RAKNAM project helps sustainable life flow in Khon Kaen community

To help address some of Kingdom’s water challenges, The Coca-Cola Foundation Thailand launched its community water management project, known as "RAKNAM" (Love Water), in 2007 with the main aim of educating and supporting communities in the area of sustainable water management.

RAKNAM is a local project under Coca-Cola’s global water stewardship commitment to safely return the amount of water via numerous replenishment partnership programmes and activities that is equivalent to its production by the year 2020 to communities and the environments in which it operates.

Ban Non Kha community in Chonnabot district, in Khon Kaen province, is one community in Thailand that previously faced limited access to clean water and significant water shortages.

Through RAKNAM, the villagers are now moving slowly from battling severe drought to benefiting from a well-managed community water system and well-fertilised land, which has numerous positive impacts.

Laksanee Thitichotrattana, head of Ban Non Kha, shared the community’s story. "In the past, Ban Non Kha was nothing but a dry, drought land. Water scarcity was so severe to the point that wildfires broke out frequently. As a result, members of the community decided to leave their homeland and find jobs in other areas.

"As a community leader, I realised that the main problem was due to the water shortage in our area, and I also realised a need for change. I travelled long distances to the town to meet with the local authorities and ask if they could help us solve our challenges."

Recognising the noble intentions of Laksanee and the other community members, the local authorities reached out to the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) for help.

After receiving legal approval to use and develop state-owned land, in 2014 The Coca-Cola Foundation Thailand, under the RAKNAM project, and the PDA began to work together by first developing the abandoned wasteland and building a solar-powered water system to provide clean water suitable for human consumption, as well as enough water for farming and agriculture.

The programme’s success required cooperation between all parties, including community members, to help build shared knowledge for the ongoing development of a sustainable community for Baan Non Kha.

With the support from The Coca-Cola Foundation under the RAKNAM project and the PDA, Laksanee’s vision and passion for her community has forever changed Ban Non Kha from a drought-stricken land where people preferred to live in isolation into a model community for sustainability with strong bonds between community members.

Villagers who reside in Ban Non Kha are now benefiting from the plentiful water supplies for both consumption and agriculture.

Community members also get together to exchange their agricultural knowledge and form community kitchen gardens, with green fields covered in papaya trees, swamp morning glory, bitter gourd, snake loofah, spring onions and coriander, which they use to either feed their local community or sell at neighbouring markets to create further income.

The average income for a farming family has increased by Bt2,500 a month, and the monthly electricity fee for the whole community has decreased by Bt3,000 because of the solar-powered water system.

Broader benefits

The tangible benefits of water are not the only positive impact to be seen from the project. Understanding the benefits of sustainable water resource management has also enabled individual community members to recognise how important they are to their community.

Villagers who had earlier left the community due to water shortages have now returned to their homes and families with full determination to help develop their hometown.

In addition, the new solar-powered system provides enough water to share with two other villages located nearby, which further benefits an additional 500 households.

"The support from RAKNAM has lightened up our darkest, hopeless days. I would like to thank The Coca-Cola Foundation Thailand and the PDA for giving us new lives," said Laksanee.

Prapaipak Weigl, marketing manager of Coca-Cola (Thailand), said: "The success story of Ban Non Kha under RAKNAM is a direct result of our golden-triangle approach to drive sustainability, with collaboration between the Population and Community Development Association, local authorities, community members, and Coca-Cola."

"This year Namthip, Coca-Cola’s drinking water, became a part of RAKNAM by aiming to raise awareness of water stewardship and encourage consumers to help replenish water resources. For every bottle of newly labelled Namthip drinking water that is bought, Coca-Cola will return the same amount of water back to Thailand’s communities and nature.

"This is an exciting and unique initiative and one that we hope consumers will support, knowing they can make a small contribution simply by going about their daily lives," he said.

"Over the past eight years, through RAKNAM we have provided over Bt160 million in funding for various water replenishment projects across Thailand, which currently benefits more than 1 million people.

"To date in Thailand, we have replenished more than 100 per cent of the amount of water we use in production, but we will not stop here – we will keep continuing our commitment to water stewardship by holding ‘RAKNAM with Namthip’ volunteering activities in Ban Lim Thong community in Buri Ram province, Rangsit district in Pathum Thani province, as well as in Lampang and Surat Thani provinces, and in RAKNAM sites nationwide throughout this year, so that consumers can also participate in projects that help promote sustainable water management in Thailand," the marketing manager explained.