The Process of Driving a Forest-Conservation Community through Buddhist-Integrated Coffee Practices in Ban Um Huan, Tak Province

Abstract

This research aimed to (1) develop activities for building a forest-conserving coffee community in Ban Um Hwam, Tak Province, (2) implement Buddhist-integrated community activities for coffee–forest conservation, and (3) create a network of villagers to sustain the Buddhist-integrated coffee–forest conservation movement in Ban Um Hwam. A participatory action research (PAR) qualitative approach was employed. Data were collected from 48 key informants—including community leaders, monks, farmers, processors, youth, women, teachers, local officials, coffee roasters, and buyers—using semi-structured interviews, participant observation, activity logbooks, photographs, and video clips. Data collection was conducted through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, immersive field observation, and real-time activity analysis. Data analysis used thematic content analysis, descriptive and interpretive approaches, linking findings to Buddhist concepts and sustainable community development principles.

The findings revealed that: 1)Activities for building a forest-conserving coffee community were developed with Buddhist principles as the central framework. The process began with mapping the community’s natural and cultural resources and analyzing relevant doctrines such as idappaccayatā (conditionality), paṭiccasamuppāda (dependent origination), the Noble Eightfold Path, and the Four Brahmavihāras. These principles were integrated into activities such as planting seedlings with mindfulness practice, placing Dhamma reminder signs in coffee farms, and organizing nature camps for youth. 2) Driving the three sets of activities—upstream, midstream, and downstream—through Dhamma-based methods, Buddhist eco-learning, and youth cultivation of mindfulness and wisdom encouraged spiritual awakening, fostered new relationships between people and nature, and strengthened moral understanding of the sufficiency economy, particularly among youth and schools, which successfully integrated the activities into local learning. 3) Network building led villagers to form a “community of practice,” with monks as intellectual leaders translating Buddhist teachings into practical living—for example, “coffee grows in the soil of mindfulness” and “plant trees with loving-kindness.” These became sources of spiritual energy for collective community stewardship and forest conservation, strengthening intergenerational cooperation as a foundation for collective action.

The knowledge generated was synthesized into the C.P.LIFE Model, comprising five dimensions: (1) C – Coffee: Coffee as a space for learning and development, (2) P – Paññā: Wisdom as the foundation of transformation, (3) Life Integration: Integration of everyday life with Dhamma and nature, (4) Forest & Ethics: Forest and ethics as the heart of sustainability, and (5) Mutual Interdependence: A community of practice guided by loving-kindness, mindfulness, and shared consciousness.