JIM THOMPSON CAMPAIGNS TO SAVE SILK FARMS

       In a small village in Nong Sang district, middle aged women cultivate silkworms, once a prized industry in the Northeast.
       "Thirty years ago, almost every home in the Northeast weave silk. Today, there are only a few thousand households that are actively producing it," says Thongchai Popaibul, a purchasing manager for Thai Silk Company, the maker of Jim Thompson silk products.
       This proud culture is in danger of disappearing, he warned.
       "Most young men and women here go to the cities to find work, leaving the elderly to tend the farms," Thongchai said.
       "This trend is true of most provinces, including nearby Khon Kaen and Mukdahan."
       There is none of the hustle and bustle of big cities in Nong Sang, only the barking of small terriers and other toy dogs, some of the few visible imports from Bangkok.
       The farmers here cultivate rice, apparent by the vast fields of paddy that surround the small village.
       But there are also patches of mulberry, the essential food of skillsworms, proof the cottage industry still has legs.
       Thongchai, 48, is a veteran buyer of raw silk, which the company depends on for its Bt1-billion global business.
       In a push to secure more farmers to cultivate the traditional crop, the Jim Thompson Group supports contract-farming schemes to provide additional incomes for farmers.
       The programme enables increased earnings and serves as a safety net when price volatility disrupts the market.
       "Silk is one of the more profitable industries in Thailand. Farmers do not need to spend a huge sum of money on machinery and other expensive equipment," Thongchai said.
       There is also no need to bear the cost of high electricity bills. Much of the work is performed by manual labour.
       "All they need is minimum 2-rai plot of land and hard work to make sure the silkworms are properly fed," Thongchai said.
       Once the cocoons are ready, they are boileld for the silk or sold to the company to complete the process, which takes no more than 26 days.
       Sirirat Rattanakajorn, another executive of the silk company, said the industry needed protection.
       Dwindling supplies in recent years have forced the company to buy from foreign suppliers.
       "Our silk programme in the Northeast is part of our corporate-social-responsibility initiative to promote and revive the industry," she says.
       To ensure high-quality silk output, the firm assigns supervisors to visit the farms and assist the producers.
       In Khon Kaen, a 90-minute drive away, another manager, Chatchai Puliwakin, 57, buys bales of silk at the company's branch.
       "This may seem like a busy time for us, but its actually quite slow compared with the long queues we had 30 years ago."
       The shop, located across from the main bus terminal, was chosen so that farmers coming in could trade conveniently without having to commute long distances.
       The shop is known for its fairness in the purely cash business.
       Originally from Bangkok, Chatchai said he preferred life in Khon Kaen.
       "I was 27 when I came here. Its amazing how the years slip away so quickly," he said." "Khon Kaen was Jim Thompson's first upcountry branch. This is still the centre for silk traders. Even the best weaves from Surin come here for supplies."
       Today, the company is buiding a replica of silk communities in neigh-bouring Nakhon Ratchasima as part of a cultural park for tourists.
       "So much has changed in the last 15 years that most of the wooden homes of farmers are gone," Chatchai said.
       "We had to search for these old homes and transport them to Nakohn Ratchasima to be reassembled. Most farmers now live in brick houses."
       He said there was a need to preserve the romantic setting, in order to remind future generations of the rich heritage that was almost lost in our mad rush to modernise.