24 February 2023
“Inthanin Drip Coffee: Thep Sadet”
A Showcase of Sustainable
PPPP - Public Private Partnership for People
The cool highlands of Thep Sadet, Doi Saket District, Chiang Mai Province, is situated within the boundaries of the Pa Mieng Royal Project. In 1980, His Majesty the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej visited the area, and witnessed the hardship of the people from the then declining tea (mieng) market and granted the establishment of the Royal Project along with funds for the promotion of coffee cultivation for local farmers. With an environment well-suited for Arabica coffee plants, the area has become a showcase of Public Private Partnership for People (PPPP) following the success of a three-year technical cooperation project, from June 2019 – May 2022, proposed by the Cooperative Promotion Department between the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to draw upon Japanese expertise to develop Thailand’s coffee potential.
Ureerat Chareontoh, Director-General of Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the role of TICA is to manage partnerships with other countries or international organizations which lead to economic, social and academic development, including the promotion of research, knowledge dissemination, and training. Among the projects jointly developed by TICA and JICA is Thep Sadet premium coffee product at Doi Saket. From a visit to the project to appraise the post-harvest management and community base development for community products at the Doisaketpattana Agricultural Co-operative Ltd in early 2022 was further developed towards a collaboration to ensure the sustainability of the business for the community through the introduction of the Thep Sadet coffee to Inthanin Coffee shops.
“After surveying the coffee plantations, I talked with the manager of Doisaketpattana Agricultural Co-operative (also manager of the Bangchak Doisaketpattana Agricultural Co-operative service station, one of more than 600 Bangchak community service stations throughout the country that utilizes the Co-operative’s property to retail petroleum products to members at special prices, from which operating profits are distributed to members as dividend). He expressed his interest to sell coffee products from Doi Saket community in Inthanin Coffee shops to spread the story and uniqueness of Thep Sadet coffee, adding value to the product, and generating additional income for farmers.”
TICA further developed the project through cooperation with the private sector by engaging Bangchak Group. Executives and employees from Bangchak Retail Company Limited, the operator of Inthanin Coffee, reciprocated interest and traveled to Doi Saket to discuss with co-operative executives, coffee farmers, and related parties to jointly develop the product for the market. This led to “Inthanin SINGLE ORIGIN Drip Coffee: Thep Sadet” with distinctive taste notes, featured as 1 of the 3 SINGLE ORIGIN Drip Coffee Special Series; namely “Thep Sadet”, “Pa Pae”, and “Mae Jaem” available at Inthanin Coffee shops starting in January.
“This success is an example of the worthwhile rewards of committed cooperation. For Doi Saket farmers, it is seeing the fruits of their labor evolve and grow. For the dedication of those involved, both Thai and Japanese, public and private, it truly is a service for the people. This model can be emulated in other projects.
I would like to see this model applied to other community products with other private companies to foster future sustainability” Ureerat concluded.