Sufficiency Economy Philosophy for Community Driven Development Approach on Sustainable Local Development: Lessons Learned and Success Factors from Sufficiency Economy Villages, Surin Province, Thailand

บทคัดย่อ

         Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP), initiated by His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) of Thailand, can be applied as an important guideline for Community Driven Development (CDD). The SEP is seen as an approach for sustainable local development. The objectives of this research were: 1) to investigate the SEP principles, and the criteria and indicators used for evaluating Sufficiency Economy Villages (SEVs) models, and 2) to study the lessons learned and success factors of sustainable local development approach using the SEP: case studies of Hong Village and Tenmee Village, Mueang District, Surin Province, Thailand. The sampling groups included three governmental officials, three community leaders, and three model villagers. The research tool was an in-depth interview form, developed from the relevant SEP concepts. The results showed as the followings. (1) The SEP principles consist of three components: moderation, reasonableness and self-immunity, as well as two conditions: knowledge and morality. (2) There are four criteria and 23 indicators for the SEVs models’ evaluation. (3) There were four success factors contributing to the SEVs models, comprising: leadership qualities of village leaders, villagers’ cooperation, community development network, and academic learning resources. These concepts can be applied to drive the community to be a Community Driven Development Village model in other countries.