home, clothes, and medicine—in order to be self-reliant or not. If not, that way of
development is a failure. Self-reliance is closely related to a right kind of devel-
opment. We should be able to rely on ourselves for these four basic needs. All basic
needs should be accessible and cheap and simple so that we can call it development
for self-reliance, which leads to a sustainable life (Jon 2014 : 75).
Everyone has a right to own a home. A mud home is strong and keeps one cool
in summer. Everyone can build it from the soil in their land, husk, clay, and water.
They can use straw or even recycled materials, such as used tires and bottles. Jon
states in his interview with Wirapha ( 2012 :28–29) that being able to build one’s
own mud home brings back power and pride to the underprivileged in a society.
Development the way that is suitable for Thais is to have one rai (1600 m^2 ) and to
grow food and live as explained in King Bhumibol’s sufficiency scheme. Thais
know how to weave cloth from cotton and silk. Thai traditional and alternative
medicines are booming. Thai massage therapy and the development of Thai herbal
medicine have been acknowledged and supported by the Thai authority.
What I learned here is to think out of the box. There is no standard and no right
formula in nature. Just roll up your sleeves and observe nature to understand what
element makes each plant grows. Do what we really like, and there is a way out of
every dead end. To be able to make a choice makes life worth living. This leads us
to the next topic.
- Self-Reliance
According to Jon, self-reliance is freedom from being a slave of capitalism. Jon
considers money not secured as itfluctuates and inflates. Food is the only security
we have, states Jon boldly. He does not deny the importance of having some money
to buy necessities but he thinks that living outside the system is best. He stresses
that the traditional Thai lifestyle was a relaxed, warm, and sustainable one, but it
was replaced by the crave for money and luxury money can buy. That causes stress,
suffering, chaos, etc. The ability to stand on one’s own feet is the ability to produce
healthy food for consumption and knowing the local wisdom about herbal
medicines and how to live a healthy life. Self-reliance does not mean one need to be
a lone Don Quixote. Rather, it means you can be interdependent with others. It is a
survival as well as an individual and as a group, Jon argues ( 2013 : 105). There must
be a way to live together and work together, to use brain power as well as labor
work in a balanced way. That implies that self-reliance also means both group and
individual autonomy and the ability to organize social supports. It also means living
a simple life and being able to design our own life. Thefirst step to self-reliance is
lower down one’s own consumption (Jon 2013 : 107).
From my observation, self-reliance works here in any definition. Strategically
speaking, this place has its own hot spring. They drilled wells and pumped
(powered by solar energy) the underground water tofill up the moats they dug
around the land. The underground water is being pumped through afiltering system
that they invented and tested to getfiltered water good for drinking. They also build
toilets and bathrooms and use septic tanks, and use the residue to help make
98 6 Self-Reliance and Sustainability from a Thai Perspective