Prince Bhisatej Rajani has been instrumental in implementing His Majesty the King's highly recognised project to bring peace and prosperity to the northern hillltribes, who now cultivate fruits and flowers instead of a global menace

His Serene Highness Prince Bhisatej Rajani has devoted many years of his life to developing prosperity and security for the Kingdom, whether by joining the underground "Free Thai" resistance movement during the Second World War or helping the hilltribes to improve their lives.

The latter contributed a great deal to the eradication of the opium poppy in northern Thailand, where the hilltribes now grow fruits, vegetables and flowers.

For these and other achievements, Prince Bhisatej, chairman of the Royal Project Foundation, has gained an immense respect and recognition from the Thai people and foreigners alike.

Despite his advanced age, the Prince continues to work tirelessly for the Royal Project initiated by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1969.

Prince Bhisatej described how The Royal Project came about: "His Majesty is very interested in all his subjects, no matter what their ethnicity. So he studied about the hilltribes. Every time His Majesty came to Chiang Mai, he flew in a helicopter and visited many hilltribe villages and spent a great deal of time walking around and talking to the people."

At that time the Thai people didn't know what was happening in the highlands because there were no roads or communication systems. The people only knew that the hilltribes live there and that they grew opium and made a lot of money from it, or so they thought.

However, said the Prince, His Majesty observed that the hilltribes were cutting trees to grow opium and actually didn't make much money from it. They were very poor, had little food and lacked proper shelter. They were uneducated and stricken with diseases that stem from poverty, such as infections from unclean water.

"His Majesty saw the possibility of replacing opium-based farming with environmentally friendly and profitable forms of farming and started an initiative to make this vision a reality. This initiative came to be known as The Royal Project," he said. The main idea was to conduct research to see what crops would grow best in the highlands, introduce these crops to the villagers, then help the villagers to market the produce. He stressed that all parts of the process must be linked, and that all profits go to the villagers.

"His Majesty founded the Royal Project because he knew if temperate crops were grown in the highlands they could be sold in the lowlands for a good price, as all such crops had to be imported at the time. He asked us to find the temperate crops. We did a lot of research, which wasn't difficult because we could find many volunteers from universities who wanted to serve the King.

"In the beginning His Majesty paid for everything. Now we are funded by the government and get also many donations.

"When we found new crops, we passed them on to the villagers and we did it by forming development centres. Now we have 38 of these.

"It wasn't difficult at all to convince villagers to grow the new crops. We didn't have to try to talk them into it or convert them."

He explained that in one village there were several people who were interested in the project because they knew it was the King's. They were soon successful and made a lot of money, something the project team was confident of from the research. As other hilltribes learned about the success of the new crops, they stopped cultivating opium and planted other crops. The project expanded effortlessly as the news spread.

Prince Bhisatej said the foundation is sometimes asked to assist in other parts of Thailand. He not only supervises the Royal Project in Thailand but also visits other countries to talk about the project or to give practical advice on crop substitution.

In August 2002, he gave a lecture at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC entitled "His Majesty's Royal Project in Northern Thailand: Development that Preserves the Cultural and Ecological Heritage of the Hilltribes."

The museum's director of Asian Culture History Programme, Paul Michael Taylor, remarked that "Thailand has had great success in abolishing opium cultivation within its borders while respecting the culture of traditional opium-growers and offering them appropriate alternative sources of income. This success is largely due to the direct involvement of the Royal Family in this effort. The Royal Project is worthy of study by everyone interested in sustainable development, and especially by those concerned with reforms in other opium-cultivated areas elsewhere in the world."

The Prince said the project is not just about replacing or sharing the crops, but sharing ideas as well - to help people so that they can help themselves.

"This is the idea of our project which should be implemented in a country like Afghanistan, where the people also want to get rid of opium.
"We went there about two years ago in order to help them, and they came to see us here too for training. We will visit Bhutan and Colombia also, as they have requested us to come. They will help us, for example, with our coffee growing and we will help them with other things," said the Prince.

Down-to-earth Prince

To mark the occasion of His Majesty the King's 80th birthday, in June the Royal Project Foundation organised an exhibition in Copenhagen and in Stockholm entitled "See the Developing Highlands." Both exhibitions were presided over by Prince Bhisatej.

The Royal Project won the Colombo Plan prize in recognition of its being the only project in the world to succeed in replacing opium peacefully.

Awards presented to the Prince include the the2000 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Cooperation and Development Fund. In 2005 Prince Bhisatej was appointed as Hans Christian Andersen Goodwill Ambassador.

The Royal Project has received numerous international awards, among them the 1988 Ramon Magsaysay prize for International Understanding.

The central office of the Royal Project Foundation stands on a foothill of Doi Suthep mountain, on the edge of Chiang Mai city. The beautiful scenery and fresh air are appropriate for the mood of the office, where the staff, from the top down, are all friends engaged in an important work.

The Prince, wearing a T-shirt, spoke slowly in good English. His alert manner was befitting the title of His Serene Highness. Despite his title and many achievements, he is a humble, friendly, and down-to-earth person. All members of his staff have easy access to the chairman.

To the surprise of many, his office is very plain, with the only decoration being a small carpet. "I got the carpet as a gift from Afghanistan. I am very happy here and everyone is very friendly. You look around my office, it doesn't have doors! We are all friends," the Prince remarked.

He said that now he doesn't visit the hilltribes as often as before, but will go in a few weeks' time.

"Before, I stayed with them regularly," said Prince Bhisatej.

He remarked that His Majesty still does research and study for the project, and that he doesn't prepare reports for His Majesty but instead goes to see him in person to keep him up to date. In this way, His Majesty can "give me fast advice".

The brand name of Royal Project Foundation, Doi Kham, can be seen on all kinds of products packed into plastic bags or cans in shops and supermarkets in Chiang Mai, Bangkok or in other places around Thailand, at Royal Project Support Stores as well as general health care stores.

"We took some some items to Denmark and Sweden in June, and they like them very much," the Prince said. "The products sell very well. The farmers grow it and we do the marketing for them. We are making around one million baht per day. We sell vegetables, fruits and so on."

The Royal Project Foundation now operates in 444 villages and supports around 150,000 people from about 30,000 families. The 38 development centres cover an area of approximately 1.4 million rai (230,000 hectares) in five northern provinces. The project also administers four research stations.

A total of 2,811 people work for the foundation, including 208 volunteers, 479 office and field staff, 329 permanent and 1,795 temporary employees.

"The way we work, we cut through the red tape. People don't have to get my approval for everything, but only for some matters," said the Prince.

Improvements for life

Hilltribe villagers are deeply appreciative of the changes in their lives brought about by the Royal Project. Interviewed by phone, Mr Ai Sam, an ethnic Palaung from Naw Lae village in Fang district of Chiang Mai, said: "The Royal Project came to our village about 17 years ago. For decades our people had been cutting down the forest to grow opium.

"The project is extremely beneficial to about 1,000 ethnic Palaung who live in the area. Our living standard has really improved. We are making money by growing fruits, vegetables and flowers. Almost everyone has a colour television, there are many mobile phones around, and some villagers own a satellite dish or even a car."

Mr Ai went on to express his gratitude to all people who are working for the Royal Project Foundation, especially to Prince Bhisatej, who is "making everything happen. He is well-known here for his kindness and hard work. We all wish him well and long life."

Mr Jahar, an ethnic Lahu, said: "The Royal Project has really been a success for all the 300 Lahu who live here. Without the project our lives would be miserable, as in the past. We would surely grow opium and cut the forest like before. Now we can afford electrical appliances, television sets and many other things."

"We here appreciate everything Prince Bhisatej and his people from the Royal Project Foundation are doing for us. They made our lives prosperous and secure."

Both ethnic tribesmen especially wished to express their gratitude to His Majesty the King for everything he has done for their people, and to wish him a happy birthday.

"Long Live the King, Long Live the Royal Project!" said Mr Ai.

Prince Bhisatej said deforestation is not a problem these days in the regions where the Royal Project operates.

"We have introduced the 'Farmer's Forest' project meaning that farmers grow their own trees in the forest and they can make use of them. They can cut trees for firewood. This is a very good idea and it should be expanded. Instead of having the Forestry Department plant the trees, let the villagers to do it."

In his free time, the Prince enjoys reading, and also writing. He has written an autobiography and some other books. He also likes listening to every kind of music, but jazz is his favourite.

"I only listen, but cannot play any instrument. His Majesty can play many instruments, such as piano, saxophone, clarinet, trombone, guitar and others. He can also compose music."
As for sports, the Prince likes horse riding, surfing and sailing. "His Majesty and myself have built boats, very similar to a dinghy. At the beginning I was sailing with him and with his crew, and then I raced against him." When asked who won the race, the Prince said with a smile: "We both won."

"His Majesty excels in so many subjects. Normally, people are good in one or two things, but he is interested in so many things," Prince Bhisatej added.

"Before, His Majesty spent about three months in Chiang Mai. During that time, every other day he visited the hilltribe villagers, so he knows everything about them. His Majesty listens to the people. He will not order but suggest. Everywhere he goes he tries to study and to learn and whenever he can help, he will do so.

"His Majesty worries about his people. He still meets many people, from poor villagers to heads of state, and that's why he knows about so many things," the Prince reiterated.
HSH Prince Bhisatej also remains active, and full of wit and energy. He gave no hint of any future retirement plans.