Pilot projects of the Baan Mankong Program

Criteria for Selecting the Ten Pilot Communities

1   It is an urban poor community.

2   It is a community with people in the target group, with some community participation and which is facing problems and needs some change.

3  There should have some solution for solving of land problem with a layout process and infrastructure system in the project.

4   Most of the projects are located in the state land which is easier for implementation and can be a good model for problem solving.

5   There should have continuous process with existing multilateral cooperation.

6 There should have diversification in problem - solving pattern.

7   Project distribution should be region wide.

 

Some brief details about the ten pilot communities

1.  Kolok Village Community, in Narathiwat Province

The Kolok Village community is located in the Su-Nghai Kolok District of Narathiwat Province, on land belonging to the State Railways of Thailand (SRT).  Community members have constructed 310 houses along both sides of railway tracks in lines which extend approximately 3 kilometers. 
There have been serious conflicts with the State Railways, and finally, the SRT has agreed to allow the people to redevelop their community in the same place, as long as their houses are built outside the  zone within 20 meters of the tracks. 
As part of the plans, the National Housing Authority will construct a 3-kilometer-long road along the railway tracks for the community. 
The community people have decided not to build new houses to save money, but to make adjustments to their existing houses so that they front on the new road. 

2.  Kao Seng Community, Songkhla

The Kao Seng community has been inhabited since the 1960s on the state property land fronting the beach in Songkhla.  This community consists of Thai nationals, Thai-Chinese and Thai-Muslim, with a population of 2,365 people in 436 households (450 families).  The majority of community members are traders or laborers, while some are fishermen.  In 2000, the municipality unveiled plans to redevelop the Kao Seng area as a beach-front tourist place and announced that the community would have to relocate to another place.  However, negotiations between the community and the provincial government have been successful in slowing this project down.  At present, the community people still have no lease agreement, but they have begun their own process of preparing plans to redevelop their community environment, lay basic infrastructure and improve their houses, in the same place.  To do this, they have divided the community into five zones to set up a system of "co-living" and to break up into smaller, more manageable units the task of bringing basic infrastructure into this large settlement. 

3.  Charoenchai Nimitmai Community, Bangkok

The Charoen Chainimitmai community is located along both sides of the railway tracks in Bangkok's Chatuchak District.  The community's 41 households have rented their 4.9 hectares of land from a private land owner for over 50 years, at a monthly land rental of 10 Baht per household.  The majority of people living here are employees of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), while others are general laborers.  Average household income in the settlement is between 7,500 and 10,000 Baht per month.   The land owner has offered to sell the people the land they already occupy, and the community members have established a cooperative and as a cooperative have taken a loan from CODI to buy the land.  After becoming owners of their land, the people have decided to improve the conditions of their community by using reblocking techniques on the existing land. 

 

4.  Bonkai Community  - Klong Toey, Bangkok

The Bongkai Community is located on land belonging to the Crown Property Bureau.  The people have inhabited in the Community since 1977, but have no lease agreement with the land owner.  The community is a large-sized settlement, covering an area of about 15 rai, divided into four lanes, with a population of 12,000 people (1,500 families living in 566 households).  In December, 2001, the Bonkai Community's third lane (which covers about 5 rai of land) had a bad fire and 150 out of the lane's 200 houses were damaged.  Afterwards, community members coordinated with various agencies to establish the housing development project of Bonkai Community.  The Crown Property Bureau has now agreed to formally lease the land to the community, but the final lease agreement has not yet been made.  The community has developed a plan for reconstructing their community in three phases.  In the first phase, 72 houses will be built (to accommodate the fire victims first), in the second phase 288 units, and in the third, 42 units.  The houses will be 2-story units  (3.5 m x 7.0 m), and construction of the first phase has already begun.  

5.  Boong Kook Community, Uttaradit

This Boon Kook Community project is not an established community but represents a strategy for resolving the housing problems of many poor people living in various places in Uttaradit.  The municipality purchased 10 rai of land in the centrally-located Boong Kook area for resettling the 195 poor families with serious housing insecurity problems, as identified by the Urban Community Network's city-wide survey carried three years ago.  The housing that will be constructed at Boon Kook represents a close cooperation between the community network and the Uttaradit Municipality (led by an energetic women Mayor, Khun Prakaikeo) to solve the problem for poor people without secure housing in the city.  The new community at Boong Kook will accommodate only 124 families, though, so the remaining families with land tenure problems will have to be accommodated in the next  project.  The community plan has been drafted and the infrastructure is now being laid on the new site by the NHA. 

6.  Block 7-12 Community - Klong Toey, Bangkok

The Block 7-12 Community consists of 372 households who have been squatting for over 50 years on land belonging to the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) in the Klong Toey area.  The majority of community members are port laborers, but some earn daily income as laborers or traders.  Housing conditions in the community are extremely crowded and dilapidated.  For some years, the PAT has wanted to use the land occupied by the community for storage purposes and has made repeated attempts to evict the people.  Many families have taken the compensation the PAT offered and moved away, but about 188 families have refused to budge, and after long and acrimonious negotiations have finally succeeded in persuading the PAT to provide 5 rai of alternative land nearby (1 kilometer away), which it will rent to the community and where 188.  The community is now preparing its relocation plan. 

7.  Kao Pattana Community, Bangkok

The Kao Pattana Community is located on land belonging to the Crown Property Bureau, in Bangkok's Soi Ramkhamhaeng 31, within an area of 1 rai 3 ngan.  The community consists of 34 families living in 32 households, mostly one-story houses made of wood and concrete.  The majority of community members are laborers and vendors, earning between 5,000 and 8,000 Baht per month.   The community is now developing plans to completely reconstruct their community on an area of 1 rai and 18 square wah, replacing their existing houses with 2-story townhouses. 

8.  Ruam Samaki Community, Bangkok

The Ruam Samaki Community is located on Crown Property Bureau land in Soi Ramkhamhaeng 39, within the area of 5 rai.  The community consists of 124 families.  80 of these families are single families, while the other 44 are extended families  Most people living here are laborers and vendors, earning between 5,000 and 10,000 Baht per month.  At present, the community has an idea to regularize their tenure status by leasing the land they occupy from the Crown Property Bureau, and are now registering the community as a cooperative to give them the legal status to propose a formal land lease agreement with the Crown Property Bureau.  The community is also planning to reconstruct their houses with a layout plan which includes 124 townhouses and a common area.

9.  Klong Lum Noon Community, Bangkok

The Klong Lum Noon Community has been inhabited since 1983, but since 1997, the owner of the land the community people occupy has been trying to evict the people from the canal-side land they occupy in suburban Bangkok.  Some community members have accepted the cash compensation the land owner offered and moved away, but 49 poor families who were unable to find new dwelling places have held on.  In 2000, the eviction struggle heated up considerably, two community members were arrested and the remaining people filed a court case against the land owner.  Finally, after more negotiations, the land owner agreed to sell the people a plot of adjacent land, with an area of 2 rai and 2 ngan and 80 square wah, at cheap price of 3,000 Baht per square wah.  The community formed a Housing Cooperative and took a loan from CODI to buy the land, and divided it up so that each of the 49 families have plots of 14 square wah, with the remaining land for roads and common areas.  The people have now moved to the new site and are planning to reconstruct their houses. 

10.  Laem Rung Reung Community, Rayong Province

The Laem Rung Reung Community is situated in the peninsular area of the Rayong Municipality.   The majority of community members are fishermen earning very low incomes, and reside on land which belongs to the Crown Property Bureau.  The community has a population of 220 people (75 families living in 64 houses).  The houses are loosely scattered and constructed from local and salvaged materials,  Only a few houses are built of concrete blocks.  The community has no water supply, drains, toilets or municipal electricity, and so community members have to use the well water for bathing, buy their drinking water and use batteries to light their radios and lights.  The community members plan to reconstruct their houses as well as improving the environment and infrastructure in their community. 

Next     Table 2   
Total investment, Construction Cost and Government’s subsidy for the 10 Pilot Projects