Sign in or 
Share this
OTOP
Background Information
The One Tambon, One Product (OTOP) Program
One Tambon One Product (OTOP) Project is one of the government's policies encouraging Thai communities to make use of Thai wisdom. The government helps impart modern knowledge and manage to introduce the products to the domestic and international markets through chain stores and outlets.
The government aims to strengthen local communities to be self-dependent and create jobs and income to the community members. The local wisdom and resources, therefore, have been employed to develop quality products and service with their own advantages and value added. While maintaining Thai culture and way of life, the products also meet the needs of the domestic and international markets.
For one Peace Corps Volunteer's impression of OTOP, review this article:
Program Objective
According to the importance and objectives mentioned above and to the Office of the Prime Minister regulations on the One Tambon One Product National Board B.E. 2544, there are 5 objectives of OTOP.
1. To create jobs and income to the communities
2. To strength the communities to be self-dependent
3. Promote Thai wisdom
4. To promote human resources development
5. To promote the communities' creativity in developing products which are in harmony with local culture and way of life.
The government provides assistance such as technology and management techniques to enable local villagers to market these local products through both domestic and international outlets or through the Internet.
The idea behind the OTOP program originated in Oita province in Japan, where the then governor addressed the poverty problem in the province by encouraging each village to produce one main product using local raw materials and resources.
The OTOP program aims to develop products reflecting the local heritage to meet international standards. Since most villages already have one or more identifiable products made through traditional methods of production, the National Directing Committee on the One Tambon, One Product program then made a list of OTOP products by focusing on only one product per village. To make the products more appealing to the market, Government and traders support the villagers by teaching new production technologies, and introducing new product and packaging designs. To make the products more widely-accepted, the Thai Industrial Standards Institute has been established to monitor the quality of the community products to ensure that they meet certain standards. Once manufactured, the products are distributed through several trading channels. Villagers may sell their products directly or through traders. In the effort to promote OTOP products, the Government has established OTOP product exhibition centers and organized trade fairs, both in Thailand and abroad. Currently, over 1000 OTOP products from 75 provinces of Thailand are available for purchase over the internet and through mail orders. Popular OTOP products include fabrics and textile products, artistic creations, processed food, fruits and drinks, utensils, wickerwork and fermented liquor.
Other OTOP facts:
General Criteria for the OTOP Contest:
- Products are exportable and have strong brand equity.
- Continuous production with consistent product quality.
- The products are of good quality and provide customer satisfaction.
- Story (background) of the product.
- Community group or SMEs (small & medium enterprise) entrepreneur must be a registered manufacturer of OTOP products.
- Producers must undergo training that will equip the manufacturers with knowledge and advice that they can use to improve their abilities and skills.
- One producer/group can only enter 1 product (1 item or 1 set) into the contest which is in accordance to the type of product to which they have registered. If the product is different from their registration, they must share the same raw materials.
- There are 6 categories of products: Food; drinks; cloths and clothes; accessories and furniture; traditional arts, crafts and souvenirs; herbs (not food)
· 5 stars – 90 points and above. Good quality. Exportable.
· 4 stars – 80-89 points. Fairly good quality. Nationally recognized. Exportable upon improvement.
· 3 stars – 70-79 points. Average quality. Able to attain 4 stars upon improvement.
· 2 stars – 50-69 points. Able to attain 3 stars. Periodically assessed.
· 1 star – below 50 points. Product is unable to attain 2 stars due to its many weaknesses and difficulty for development.
Example scoring values: Food:
· Approved Food Safety code (“aw yaw”)- up to 30 points · Packaging - up to 5 points
· Environmentally friendly production process - up to 5 points · Number of markets entered (sub-district, district, province) - up to 3 points
· Number of years group as been active – up to three points Cloths Products:
· Approved certification of national standard for Thailand - up to 10 points
· Durability - up to 5 points · Attractiveness - up to points
· Easy to take care of (i.e. if color doesn’t bleed or cloth shrink) - up to 5 points Traditional Arts:
· Same as examples listed above · Traditional wisdom / uniqueness to the tradition - up to 5 points
How the Contest works:
Stage 1. District Level A committee assess and scores products and manufacturers based on the criteria above then sends information to the province. The committee is comprised of the District Chief (Nai Ampur), selected district department heads, the head of the Community Development Department (Patanagan), community development worker (patanagorn) and other qualified people.
Stage 2. Provincial level A committee assesses and scores products and manufacturers then sends information to the regional level. The committee consists of the governor, provincial department heads, head of the Community development Department and other qualified people.
Stage 3. Regional Level A committee assesses and scores products and manufacturers then sends information about products which gained 70 points and above to the national level.
Stage 4. National Level Reviews past scores from the group of provinces and Bangkok, using only the main criteria and makes valid amendments as deemed fit. Announces results of the OTOP contest for all levels 1-5 stars.
* Bangkok is not considered a province in this case. Rather a special district much like the District of Columbia in the U.S. Thus judging for Bangkok OTOP products is done separately. Tambons in Bangkok are called “khwaeng”and there are ampurs are called “khaet.”
| Back to CEC main page | Back to Community Development main page |
orangetree80 |
Latest page update: made by orangetree80
, May 13 2009, 2:16 PM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by orangetree80
view changes - complete history) |
|
More Info: links to this page
|
There are no threads for this page.
Be the first to start a new thread.
