Coffee lovers may be familiar with the premium Phahi coffee grown by the Akha hill tribe in Chiang Rai province near the border with Myanmar.
The premium quality of Phahi coffee beans, confirmed by winning the top prize in Thailand's Arabica beans contest at Royal Flora Ratchaphruek 2011, has now received international recognition.
Ban Phahi in tambon Pong Ngam of Mae Sai district is regarded as one of the best locations to grow Arabica coffee in Thailand. The village has a population of 540 made up of 89 families whose ancestors emigrated from Xishuangbanna in China's Yunnan province during the Cultural Revolution of 1966-76.
Thirty years ago, this village was notorious for growing poppies for opium production.
Ban Phahi is one of 29 hill villages that agreed to transform their plantations to coffee and other temperate crops under the mission of the Princess Mother (Somdet Ya), who initiated the Doi Tung Development Project, a sustainable alternative livelihood initiative, in 1988.
Its aim was to help solve the problems of deforestation and poppy plantations while preventing local people, who were struggling for survival, from encroaching on the remaining watershed forests of Doi Tung, a high mountain in Thailand's northernmost province.
The project covers about 15,000 hectares and benefits about 11,000 people from 29 villages.
Doi Tung was once a secluded area in the heart of the Golden Triangle, known for illicit opium production. The problems of Doi Tung were complex. The watershed area was denuded by slash-and-burn cultivation, compounded by opium growing.
Residents were of six ethnic groups without Thai citizenship. They lived in a "survival world" where people suffered abject poverty without basic infrastructure or government support. Armed groups occupied parts of the area, which made it even more difficult for government officials to provide any assistance to residents.
After the Princess Mother's first visit to Doi Tung in January 1987, she announced that she would reforest the mountain. Recognising that the root causes of such problems were poverty and lack of opportunity, she decided to improve the conditions of Doi Tung socially, economically and environmentally.
The Princess Mother demonstrated her commitment by building a home in Doi Tung, giving hope to the ethnic minorities and providing opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion or nationality.
Her vision was to allow people and nature to co-exist in harmony by aligning the people's interests with the preservation of the natural environment.
From the start, the Princess Mother insisted the project had to be able to finance itself and it would be unfair for people elsewhere if those in Doi Tung continued relying on financial support from the government.
Sustainable development can take place only when financial stability is coupled with social and environmental progress.
The Mae Fah Luang Foundation created the DoiTung brand as the main channel of income to finance the project's social activities.
The brand comprises four business units: food, handicrafts, horticulture and tourism. The project has been financially self-sustaining since 2001.
Since 2003, the project has been recognised by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime as one of the world's best examples of alternative development.
Ban Phahi is one of 29 hill villages that agreed to transform their plantations to coffee and other temperate crops under the Doi Tung Development Project.
Village chief Aran Pornjiraphaisal says the village owns and operates six community enterprises, from growing coffee to packed roasted coffee production.
"Our Arabica coffee has a special aroma and good quality because 75% of coffee trees were grown under big trees and take longer to harvest," he says.
About 95% of villagers' income comes from coffee. They produce about 200,000 kilogrammes a year from 2,500 to 3,000 rai, generating about 20 million baht last year.
The six community enterprises include two roasted coffee factories. They are allowed to compete with each other to sell their products at market prices.
Last year, about 30 tonnes of coffee were shipped by Ban Phahi to Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Britain, says Mr Aran.
The project also runs one coffee shop in the village to allow visitors to taste products. Plans are afoot to promote tourism in the village.
In a move to add value, the village has also developed its own brand of Ban Phahi coffee, but Mr Aran says sales volume remains relatively low.
"Each family can generate income of at least 60,000 to 70,000 baht a year from coffee, which is enough for them to earn their living," he says.
"More importantly, the villagers are quite happy to live in their birthplace, while the new generation is expected to come back to work here after their graduation."
Damrong Cheunwilaisab, who graduated from Maejo University in Chiang Mai, plans to set up a small factory to produce fertiliser from earthworms by using by-products from green beans.
"I started testing the project five years ago and I'm quite confident that the project is feasible," he says.