(Dated June 2, 2006)

Pratunam Center This place had signs boasting OTOP groups on the first floor, but I saw none. I spoke to several people with shops, but none of them were OTOP groups. I went on Friday in the late morning and no one seemed to know much about the supposed OTOP group section (although there were really nice signs everywhere). I did come across some places on the top floor who worked as “middlemen” they went around to different Jungwats and bought products to resell at the center. One man in particular was very helpful. Notes from my conversation with him are as follows:

• He raises all prices 5% when he resells them in Bangkok (not sure how he makes money…)
• He let me take pictures of the products he sells for product ideas
• I bought soap because I wanted to bring back packaging ideas for groups in Fang Deang
• The man reselling the products was very knowledgeable about the products he sold

Som Yod Plaza This place existed… sort of. The stalls were there – very small, but nice and you could close them at night. The OTOP groups were no where to be found however. Instead, there were some merchants that sold the usual market type stuff, but when I went on a Friday afternoon, almost everything was closed. I don’t know if that was permanent or they are usually open at a different time of day. Exotique Thai This top end store turned out to be a great place to look for top notch community groups in Thailand. Most of the groups were from the Chaing Mai area and their products were beautiful and totally within reach of Tambons elsewhere. I got contact information for different groups and websites to do further investigation. Importer from Denmark While I was in Exqotique Thai, I met an importer from Denmark. He was interested in learning more about community groups in Thailand and I was interested in learning more about how to set groups up for export, so we met for coffee. The notes from our conversation are as follows: What is important? · CONSISTANCY!!! o Minimal variance in product color and quality are hugely important – especially when dealing with bulk products o Consistent number of products per package each time · Professionalism of the group o On-time orders, good contact information and follow up, etc. · Ability to communicate in English o E-MAIL!!! o Speaking perfect English is not as important as being able to communicate. A good way to improve communication is by creating a catalogue with unique numbers to each product and each variation of that product (size, color, etc.) · The material needs to be consistent and group members need to know what that material is · Packaging! o Export companies generally prefer not to repackage products. It is more expensive to do in more developed countries and time consuming as well. § This particular exporter would pay 5%-10% more for a product with good packaging o Packaging must be able to withstand multiple shipping phases · History or story of the product o Adds personality to the product and customers love to know that they are helping people and worthy causes What is your export company like?

• Based out of Denmark
• Small – currently has 5 employees
• So far, have worked solely with Indonesian companies but with increasing instability resulting from natural disasters, they are looking to branch out to other countries
• Typically look for furniture and baskets, but deal with textiles and other products as well

Why Thailand?

• Thailand is more developed than Indonesia in a lot of ways and the company expects more professionalism from start to finish with products.

Other notes about the trip:

• A big question for me was why are products around Chaing Mai so different from those in Essan? Turns out, Prime Minster Taksin is from Chaing Mai and heavily supported development in that area.
• There are 3 other “OTOP permanent trading outlets” in Bangkok that I didn’t get to but found online on a Thai government website. The contact information is as follows:
• OTOP Shop @ Thailand Export Mart 22/77 Ratchadapisek Rd. Chatuchak. This one is supposed to be legitimate and a gppd place to go, although small.
• Army Wives Handicraft/OTOP Center in front of the Army Welfare Building. Sri Ayuthaya Rd. Seesao – Thewet/Dusit
• Cooperative Promotion Department’s OTOP Center The cooperatives Division Department. Kruang Kasem Rd. Thewet, Phra Nakorn
• A couple of websites for further investigation:
• www.eggthai.com – they have a nice homepage and are a promising company for exporting
• www.shinawatrathaisilk.com - from the Chaing Mai area and includes Taksin’s last name… this group makes incense similar to the incense from Uthai Thani, except that the prices are higher (geared towards foreigners and not Thai people)
• www.napaphan.com

Other thoughts…

• This trip was pretty easy and really gave me a better direction on how to help my groups get from point A to point…well, in the direction of point B anyway. It didn’t turn out how I anticipated, and I found out most of my information from chance resources (like the importer from Denmark), but if you just start asking questions and telling people about your work, they love to help! Especially taxi drivers from the north/northeast … you’re helping their families!
• Chaing Mai would be an interesting place to do the same sort of research… That region has the huge advantage of being supported by Taksin, but investigating the types of programs and support he gives would be really worthwhile and could provide invaluable program structuring tips