientific methods is the way of mostly truth-related considering which relies on a study of truth and theory, and on testing the equipments. The scientific methods, so, is the explainable method of principles and reasons, also systematic, direct, and examinable without bias. This method, so called “the scientific approach”, is comprised of 5 steps : 1. Problem step is the step of identifying problem and specifying its boundary clearly. 2. Hypothesis step is the step of estimating the problem’s answer reasonably. 3.Collecting data step is the step of collecting data and truth about the examined problem. 4. Analytical step is the step of analyzing the collected data by using logical or statistical methods in order to verify the hypothesis.
17 5. Conclusion step is the step of concluding the information about the fact of problem. Skills of Seeking for Knowledge Seeking for knowledge is a skill which requires learning and practicing in order to create new rightful and well-known concept because learners will gain the skill of searching and eager to know from various learning sources which will result in understanding the truth and comparing it with the fact whether it is reasonable to believe or not. The skills of seeking for knowledge has consisted of 10 steps (improving skills of seeking for knowledge to oneself,2009: online) : 1. Observing skill is to observe what learners have seen, environment, or what they have wanted to learn by observing source, similarities, and differences, causes of the differences, advantages, and effects. The way of practicing observation is to practice mediation so that they can be conscious, be intellective, and be creative. 2. Skill of taking notes is to list the important or vital things which can be done by many ways, for example, concluding, underlining, making a resume, chart, diagram, or table, etc. The ways of practicing in taking notes are to list every time learners observe, listen, or read in order to developing intellect. 3. Presenting skill is to understand the subject learners will present to the others by systematically remembering what they have to present which can be done in many ways, for example, making report in a booked form, doing oral presentation, or using technologies in presenting, etc. The way of practicing in presentation is to always practice presenting in various ways as above so that learners can be good at presentation, also improve their intellects. 4. Listening skill is to identify the issues and be able in questioning the listening subjects. The ways of practicing the listening skill are to make the listened subjects’ frame, to note the main concept or main words into a notebook, also make a question in learners’ mind- who,what,where,when, why,and how – in order to listen more efficiently.
18 5. Question skill is to ask about an important subject, or make a short question so that learners can use it altogether with something they have already known to make the reason about the listened issue or subject efficiently. The ways of practicing question skill are to question about themselves and to try to ask and answer, in order to practice analyzing the reasons and to understand the subject clearly. 6. Skill of making a hypothesis and question is to make the hypothesis and question about what learners have learned, for example, what it is, what the importance is, and how to succeed. Practicing in making important questions would lead to learners’ demanding the answer. 7. Skill of searching answer from various sources, for example, books, internet, ask the older, etc, depends on the questions, and would result in more knowledge and intellect. Some questions that learners cannot answer even using every solving way can be done by doing a research. 8. Researching skill creates the intellect doing research in order to find an answer is one part of learning at every state. Researching will lead to a new discovery with pride, happiness, and value. 9. Integrating skill is to integrate what learners have learnt in order to look through it in overall. 10. Writing skill is to arrange learners’ idea more neatly by searching the references more accurately. An academic arranging is then a way of improving their intellect crucially which will be beneficial to the others’ learning. In conclusion, seeking for knowledge by people themselves can occur by practicing the skills of observing, noting, presenting, listening, questioning, making a hypothesis and question, searching answer from the various sources, researching, integrating, and writing.
19 Activity 1 1. Divide into groups of 3-5 persons each and make a conclusion of understanding moderation according to the Sufficiency Economy, then present it to the advisors in a form of group. 2. Give a brief definition of Sufficiency Economy. 3. Explain briefly about the principle of Sufficiency Economy philosophy. 4. How important of Sufficiency Economy philosophy is to the country’s and humans’ development? Explain. 5. How do human beings seek for knowledge? Explain.
20 Chapter 2 Earn a Living Sufficiently Learning Substance To earn a living sufficiently, it is need to obtain the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy’s moderation, reasonableness, and self-awareness in order to manage learners, their family, and community resources correctly and properly to their occupation. Plus, it is need to use the morality condition and knowledge condition as the tools of behaving efficiently in earning a living sufficiently. Expected Learning Outcomes To be able to explain the way of applying Sufficiency Economy philosophy in working. Course Outline Subject 1 The Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy and the Management of Learners, Family, and Community Natural Resources Subject 2 The Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy and Earning a Living
21 Subject 1 The Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy and the Management of Learners, Family, and Community Natural Resources Sufficiency Economy is the economy that is sufficient to learners which results in living self-reliantly, in making some important things without relying on other people, and in helping someone who lacks of without being in trouble, also, results in the exchange in the community state and country one - exportation. It is the open-system economy that starts from each person and from cooperating, and will lead to the use of his potential in strengthening his family which is related to “spirit”, or “worth”, rather than “price”. According to the Sufficiency Economy system, worth is more important than price because the later lacks of spirit and is considered to be the Financial Sector which mainly aims to meet an unlimited demand, and if cannot be controlled, will result in more quickly resources’ destruction and more troubles. It is the consumption that leads to hardship and to impossibly succeed in the consuming targets-creating the maximization of satisfaction. The consumers have to hold to the principle of “Our loss is our gain”, manage the unlimited demand, and decrease their requirements. Doing this will result in happiness and fondness of realizing “worth”, and help customers reduce their expenses without destroying more resources for increasing incomes which will be used to satisfy their unlimited needs, also remove the money’s worth in the form of incomes that control consumption. Moreover, it will become the factor that reduces market mechanism’s burden and the relying on market mechanism, which is uncontrollable by any person, play a role in preventing the Demonstration Effect, and remove the loss and the overconsumption. As a result, there will be no trouble in society, the economy will be improved, and development will be sustainable. Thailand is full of various resources which is enough for Thai people if there has been a good management by giving importance in worth rather than in price, by holding to the relation between people and system, by reducing the unlimited requirement according to the principle of deficit for benefit, and by relying on cooperation so that the family, an important part of social system, will be strengthened. In production, it is important to be conscious with no selfishness, and to consider the factors and the advantages of related persons or else the problem
22 will occur, for example, someone has the opportunity to do the project but does not consider all of the related factors, one factor is a size of factory or workable machines, the most important one is raw materials – if the farmers do not get a pay for the raw materials properly, they will not cultivate them. Especially it will be more difficult if these raw materials have to be imported or sent from a long distance, because they have the higher price. Some years that there are plentiful raw materials, their prices will be lowered, but it means that the selling price of products will be lowered too because of having plentifully. Also, in a case of technologies, using the agricultural technologies in producing will increase the production costs and the products will be more than enough in market meaning that they can be sold at lower price and the farmers will lose money and will get into debt. Holding to the principle of Sufficiency Economy in managing learners, family, and community resources will result in living sustainably without becoming poverty-stricken, by considering these following things: 1. Use and manage the available resources wisely and consciously by starting to produce or consume according to the incomes or available sources limit – learners should hold to the self-reliant principle and focus mainly on producing the enough products or crops for family’s consumption, minor one is to sell the rest in business, also know learners’ standing by using the resources economically with not being luxurious in investing for working according to their potential and property. For example, 1.1 Cultivate home-grown vegetables in order to decrease the expense. 1.2 Use the household’s wastewater in watering the home-grown vegetables. 1.3 Consume the home-grown vegetables, share some to neighbors, sell some for business, and feed pigs with the rest. 1.4 Use the incomes from selling home-grown vegetables and pigs to buy products and services that are important or vital to the household. 1.5 Save the rest of incomes for future. 1.6 Use some of the incomes in buying plants’ seeds for the next cultivation.
23 2. Use the available resources with highest sustainability by choosing the community’s available resources and using them worthily- circulating the natural fund within the community- in order to increase learners’ capabilities of controlling production by themselves, to efficiently reduce the price’s risk of being unable to control the marketing system, and to consume the resources by not being dangerous to the environment, for example, 2.1 Do the joint plantation and integrated farming in order to calculatedly earn various products and reduce the price’s risk. 2.2 Hire community’s labors in order to advocate learners themselves, family, and community to earn more incomes. 2.3 Produce compost and manure and use the rest as the producing factor, fertilizer, in order to decrease the expenses and to do the maintenance dressings. 2.4 Cultivate straw mushrooms from using field’s waste. 2.5 Cultivate fruits in the backyard and home-grown vegetables in the household. 2.6 Cultivate herbs for health. 2.7 Feed fish in a garden plot, paddy, and in water source for food and unearned incomes. 2.8 Feed about 10-15 native chickens and layer hens per each household for food by using foodscraps, rice brans, and grits from farming and from cultivating dry crops. 2.9 Produce biogas using dung. Subject 2 The Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy and Earning a Living According to His Majesty the King’s royal words : Sufficiency Economy is not only for farmers or agriculturists, but for every people at every state, both living in downtown and countryside, for example, learners who have owned the factory and company, in Sufficiency Economy system, if wanting to expand a business because of the occupation’s growth, have to expand gradually, or if wanting to borrowing money, have to borrow it properly, not to borrow it over
24 than they can handle. Among the economical crisis, people must not spend money out of their power. Plus, according to the research of studying the earning a living of Ban Ngok Nam’s citizens, the use of philosophy of Sufficiency Economy to earn a living by the citizens from Ban Ngok Nam community, Nakhayad district, Khuankhanun, Phatthalung province has resulted in being elected as “Phatthalung’s self-reliant economical community” in 2001 and as “A model village of supporting Sufficiency Economy in household, in organization, and in community”. This community has held to the middle path principle : 3 rings of trust and 2 rings of behaving condition, by presenting an analyzing results of each point as follows : 3 Rings of trust 1. Moderation Community has used the available sources sufficiently, properly, and gradually by using technologies as much as necessary and earning more incomes from cultivating vegetables, from feeding pigs, cows, and catfish for supporting the family as much as it can. 2. Reasonableness Community has used every kind of resources economically with highest efficiently, aimed at using the native raw materials, and met the community’s demand by mainly focusing on employment without using technologies instead of labors. Also, it has earned a production capacity according to the capability of management, for example, worthily uses agricultural lands by cultivating home-grown vegetables near the house, in house garden, or near house fence. Some family has cultivated vegetables and fruits completely in order to decrease the expenses, while some feeds cows, pigs, and catfish. A group of making confectionaries for increasing the households’ incomes has said that most of the Ban Ngok Nam’s people have earned a living within the community, not outside, and there are also not many outsiders that earn a living within the village. 3. Self-awareness Mainly focus on diversifying by having various products and not being in debt more than one can handle. There has been an opening of a villager’s philosophy group in the Ban Ngok Nam community in order to pass on knowledge and experience to the others within community. There are also
25 various occupational classes, both official and non-official one, for example, a group of producing organic fertilizer in form of grain which can help people a lot in decreasing the expenses of buying chemical fertilizer, or a group of producing pickled catfish in order to add value of the catfish and to reserve them for consuming longer. Besides helping in main occupation, there is also a group of making soap and shampoo which always participates continually. For the recommendation, the villagers want the government sectors to support and train the various groups regularly and constantly, they also want the groups of minor occupation-repairing cars and motorcycles, sewing, soldering, barber, etc, to pass on their knowledge in order to gain the ability of repairing things by their own, also to earn a living for their business groups as the household’s unearned incomes. 2 Rings of behaving condition 1. Knowledge Condition Of the earning a living, Ban Ngok Nam’s citizens have prudence, knowledge, and carefulness. They also have made a model scheme, shared the work among each group, known to conserve both environment and tradition, known to restore valuable things which has already been disappeared so that they can be valuable again, applied the traditional folk wisdoms and integrated them with the modern occupation’s technique and methods. However, advocating of passing on knowledge has to be done continually, regularly, and thoroughly in order to achieve the individual and group targets, also to conform to the changing world and to meet the consumers’ requirement more and more. Lastly is to advocate young generations to earn highest education so that they can come back to develop their community using Sufficiency Economy. Most of family leaders have explained that in the occupation, especially the agriculture one, knowledge has been passed on from generation to generation, mostly by working corporately, for example, take their children to cultivate rubber trees which, while helping their parents, children will learn too, same as the case of feeding pigs, etc. The villagers say that they have been asking the government before, but long time they will earn knowledge from the government, but they are lucky that the village has lots of knowledgeable people who can be various knowledge sources. Although lots of young generations have not study outside, the knowledgeable ones have gathered intellects and equipments in earning a living as can be seen.
26 2. Morality Condition It is important to be honest with no exploitation both on the customers and the customers’ labors, and be patient and diligent. Most of Ban Ngok Nam’s people have earned a living by being honest, diligent, patient, and generous to other households. A household’s leader who earns a living by cultivating rubber tree is honest in selling rubber tree’s quality product and does not add any of water or adulterated things into it. He also realizes in cultivating by avoid using chemical substances in killing pests and uses the natural’s pesticide instead. Most of the fertilizers he uses are Enzyme Ionic Plasma, which he produces by his own, or uses manure or organic fertilizers in the form of grains for household and customers safety. For animal husbandry, he uses natural animals’ food or others he grows by himself, for example, uses grasses to feed cows, uses food scraps to feed pigs, or uses something that can be found in nature. He also avoids using Salbutamol or Clenbuterol – the chemical substance in Beta-agonists group which is used to increase the meat’s red color - and spends most of his time to earn a living for household. Although right now the Ban Ngok Nam community is free from drugs, community’s leader always lets his members participate in the avoiding drugs program. There is also the teaching of morality in the household.
27 Activity 2 Divide into group of 5 persons each and work as follows : 1. In each group, brainstorm the issue “Apply the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy in using learners, family, and community resources” and select only issue’s topic of one member to present of how the group can apply the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy in managing the resources, for example, reducing the expenses, being self- reliant, reasonable, knowledgeable, and moral, etc. 2. Each group does the 3-to-5-minutes presentation about its regulation of applying the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy in daily life and lets learners and advisors evaluate whether the regulation is proper or not and how to improve it, for example, by using poster, brochure, or internet to broadcast ,etc. 3. Learners from each group do the presentation of these broadcasting regulations in their academy and community nears the academy.
28 Chapter 3 Plan Sufficiently in Earning a Living Learning Substance The state of planning in earning a living according to the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy is the state of determining its direction, its boundary, its objective, and its method by having the obvious and systematical processes. As a result, learners will achieve their targets and requirements in their occupation by holding to the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy. Moreover, they will have to be knowledgeable in making occupation’s project and plan in order to develop their occupations to the success, and have to understand their works by using knowledge and morality in earning a living. Expected Learning Outcomes 1. Learners are able to apply their knowledge from learning in planning about their works according to the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy. 2. Learners are able to correctly and properly make the occupation’s projects as they have planned. 3. Learners understand their works by using knowledge and morality in earning a living. Course Outline Subject 1 Planning in Earning a Living According to the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy Subject 2 Occupational Project and Program According to the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy Subject 1 Planning in Earning a Living According to the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy
29 Earn a living is a way humans work for living. It means to divide people’s duties and let them be able to live in their community. People who earn a living will gain a pay or income that will be used for living and for building the good standards of family, community, and country. The needs to earn a living are as follow: 1. For people themselves : earning a living let people earn incomes to use for living. 2. For family : let family’s members improve their quality of lives. 3. For community : if community’s members have occupations and incomes, they will have the better lives which results in community’s economical strength and development. 4. For country : citizens will get the better careers and higher incomes to pay for the taxes so that government will use these incomes to develop the country. Humans are not able to produce everything they want in order to meet their satisfaction, so they have to share with the others and become skillful. As a result, there are works and duties sharing. The reason why it has to be works sharing is because each human has different talent, different living place, and different given duty. Earning a living is one of important things in life because of the fact that everyone has to earn the occupation in order to be able to live, but to earn what occupation, do what and how to do in order to being able in living and succeeding is depended on planning in earning a living. To succeed in occupation as they want, learners must make the occupation plan completely and systematically. Planning is a way of determining requirements, of behaving methods, and of expecting the future that occurs by using academic principle, reasons, mathematical data, and problem’s solving methods so that operators will know of what, when, where to do, with whom, and by how, obviously which leads to correctly and successfully working principles. Therefore, earning a living is the way of determining its direction, its boundary, its objective, and its method by having the obvious and systematical processes. Earning a living has lots of formats, lots of methods, and also lots of ways to help people be successful in their occupations.
30 Planning in earning a living is like electronic posts on the street which lighten up in order to cause safety in travelling along that way. Planning correctly in earning a living is then the important thing which determines whether learners will succeed or not. To plan for earning a living, learners should learn of these things : 1. Knowing oneself choosing a career seems to be a great decision in people’s lives because it will determine the incomes from their capabilities. It is hard to believe that many people choose to live with the occupations they dislike, or occupations they do not use their own knowledge because they have not asked themselves what they really want “The lack of self-confidence is one of the cause that let some people to choose the occupations that are far from their capabilities and is the reason of people in changing their occupation’s office, or the reason of changing their occupations after working only a half way.” To build learners’ self-confidence, it is better to start from answering the question “Who we are”, “What we want to do”, “What can we do best”, “What we always do”, and the answers we get will help us know of our capabilities, our interests, our popularities, our individual likings, and our occupational forms. During the period of finding ourselves, learners should not forget to tell it to our family and friends because they, who have been knowing us for a long time, might help us find ourselves more quickly and be able to tell us of our strong point and weakness, or learners can make an individual or skill test and use its recommendation results in order to find ourselves. “Answering the questions about the occupations may help us understand ourselves which we have not understand before much better, but the occupational specialists might help us in seeing through those capabilities, too.” 2. Studying to earn a living at this moment, there have been lots of occupations, lacking of occupational plan might result in learners’ choosing the improper one. Being honest in estimating our abilities will lead to high opportunities in choosing the proper occupation. It is better to choose a career by mainly holding to the inner feeling and choosing only one that is suitable for ourselves. There are two to three methods that help learners in collecting data about the proper occupation: read the details of each occupation found in occupational brochure, and search data from the internet because it is the data sources which can give every detail unbelievably. Furthermore, learners can search the data from the others’ experiences, for example, the interview of other
31 people who earn the occupations we interest, or question about the working data from the others, these interviews might be useful in helping learners understand the truth of that occupations. 3. Decision is an important step after looking for the proper occupation. One strategy which may help learners make up their mind is to list all of their inner requirements within one year into a paper, then add the five years’, and ten years’. Another strategy is to compare between good points of learners’ three most interested occupations with the bad ones and select the most proper occupation. After that, it is time to test what learners choose. They have to search the opportunities and accept the internship for the better opportunity in getting the career in the future, or have to study more about that occupation and practice in working the occupation that is related to their interested ones. Being well-prepared is better than giving up learners’ rights by doing nothing. Doing a part-time job or being a volunteer is the way of gaining experience gradually but necessary for quality in earning a living which will satisfy the employers. Moreover, it is important to become the community’s members who have participated in working activities because they will get the chances of getting other members’ recommendations in looking for the career, they might also be learners’ advisors as well. Doing this is like to dip one finger into water for testing: learners will find that they have earned the determination and various experiences without having time’s obligation. If learners find out that the chosen career does not match with them, they can find other choices until getting the proper occupation. However, planning in earning a living is not the end of this subject, and various activities will change continually, depend on learners’ change. “It is better to be flexible and well-prepared to improve their plan in order to search for new things for them and to look for the opportunities of improving themselves.” In working, planning will certainly help learners work more efficiently than maintaining their composure. Occupation can be divided into two types: 1. Freelance is the occupation that people own the business and manage it in the form of occupational class, partnership, or company, etc. The owners have to be willed, patient, and not discouraged to obstacles so that they can run
32 the businesses successfully and securely. Freelance can be subdivided into 2 groups: 1.1 Manufacturing freelance people who earn their living must have manufacturing processes or steps, or have processes the products before selling them at the markets in wholesale or in retail, for example, cooking, owning the orchard, fish culture, etc. 1.2 Service freelance is the occupation that has been well-known according to the environment and ways of lives. Because of the fact that people who have less free time have relied on technologies and doing service occupation has lower risks and low asset, lots of people have chosen these occupations, for example, cleaning service, laundry service , wash cars’ service, electrical equipments’ service, and fortunetelling’s service, etc. 2. Employment’s occupation is to earn a living by not being the owners but working as the employers assign and earning the pay in the form of money, food, habitat, or other vital things. Now most of Thai people like to be the employees because of the limited responsibilities with no risks on the benefit or lose money, which can be found in large or small establishment or in manufacturing business of service business, for example, salesperson, employee, banker, accountant, etc. Earning a living, everyone wants to succeed. A way which leads to the success and can be held to in working every occupation is a philosophy of Sufficiency Economy. To earn a living according to the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy, it is better to hold to these following principles ; 1. Be economical – seriously reduce the expenses and the luxurious lifestyle in living as bestowed by His Majesty the King’s royal words “Living without luxury and being economical in a rightful way” by doing the household accounts. 2. Being honest in earning a living even in the period of deficiency as bestowed by His Majesty the King’s royal words “Everyone’s prosperity comes importantly from the rightful behaving and from earning a living.” 3. Stop competing for the benefit and severely marketing competent that used to occur in the past as bestowed by His Majesty the King’s royal
33 words “The true happiness and prosperity mean the happiness and prosperity people earn from searching with fairness in both intention and behavior, not by chance or by competing with the others.” 4. Seeking for knowledge do not stop to search a fleeing way from starving by studying in order to increase the incomes to the sufficient level as the main target as bestowed by His Majesty the King’s royal words “The state of wanting everyone to try to seek for knowledge and strengthen their own statuses is to help they have better lives with moderately earning and moderately consumption as the first step, next is to be proud of being able to live by their own.” 5. Behaving in the rightful way is to stop doing anything bad. Because there are still lots of people who work without being ashamed to country, Thai society has collapsed in this time as bestowed by His Majesty the King’s royal words “Try not doing bad things which could ruin people themselves or the others’ lives, also try to reduce their wickedness and try to increase doing good things for themselves regularly.” He also emphasizes that the most important word is “Por(enough)” – people must build their proper sufficiency which will bring them the happiness. A philosophy of Sufficiency Economy can be used as the way of earning a living in every occupation, for example, agriculture, business, etc. Sufficiency Economy and agricultural occupation Agricultural occupation is considered to be the main and important occupation of the country. More than 60% of Thai populations have earned this occupation. Agricultural occupation is related to production and selling agriculture’s product and service. Besides being used as food, agricultural products can be used in manufacturing process too, for example, farming, husbandry, cultivation, domestication, etc. His Majesty the King has bestowed his royal speech on farmers which are most of Thailand to be strong enough before producing for commerce by holding to 3 steps of the New Theory Agricultural principle : 1st step Be sufficient and be able to live by themselves on the state of economy and reducing expenses.
34 2nd step Cooperate with the others in form of groups in order to strengthen the power of production, marketing, management, welfare, education, and social development. 3rd step Build network, occupational groups, and expand the various businesses by collaborating with the business parts, individual developing organizations, and government parts in investment, marketing, management, and information. The New Theory Agricultural is His Majesty the King’s royal thought about managing the lands for sustainable lives by dividing them into parts which are basin, land for cultivating rice, land for cultivating various kinds of dry crops,and land for habitat/feeding animals in the ratio of 3:3:3:1, respectively. It is the principle of managing lands and water for the most efficient agriculture in a small area: 1. Manage and divide the small area into each part clearly for farmers’ highest benefits, which have not been done before. 2. Calculate by using the academic principle about the amount of water that is enough for one-year agriculture. 3. Plan three steps completely and correctly for crofters for they can live by their own and earn the incomes. First Step of New Theory Agricultural. Farmers’ basic statuses are earning small lands, being poor, and mostly living in the raining part. This step mainly aims at strengthening the stability of production, of daily food, incomes’ security, lives’ security, and country community’s security so that farmers can be more self-reliant. There has been land and habitat’s management by dividing them into 4 parts according to the ratio 30:30:30:10 which means 30% of lands is used for storing water in order to store the water in rainy season and use in cultivating plants in dry season, for feeding animals and aquatic plants(also for feeding fish and cultivating aquatic plants,for example, morning glory,water minosa,etc.). The second part - 30% - is for cultivating rice in rainy season in order to consume as the daily food in one year, to reduce the expenses, and to be able to live by their own. The third part- 30%- is used for cultivating fruit trees, perennial plants, vegetables, dry crops, and herbs, etc, for being consumed in the daily lives and for selling the rest at the markets. The last part, approximately 10%, is used for being habitats, feeding animals, and other
35 tenements(road,ridge,rick,drying bed,compost pile,mushroom house, animals’ stall,garden tree and flowerer, home-grown vegetables, etc). Innovative New Theory Agricultural After well understanding the principle of First Step of New Theory Agricultural and be successful, farmers have to improve themselves from the step of “moderately use and moderately consume” to the step of “earning enough” so that their outcomes will be more perfect. As a result of this, it is important to do as the second and third step told, respectively.(The Chaipattana Foundation,1999). Second step: Middle step of New Theory Agricultural After well understanding the principle of First Step of New Theory Agricultural and be successful, farmers have to start doing the second step which is collaborating with the others in a form of groups or cooperative in order to help each other in working in these following parts: 1) Producing The farmers should cooperate with each other in production, for example, the cultivation, and look for plant seeds and other resources for cultivating. 2) Marketing After producing, it is important to look for the marketing and sell for the highest advantages, for example, gathering their products for selling so that they can get the higher price and reduce the expenses. 3) Living Farmers must have well-beings; for example, own the four requisites of living such as food, habitat, etc. 4) Welfare Each community should have its own welfare and service, for instance, hospital for treatment, or money funds for borrowing. 5) Education Community should participate in supporting the education, for instance, having an educational funds for students. 6) Society and Religions Community should be a center of mind and social development by having religion as a spiritual anchor. All of activities as above have to be collaborated by every related section- government, individual organization, and community’s members more importantly. Third step: Innovative step of New Theory Agricultural. After doing as the second step told, farmers will earn more incomes and better lives, and they should move on to the next step which is to contact for finding the money funds, for example, banks, or individual organizations, in order to help them in
36 the business’s investment and quality of lives’ development. Both the farmers and their cooperation will earn the benefit: 1) Farmers are able to sell their products in high prices without being lowered the price. 2) The bank and the private individual are able to buy rice in a low price because they buy it directly from the farmers and grind it by their own. 3) Farmers are able to buy products at a low price, because of the fact that they buy them in a large amount which means that the buying price will be a wholesale one. 4) The bank and the private individual are able to use the human sources for working more efficiently. At this moment, the principle of Sufficiency Economy has been used in royal development study center in order to test for the expanding the outcomes, and department of agriculture has made the 25 demonstrated farms all over the country. Moreover, Community Development Department, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives , Royal Thai Air Force, Army Area, Ministry of Defence, and Ministry of Education have applied this philosophy in more widely use. Diagram of managing lands according to the New Theory Agricultural
37 System of Land’s Management 1. Basin- approximately 3 Rai- for storing water and fish farming for consumption. 2. Paddy – approximately 3 Rai – for cultivating rice and seasonal vegetables. 3. Fruit trees which are suitable with the climate – approximately 3 Rai – also should be the joint plantation and step-by-step reliance, for example, - Fruit trees or large useful trees – high tree; for example, Stink beam , mangosteen, etc. - Middle-sized fruits’ bush, for example, mango, longan, jackfruit, rose apple, pomelo, etc. - Small-sized fruits’ bush, for example, lemon, tangerine, kumquat, etc. - Fruits and small-sized vegetables, for example, aubergine, chilli, basil, star gooseberry, etc. - Home-grown vegetables, for example, lemongrass, vegetables, etc. - Vegetables vine, for example, lvy Gourd, gourd, luffa gourd, beans, pepper, etc. - Vegetable’s climbers, for example, yam, ginger, galangal. 4. For habitat, cattlepen, home-grown vegetables that need sunlight, and compost’s plot (If not being Muslim, it is recommended people do the pig farming in hole), use approximately 1-Rai land with well managing environment and geography. 5. Hedgerow It is recommended people cultivate the home-grown vegetables, for example, dragon fruit, star gooseberry, acacia, Vegetable Humming Bird, papaya, etc. 6. Farmers can also cultivate some vegetables around the basin, for example, banana, sugar cane, moringa, and Vegetable Humming Bird. They should cultivate Vetiver Grass in the inner side of basin in order to prevent coastal erosion. Note : It is better to plan of managing lands according to the real state.
38 Sufficiency Economy and the Business Occupation Every kind of business - manufacturing, trade, or service, is very important to economical and social system because the turnovers have an influence on economical price and country development. Thailand’s transactions in the past aimed at economical growth in the way of capitalism which stimulates people to consume more and more every time in order to earn the highest incomes without considering of the rightful ways. The economic expansions have focused on relying on the foreign supply, technologies, and funds which results in lowering the self-reliant capabilities, economic organizations have been dominated by the negative globalism’s thought. Consequently, people have lived with their popularity and attitude of focusing on wealth and convenience as their targets, being selfish, and lacking of consciousness to the public. Economic organizations have to face against the risks under the condition of global complicated and all-around changing economic system. Therefore, in order to adjust themselves to the globalism, learners should study and be flexible by holding to the self-reliant principle of Sufficiency Economy philosophy for the sake of building the business potential, increasing the capability in competition, and building immunity to external environmental effects in form of the strong belief in applying the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy to use in various organization - Sufficiency Economy is well suitable to only the agricultural parts, Sufficiency Economy means to be economical and free from debt, realization of profits opposes to the Sufficiency Economy, and Sufficiency Economy is not suitable to the globalizing world. After considering Sufficiency Economy concepts, principles, and components, we can explain the aforementioned issues: Because the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy is used to apply with the first step of agricultural part as it is needy than the others, it has been misunderstood that Sufficiency Economy is well suitable only for the agricultural part. Dr.Sumeth Tuntivechakul(2006:286) has explained that Sufficiency Economy is not limited only for the farmers or agriculturists, but is the economy for every people at every states, both living in downtown and in countryside, for example, a person who has owned an industrial factory and company in the Sufficiency Economy system, if wanting to expand the business because of texture’s growth, he has to expand it gradually, or if wanting to borrow money, he must do it properly, not borrow so much that he cannot
39 handle, and must be economical without being too luxurious. However, when considering according to both the components and conditions of the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy, it can be seen that this philosophy can be applied to every occupational state and field, not only the agricultural part. This application in business parts or other economy parts is very important because Thailand has become more like an urban society and the manufacturing in business part has high proportion. If the business part does not apply the Sufficiency Economy philosophy in using, moderation is hardly occurred (Nuttapong thongpukdee,2007:18). The philosophy of Sufficiency Economy can be used as a leading principle in business management without resisting of marketing system, but as the leading tool of market mechanism to become more stable, also not resisting to the principle of seeking to the profit so that it is vital to decrease the profit or production capacity. The way of earning profit, however, has to rely on the standard of not exploiting on the others or not seeking for so much profit that might exploit the society’s benefit, also has to consider the use of resources in business economically and efficiently as bestowed by His Majesty the King’s royal words on the occasion of his birthday 4th December 2007 that (Phiphat yodphruattikan,2008ก :2) “What is Sufficiency Economy? It is not the moderation, also not to make a low profit. Make a profit we do, if it is much, it is good, but should be sufficient. If people are so greedy, this is not called the moderation. Selling with profit, buying with no deficit is called Sufficiency Economy- not being greedy, and not seeking for too many profits or too less. Be moderated. It is not only of trades, it is the suitable moderation.” Moreover, Sufficiency Economy does not deny being in debt or borrowing for investment in the business par, it still aims at making the highest efficiency and highest effectiveness in the production for the purpose of organization’s progress, also focuses on administrating with low risks – in order to borrow money for business’s investment, it is a must that people analyze and estimate the risks that might affect the business by holding to the worthiness principle and determining the supportive measure to handle the occurring risks. (Phiphat yodphruattikan,2008ข:1) The principle of Sufficiency Economy supports the business to be able to compete sustainably in long term and to be prepared of future changes. The
40 business that uses the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy will moderately compete according to its potential by doing the business depending on its professional or creating knowledge in order to develop it to become much better at competition. Therefore, the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy does not support the closed economy system which is not related to another, does not trade, does not export, or ignore the globalism, but is the philosophy that focuses on a step-by- step development on a strong foundation. The business organization has to see through its thick by holding to the self-reliant principle and, then, develop itself so that its business can be full of quality and strength which will be the supporter of the others and lead to the society of cooperation in the last.(Suthin Lipunyachatha, Narisa Phichaivaruttma and Athisuda Na-nakorn,2007:9) According to the report of United Nations Development Program( UNDP), Thailand, of the topic “Sufficiency Economy and the human development” in 2007 , it has supported the use of the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy in business part by saying that Sufficiency Economy has helped business part improve the company’s responsibilities to society by making procedures for the business in aiming to produce long-term profit in the competing state. In order to earn the profit today, it is more complicated than considering only the asset and reward, business part has to think over every related groups, from the employer to the customer and environment, generally. However, it also has to consider the risks that could possibly occur every time among the surroundings of high competition and the changes within the organization(Suthin Lipunyachatha, Narisa Phichaivaruttma and Athisuda Na- nakorn,2007:8). It can be seen that the Sufficiency Economy truly is the principle of developing people in order to increase the capability of responding to every part of businesses, which is not limited only to the agricultural part. Organizations wanting to grow sustainably among the globalism need to apply the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy, not denying the principle of seeking for profit, which holds to the foundation of not exploitation and considers the risks that could affect the business part.
41 Subject 2 Occupational Project and Program According to the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy There are lots of occupations, for example, agriculture, livestock, forestry, transportation, industrial, Cut, waving, etc. In order to earn whatever occupation, learners must study and analyze the possibility by using lots of data enough to select the occupation to earn a living. After considering, they should note it as writing so that they can see them clearly and continually, also can find the errors or missing data for the purpose of projects’ and principles’ completeness. Making the project and principle of earning a living – occupational project- is important and vital to earning a living because it is considered to be analyzed before working, meaning that there will be less failures, especially planning in working will let people be crystal-cleared of the manufacturing plan, investing plan, and marketing plan. Advantages of occupational project 1. It lets everyone who earns a living achieve the targets they determine, also let them have the working systems and reduce the overlap working. 2. It is useful in using the resources efficiently. 3. It helps the owners be confident in administrating and in solving the problems because of having already planned and considered carefully. 4. It helps the owners be able in checking the working processes and targets’ successes. Components of occupational project After selecting the occupation and analyzing the prompt and the possibilities of the chosen occupation, the next step is to write a project of the chosen occupation. Doing this, there are topics that have to be written as follows : 1. Name of a project It is better to choose the project’s name that can be understood clearly, for example, project of feeding young chicken, project of selling unadulterated vegetables, etc.
42 2. Reasons/motivations of doing the project List down the reasons of choosing to do the project, for example, it is the occupation that is required for marketing/community, or how the project’s owner is skillful or interested in this occupation, etc. 3. Objectives List down clearly the objectives of doing the project, for example, in order to gain experience in doing this occupation, or to study learners’ possibilities of doing occupations. 4. Target It is better to determine obviously both the quantitative targets and the qualitative ones, for example, in order to feed the young chicken, owners will feed five generations, how many per each. 5. Period time of doing the project Since the starting of doing the project, how much time owners use? ,when do they start the project?, when will they finish?, or when do they expand the business?. 6. Working place Owners must list down the name of the working place. 7. Operating List down totally all of the operating steps - the step of planning, working as plan, and the step of estimating and improving – to write down the operating steps, owners should follow these topics : 7.1 Producing plan. Owners should present the details in producing, or selling, or servicing as determined in the project, what the steps of production are and how owners determine the time according to these steps. 7.2 Investing plan. Owners should identify the sources of asset which has been used in the project. How do owners earn it? by themselves or by borrowing. 7.3 Marketing plan. Owners should list the details of products or services of the occupational project. How many customers that expected them? and how to plan for expanding the market? in what period of time? 8. Problems and the way of solving Identify the problems that are expected to occur in earning a living. 9. Expected results Present the results of doing projects in various ways, for example, in the way of knowledge and experience owners have gained, in the way of profit, and in the way of fondness.
43 10. Operators List the names of all business’s owners, or operators. Before writing a plan of the chosen occupation’s project, it is important to study and gather all of the related knowledge about the occupation : 1. Survey the market demand by searching a community’s ,which will be the place of doing the project, need and status about the population, populations’ characteristics - gender, age, incomes, occupation, level of education, the need of product or service in this occupation, amount and habit of people’s buying , and problems or obstacles which might occur, for example, there are competitors that sell the same products or services ,etc. 2. Business’s location. It is important to consider whether the chosen location has the vital quality for these things or not – is the transportation convenient? Does the environment be suitable? Are there any of the competitors that sell the same types of products or services? If so, how to solve the problem? 3. Survey ones readiness in every part, for example, knowledge part in the occupation, whether there are proper producing factors or not, if not, how to solve the problem? 4. Study the possibility of the occupation. Operators need to consider about the incomes they will earn after doing the occupation- is it suitable with the money they have invested?, are the incomes or profit enough for living? , if not,how to solve the problem? After gathering the data as above and seeing the chance of doing the occupation, it is better to start writing the project as the determined topics. Example of writing the occupational project. 1. Name of a project. Project of selling the processed food. 2. Names of the operators ....................................... 3. Names of the advisors ........................... 4. Principles and Rationale. Food is vital to everyone for we have to consume it every day. Mostly of the villagers in the operators’ village work outside and do not have enough time to cook, also, near the village there is an individual office which have lots of officers. However, there are not many processed food stores, and their products are not good at quality, they also have poor service. The village lacks of the processed food store which has good quality and low price. Group’s members are capable of cooking and their
44 houses have enough area for using as the stores, so we have decided to make the project of selling processed food. 5. Objectives 1. To gain the experience in selling the processed food. 2. To see the chance and gain the knowledge and capability of selling the processed food. 3. To be able to use the gained knowledge and experience from doing the occupational project in earning a living properly. 6. Targets Quantitative targets: cooking and selling the processed food in the weekends. Qualitative targets: all members of the group see the chance in earning a living and developing their occupation properly. 7. Period time of doing the project. Since the school begins until the end of these semesters. (20th May -30th September and 1st November – 15th March) 8. Working place address…………………………………………… 9. Budget 9.1 Assets : members’ saving deposit - 1,000 baht each. 9.2 The assets’ amount of starting the project : 15,000 baht. 9.3 Fixed assets : tables, chairs, and crockery which some are borrowed and some are bought. 9.4 Wasting assets : fresh food which is bought every day. 9.5 Assets for expanding business : if being successful, operators should have enough money for expanding the business. 9.6 Profit(expect) : at the beginning, operators have earned the profit 300-500 baht/day. 10. Operating steps 1. Preparation - Study and gather data
45 - Write a project - Ask the approval - Look for assets - Determine the foods’ lists which will be sold - Advertise to let the customers know 2. Preparing the working place - Decorate the working place - Prepare the tools and equipments 3. The complete working steps - Study the basic knowledge about the occupation - Study the data for surveying the interests in earning a living - Analyze the data - Select the occupation - Study the writing plan of occupational project - Ask the approval - Study for more knowledge - Determine the lists of foods that will be sold - Advertise to let the customers know - Prepare the cooking tools and equipments - Decorate the working place - Cook foods for sale by altering the duties: buy fresh food / decorate / clean the working place / do the dishes/ customer service /collect money/ do the account - Estimate the outcomes every day / every week - Estimate the conclusion after finishing - Recommend the way of developing occupation 11. Problems and the way of solving
46 11.1 Problems that are expected to occur during the operating 1) Not enough customers as planned 2) Not enough experience in selling foods 11.2 The ways of solving problems 1) Bring the processed food to sell at house/community 2) Ask the advisors for the recommendation regularly 12. Expected results 12.1 Knowledge and experience. Everyone has earned experience in working and seen the chance of working in the future 12.2 Products, prosperity, profit. Everyone has earned the incomes during learning and realized in the worth of earning a living, also, lightened the parents’ load Name of the proposer………………………….. Occupational Project According the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy Doing the occupational project is important and vital to earn a living because it is considered to be planned before working and there will be less failures, especially planning the operating steps will let the operators have obvious producing steps, investing steps, and marketing steps. Being good at doing the occupational project will result in achieving the determined targets, in working systematically, and in reducing the overlapping working steps so that learners can use the resources efficiently, be confident in administrating and in solving the problems because of having already planned and considered carefully. It also helps the owners be able in checking working processes and targets’ successes. The philosophy of Sufficiency Economy can be applied in planning the occupational project as it can be seen that “Sufficiency Economy is truly the veridical way of living. Its concept aims at the security and sustainability of development, which has important characteristic of being applicable to every state. It also places an importance on the words “sufficiency” which comprises of moderation, reasonableness, and self-awareness under the condition of knowledge and morality, so called 3 rings of trust and 2 rings of conditions :
47 Moderation which are being austere, economical, and doing things properly, balancing with learners’ potential and environmental state depending on each person capability,also being moderate with the society, environment, and situation. To do whatever, learners should be austere, economical, easy to understand, step-by-step working assigned, and have the obvious working without being complicated, for example, in order to develop the educational quality, it is important to know of what students want, of what the employers want the graduates to do because every activities and every works have assets. Learners should not work inexactly. Earning a living must be useful and must have the outcomes. Reasonableness is to think, listen, and behave. Earning a living must hold to the knowledge principle in working. Learners must plan carefully and use the academic principle as the concurrent without using feelings and temper. Everyone has the potential in working, and they must develop themselves from within, so they must show their potentials. Self-awareness is to have the strategies, for example, being teachers means they must have the lesson plans, an organization must have the strategies, etc. In working, they must work for the highest advantages and see the overall image. Also, everyone has to participate, collaborate with the others, and integrate in order to improve the working plan. Organization must have the good governance in order to build the self-awareness in itself. Being knowledgeable Learning is another factor everyone always looks over because of thinking that they have already enough knowledge. The truth is that doing every occupation must have been knowledgeable continually in order to improve learners’ skills, to learn the new knowledge, and to learn the academic related knowledge widely so that they can use them in planning and be more careful in the operating steps. It is also important to improve learners’ capabilities and intellects so that they can earn the higher career. Being Moral Earning a living means that people must contact with the others, society, and environment unavoidably. In order to achieve the target, earn the support from related persons, coworkers, or customers, learners should have the following virtues : - Diligence and patience is to earn a living patiently, diligently, and continually. Diligence must be done together with being knowledgeable in order to solve the problem and become successful in occupation. A person who is
48 hard-working is the person who earns a living seriously and continually in the rightful way, also be undaunted, be brave in facing the obstacles, love the work he has been doing, and concentrate in working. - Honesty is to behave rightfully and sincerely without having stratagem. A person who is honest is the one who earns a living directly and considers in the effect which might occur to an environment, without exploitation and without using the dangerous substances. - Patience is to maintain learners’ normal statuses even in facing the obstacles or problems. To be more patient in working, besides being knowledgeable, people must use the patience in order to achieve and solve the problems. - Generousness/giving alms is to share what learners have or what they might give to the others and that things will be useful to them. Giving alms sincerely without wanting anything will let the givers earn the last-long happiness. To earn a living by being generous and giving something to the customers or community will let the givers earn the customers’ respects. Sufficiency Economy can be used in the occupational project as it can be seen that Sufficiency Economy does not only help us to live daily, but also to live sustainably and prosperously. A sustainable prosperity, according to the Sufficiency Economy, is to have the moderation, reasonableness, and self- awareness. In the business administration, it is a must we have to consider what our targets and our plans are. In order to working as plan, it is important to spend for what we truly need and reduce the expenses of what we do not. This type of using money is called Moderation. Moreover, we have to be reasonable, too, by administrating the business reasonably and considering the necessary things and the unnecessary ones, not imitating what the others do, for example, imitate the other’s promotion or advertisement, etc – it is the use of feelings in solving problems. To do something, it is important to consider it carefully and completely whether it is suitable for our business or not, is it proper to be used in our business? What the results of using it will be. After having moderation and reasonableness, we must have the self- awareness as well. Business that has the self-awareness will be strong and be able to survive sustainably because if it lacks of self-awareness, whenever the
49 problems occurs, business will be weakened, and its profit will be lessened too. If severely, business may be bankrupt. For example, we have owned the business plan and everything works as the plan, but we also have the reserved one in case of some failures that might occur, or in the case of reserving some money for any possibly money problems occurring. As mentioned above, these are considered to be the way of building self-awareness in the business. Sufficiency Economy is, then, not only the state of cultivating crops, feeding animals, of living in the countryside, but can be applied in the business administration for the business’s sustainable growth and development from now on. To earning a living, people must hold to the sufficiency principle which is comprised of reasonableness, moderation, and self-awareness with the developing process that holds to the principle of morality, diligence, omniscience, and honesty. Working with the others requires the use of academic principle which is proper to the geography and environment. It is also need for learners to adjust the operating process and the administration by considering every related person, the acceptance from the coworkers so that it is possible to be successful in working and to achieve the targets. Activity 3 1. Divide in to a group of 3-5 persons each, then search for the data of people living in or living near the member’s house who become successful in working using the sufficiency principle, and exchange the data among the others. 2. Everyone considers their prompt in selecting their occupations according to the Sufficiency Economy and writes it into the paper for presentation and keeps it in their portfolios. After that, lets other learners evaluate it.
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