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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
Construction of Meaning Scheme in Community Strategic Planning of Civil Society
Author(s)
Wandee Sutthinarakorn
Suthee Rattanamongkolgul
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DOI:10.17265/2328-2185/2018.04.003
Affiliation(s)
Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
Srinakharinwirot University, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand
ABSTRACT
This research aimed to examine
problems in building up local development plan, construct new meaning scheme of
community strategic planning of civil society, and identify strategic guidelines
for grassroots economic development. Key informants were 145 representatives of
civil society from 102 communities in Trang Province, Thailand. Research instruments
were dialogue forums which encouraged the key informants to reveal their own experiences
in public hearings. Data were analyzed by using interpretation of their own experiences
in order to construct new meaning scheme from them. Findings revealed that the problems of previous community strategic
plan facilitated by governmental organizations had less concern towards people’s
self-reliance and participation to determine their own community future. Civil
society participated in construction of new meaning scheme of local development
by setting direction concerning existing local assets; e.g. marine resources,
mountains, forests and paddy fields. Meanwhile, local people were harmoniously living among diversified
cultural and ethnical differences
like Buddhists, Muslims, Chinese-Thais, and local ethnic groups. External factors that weakened local capacity are consumerism
in today’s society, and governmental mechanism was not conformed to local development.
All developmental budgets were arranged by government organizations. Thus, new meaning
scheme to development is setting up the directions of local development based on
peaceful and strong relationship of community people including reservation of natural
and cultural diversity. Furthermore, civil society’s role should be strengthened
and reset, while government organizations act as facilitators instead of being commanders.
The strategic guidelines included: promoting occupational capacity for small- and medium-sized community enterprises
to gain more opportunity in economic space of local wisdom products, conserving
the natural resources and bio-diversity, developing physical environment and city
plan to support tourism, providing non-formal education to empower intellectual
capability of local community leaders, and developing community-based tourism to
gain additional income based on the historical and cultural strengths.
KEYWORDS
new meaning scheme, transformative learning, local economy, civil society, Trang Province, Thailand
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