A Pattaya house cleaner has embraced the self-sufficiency principles of His Majesty the King to improve his life by growing and selling vegetables in his spare time.
Pansri Kaikaew showed off his 100-sq.-meter garden in the yard of his employer to reporters May 10. There, in a patch of land that once was left wild and overgrown with weeds, he now cultivates sweet basil, eggplant, papaya and morning glory to deliver to local restaurants and neighbors.
In a patch of land once was left wild and overgrown with weeds, Pansri Kaikaew (inset) now cultivates sweet basil, eggplant, papaya and morning glory to deliver to local restaurants and neighbors.
The Chaiyaphum native said he has lived in Pattaya for a decade and had been working for a foreign expat, cleaning house, when he noticed the unused land and asked to turn it into a garden.
Now after work and on holidays, he sews his seeds and makes an additional 10,000 baht a month on average by selling his crops.
The idea of growing your own food and making a business to support yourself is the foundation of the “sufficiency economy” philosophy of His Majesty.
The enterprise, he said, began slowly. At first he just gave vegetables to neighbors. Then an Italian restaurant approached him about buying sweet basil. Then he invested some money in organic fertilizer and diversified his crops.
Pansri said he is happy with his jobs and uses his time wisely, even finding time for tennis in the evening. He said even though his garden is small, it has made for a more comfortable life for himself.
