Urban Agriculture Garden Development and the Community Empowerment : A Case Study of Poonsap Community, Saimai District, Bangkok

Abstract

 The objective of this article is to analyze the cultivation of the community garden with the community members participation in each step.  It served as the community empowerment to establish the foundation for community economy by saving some money to buy plot of land from the National Housing Authority.  Therefore, the urban agriculture garden for organic vegetable of Ban Poonsap Community becomes the garden of Rak Ban Rak Chumchon “Our Home Our Community Garden”.

            The results revealed that the project could meet the community needs, these included soil rehabilitation and managing activities with the participation of the community members.  Since this urban agriculture garden was initiated by the community mainstay, the planning was set at the beginning and connected to the Under-bridge Dweller Network and The Four Regions Slum Network.  These people had strong and close relationship among each other.  Therefore, their mainstay group had to have patience, high leadership quality, sacrifice, initiative, capability for self-development and for building community development, ability to create social network, leading the community members to participate in the development process and community empowerment.  Thus, urban agriculture garden cultivation was able to reduce the social problems, the depression in the elderly, the risks of computer game addiction and drug-addict in youth, the environmental problems, and the community waste.  At the same time, the project helped increase the green area in the community and better community economy by decreasing household expenses.  In addition, this urban agriculture garden belonged to the community at large where the community members were able to participate in operation, gain benefits, establish interrelationship in their community.  In addition, the urban agriculture garden of Poonsap Community was a sample for other community in Saimai District and a model for other Districts in Bangkok.