A story of the lazy garden and the self-named lazy man

Forty years ago, Thailand embarked on modernization and industrialization. According to the policy and orientation of the government, people rushed full use of all resources to increase productivity, generate income, and serve for export. So in the mountains, the forests are exploited and exhausted, then the government introduced reforestation programs and planting monoculture commodity crops. Most people are expecting a big change if according to the flirting direction from economic groups and corporations, agro-processing companies and exporters. Yet there remains a stubborn man who did not follow that mainstream direction. He was not similar to anyone else, and even called himself as "lazy man". He just persistently kept the natural forest with interspersed large and small trees, kept the bushes, and even the grass. He heard the teachers from the University of Chiang Mai to planted trees and many different vegetable crops in the natural, wild way and did not plough, prepare land or make straight beds for seedling. He did not follow mono crop, grow only one main crop as most people did. This style would simply mimic nature, base on nature, and be illiterate in terms of loans and investment. Many people think that just worked in a lazy way that man might optimally attain self-sufficiency to his household and have little surplus products to sell at the market. Then how could he talk about big business for exports, industrialization and modernization? In the meantime everyone obeyed technicians to ask for bank loans, cut all the trees, bushes, grass, put new high-yield seeds on their land. High yield varieties were apt to eat well, then again they asked for more loan to buy fertilizer. The new plants were not adapted as indigenous ones, they faced illness and insects. So the poor investing farmers must borrow more capital to purchase pesticides and herbicides. The first investing farmers began and made profit for the first crop, then other many farmers followed. Unfortunately the price reduced pathetically in the next yield, the traders offered very cheap price, they even worsely fled. So farmers suffered from painful loss. They sank into debt, their land titles were served as collateral at the banks or wealthy men, so they merely have a way to sell out land. Then many farmers becoming landless, and became employee on their own ancestry land. Things changed, the pioneering industrialization followers experienced upheaval gained and lost yields. They could build houses or purchase a car after a crop, but also faced broke for many years, then had to sell off to eat. And "Mr. Lazy" was always so, despite how floating the market was.
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By 1997 the financial crisis occured, many people became restlessly unemployed. At that time it was too late to look back, they have eventually become 'agricultural workers' and landless. Can not give up to die, they have to work farming together on the wild land of the wealthy boss, or collect things from forests. So the struggle of the land lost and landless people to take back land took place throughout the North East of Thailand and many other areas. The situation was improved smoothly for a few years, then financial crisis emerged once again in this country in 2007. So the King and officials launched orientation of "harmonious economy and self-reliance", instead of the past shouting slogans of "industrialization and modernization". So officials, students and scientists both in Thailand and abroad (including Vietnam) successively visited the "lazy man" and his "lazy garden. The man who consistently did not run after money and short-term fads of the market, was seen more positively. Seeing that the lazy style or selfreliance helped and overcome the crisis, many farmers have begun to follow "Mr. Lazy". Although not having much money, but the "lazy man" knows how to nurture nature and love people, so he has a lot of good friends. His son is willing to pursue his father. They have tried the way to learn ecological agriculture, and sold the cattle to get enough money to buy one-way flight ticket to Japan to learn how to develop a "lazy garden" in a more modern country. Fortunately they got assistance from friends, and had enough money to go to that school. The mentioned lazy man is elder Jorni Odochao, a Karen hilltribe living in Nuangtao village, Mea Wang district, Chiangmai province, Thailand. He has travelled to 12 countries to participate in and gave presentation to several forums on ethnic, indigenous issues, natural resource management, international networking amongst farmers. He is interested in and understands deeply culture in development, development policy and its impacts to indigenous peoples. He has been involving in policy recommedations for 40 years. He used to be village leader, chairman of Farmers association of Northern Thailand, and a member of the Advisory board for the National social-economic development. Currently he is a member of the National Council on Community Development, advising Government policy. Written by: Phm Vn Dng, SPERI
(Pictures taken and provided by Dr. Prasit Leepreecha, RCSD, Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiangmai university, Thailand)

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