RECOFTC organized a three day training on Community Forest Based Enterprise Development and capacitated for 22 farmers, including 12 women, from 12 villages of Santisuk district. The training aimed to:
● identify potential entrepreneurs and assess the local context supportive to CF enterprise development
● identify potential CF enterprise ideas using participatory analyzing tools
● prepare value chain surveys to select promising CF enterprise ideas
● plan next steps towards module 2: product strategy development

The training adopted the Market Analysis and Development participatory training approach (FAO, 2015) to analyze the five areas of enterprise development (market/finance, natural resources/environment, social/cultural, knowledge/technology and legal/institutional environment) and to assess value chain. During the training, the participants practiced various exercises: interactive plenary and group work and discussions, brainstorming, snowballing, reflection, feedback collection, field visit, self assessment and work planning. As an output of the training, the farmers identified three main and potential forest products for the CBEs:

• teak branch products (wood products from branches of diameters of 5-7 cm and up, i.e. cups, ornamental utensils, or perhaps fingerjoint products),
• forest banana leaf products (other large leave from different species might be researched as well, using technology to press into i.e. plates, cups) and
• bamboo seedling production and trade (for reforestation programs based on experiences in Kanchanaburi province).
  The participants also identified some second best product(s) in case the information of their first choice products may result in cancellation.

The project will follow-up with the work plans developed by the participants, focusing on continuation of value chain research on viability of the prioritized forest products (and perhaps secondary products). The project will also be sharing insights of the first training with potential other community members who might be interested to participate in developing enterprise ideas (and were not able to attend the first module)