Community Garden Projects

Community Garden Projects were started on Koh Phangan and Koh Samui during 2020 as a response to the covid19 crisis on the Gulf Islands resulting from the massive decrease in tourism. The islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan are primarily reliant on tourism, some 80% of each islands economies being supported in this way. With the border closures in Thailand during 2020, and the reduction in internal travel in the Kingdom, a high proportion of local businesses were forced to close their doors, or work reduced hours, resulting in high levels of unemployment of both local Thai and migrant workers. Whilst initial emergency responses focused on food aid, strategies were developed by local groups to start community gardens with the aim of both providing medium term food and to engage local people in community action.
EcoThailand, along with other key groups and community leaders, were instrumental in setting up the community garden concept, a concept which rapidly took hold and led to a number of gardens being set up on Phangan, Samui and other islands.