Background:
The Kenan Institute strives to build sustainable competitiveness in Thailand and the Greater Mekong Sub-region. The Institute tries to accomplish this mission by developing multi-sector partnerships based on true development needs and mutual benefit between Asia and the United States through the cooperation of universities, government agencies and the private sector. Its key beneficiaries can be divided into 3 groups:
-Entrepreneurs and small business managers – raising the management capacity to operate responsibly and profitably
-Corporations – training corporate executives in strategic corporate citizenship and partnering with them to design and manage corporate social responsibility programs.
-Communities and youth – assisting communities to develop sustainably and working with teachers and young people to develop a new generation of independent thinkers and effective socially responsible leaders.
Tourism related programs: Sustainable Tourism
1. Immediate Post-Tsunami Assistance: K.I.Asia's objective was to fill in gaps missed by the emergency assistance already being provided by others and to provide help in line with long-term recovery and development needs. The US Agency for International Development encouraged K.I.Asia to focus its general development funding on the tsunami-struck area. Private sector donors also agreed to the rapid redesign of programs so they could help victims of the tsunami. This medium-term assistance was delivered in three areas of need:
• Education: With funding from the American Corporations for Thailand including Unocal, AIG, American Express and Dow Chemical, and the Jim Thompson Foundation, K.I.Asia delivered 400 scholarships to needy secondary school students in Phang-nga and Ranong. The scholarships were provided to needy secondary school students, who could not afford to pay for their own schooling. The scholarship awarding ceremony took place on March 17, 2005 and scholarships were distributed in April, 2005. A total of $50,000 was distributed.
• Small Business Recovery: Within six weeks of the disaster K.I.Asia and its partners delivered two customized seminars entitled "How to apply for a soft loan" and "How to write a business plan for recovery" to 200 small business owners hard-hit by the tsunami. Follow-up business plan writing workshops were delivered to over 40 for firms. More than 20 small companies in the tourism and retail sectors received one-on-one consultation from K.I.Asia's Business Advisory Center on how to access finance and expand markets. Funding was provided by USAID.
• Entrepreneurship and Microfinance: In March 2005, K.I.Asia delivered entrepreneurship training to 25 participants who were staying at a relief camp in Phang-nga. Shortly afterwards the Institute delivered a full training course called Rural Entrepreneurship Through Action Learning (REAL) to over 30 SME entrepreneurs from community groups in Sri Bor Ya island and Baan Nai Nang village located in Krabi. Subsequently, with funding from USAID, six savings groups have received grants to use as revolving sources of funding. In partnership with Ranong Community College, K.I.Asia's entrepreneurship training was provided to 20 participants in the tsunami-affected area of Ranong. KIAsia's team trained-the-trainers at community colleges as part of a USAID funded program. Subsequently, the community college trainers trained community members and are providing them follow-up assistance.
2. Building Capacities in Sustainable Tourism to Improve Livelihoods in Phang-nga, Thailand: The devastating 2004 tsunami destroyed about 80% of Phang-nga's tourism industry, the province’s largest revenue producing industry (47%) and a major source of employment. Therefore, the TRAI program is delivering targeted assistance on developing sustainable tourism in the Lam Kaen / Kuk Kak community – which includes the Khao Lak beach resort area. The area’s economy is largely dependent on tourism and natural resources. The tourism sector offers significant potential for growth and for the long-term prosperity of the community members if it can be developed without harming the rich local environment that is the main attraction for tourists. The program is focusing on building capacity for sustainable high-quality tourism, in-line with the provincial strategy. Kenan TRAI mission is as follows: “To build capacities in entrepreneurship, hotel management, tourism-related occupations and education that support sustainable tourism in order to improve the livelihoods of members of the tsunami-affected target community of Lam Kaen - Kuk Kak, Phang-nga, Thailand.” To achieve this mission over a three-year program period, K.I.Asia is working with the Phang-nga tourist association, the local government, and educational institutions to help plan and implement tourism development. K.I.Asia provides customized business consulting for tourism businesses such as hotels and travel agencies, entrepreneurship training for small supporting businesses like restaurants and boat services, and tourism skill training for hotel employees. K.I.Asia also works closely with local government to generate ideas and planning that will allow the private sector to develop business in ways that preserve the natural beauty of the area and provide income for local villagers.
3. TRAI INTERNS: K.I.Asia sponsored a group of interns from the United States and other countries to work with the TRAI program to assist the local people in building their capacities in the tourism area. The interns are university students, at both the masters and undergraduate level, who volunteered to spend their summer working with local Thai businesses and schools. The internships were eight to ten weeks and included one week of preparation and orientation in Bangkok. The interns were involved in the following TRAI initiatives: entrepreneurship and hotel employee training to strengthen local businesses, education for sustainable tourism, and community engagement.
4. Long Tail Fishing Boat Repair Center and Pier: As part of K.I.Asia's Tsunami Recovery Action Initiative (TRAI) the institute is assisting affected small-boat fishermen to recover from the disaster. The initiative is receiving generous funding from the Bush-Clinton Tsunami Relief Fund and the Kenan Charitable Trust. The Bush-Clinton Tsunami Relief Fund has donated US$200,000 to design and build the "Long-Tail Fishing Boat Repair Center and Pier Project" ("PIER Project"). This is a community development initiative focused on assisting the local Phang-nga fishing community of Tablamu Port in Lam Kaen Sub-district. The PIER project consists of developmental planning, design, and construction of the long tail fishing boat repair center and establishment of the Lam Kaen Fisher Folk Group to develop, manage and maintain the facilities.
5. Community Based Tsunami Recovery Action Initiative for Phang-nga (CB-TRAI): K.I.Asia has been awarded nearly 20 million baht (approximately $600,000 USD) from the European Union to assist rural communities in Thailand’s Phang-nga province affected by the tsunami disaster of 26 December 2004, under the EU’s Social Support Program – tsunami extension. The "Community Based Tsunami Recovery Action Initiative for Phang-nga: CB-TRAI" will run for 18 months, starting this July, with overall project oversight being conducted by Thailand’s Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) on behalf of the EU. The program will build capacities of local community members to benefit from the tourism industry through the development, marketing and sales of local products and services. One of only eight contracts awarded in a highly competitive grant process, K.I.Asia’s program, CB-TRAI, will build upon on-going work in Phang-nga, which K.I.Asia is conducting through its program, the Tsunami Recovery Action Initiative (TRAI). Under CB-TRAI, nine new community groups in Phang-nga (for a total of 14 under the program) will now receive community building assistance, while existing assistance under TRAI, which is supported by the Kenan Charitable Trust and private sector partners, will be expanded to include new training. Specifically, CB-TRAI will provide a range of assistance to 14 community savings groups including computer training, microfinance training, entrepreneurship training and marketing skills training – all with a heavy focus on tourism – as well as provide community groups with computers and other equipment. Support will also be provided for business matching events with distributors, a website and a store where local community groups can promote their goods and services. Marketing experts will be engaged to help create business plans and provide support on packaging and customer segmentation. CB-TRAI also has a separate educational component to promote sustainability of the activities after the 18 months, which will be conducted in cooperation with the Phang-nga Tourism Association, local vocational schools and other educational institutions. Under this activity, specialized training will be provided to trainers, community leaders and youth leaders in business planning, tourism guide training and business development with the objective of establishing youth entrepreneurs participating in the tourism industry.
Contact
K.I.Asia Headquarters
Queen Sirikit National Convention Center
2nd Floor, Zone D, Room 201/2
60 New Ratchadapisek Road
Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110 Thailand
Tel: (662) 229-3131 Fax: (662) 229-3130
Email: kiasia(at)kiasia.org