Seven ethnic groups namely Akha (48%), Lahu (16%), Tai Yai (17%), Chinese (9%), Lua (5%), Thai (2%),
and Lisu (<1%) live in mountainous areas of northern Thailand, are under the poverty level (
Maxwell, 2007
). They do
not have any extra sources of income except hunting wild animals, edible insects and edible plants. Ninety nine
percentages of young bamboo shoots were harvested and sold at the cost of 2-3 baht per kg during the rainy season.
After that, they have to depend on forest byproducts. Bamboo caterpillars, a forest byproduct, are demanded around
2,000-3,000 kg (equivalent to 400,000-600,000 bahts) per month in the local and international markets. However,
bamboo caterpillars are harvested in a traditional way by randomly cutting bamboos. In this way, the villagers
destroyed bamboos. The destruction of bamboo forests in northern Thailand would not only destroy bamboo forests,
sinks of hundreds of tons of carbon-dioxide from the atmosphere, but also would lead to depletion of bamboo forests.
Therefore, conservation of bamboo forests is urgently needed. Before initiating this project in Doi Tung and Doi Mae
Salong, villagers had generated less than 1,000 bahts per month by selling bamboo caterpillars. The main objectives of
this research were to transfer the mass rearing of bamboo caterpillar technology for income generation and conserve
bamboo forests in northern forests of Thailand.
Materials and Methods
Study sites
Field experiments were done in Doi Tung, Samakkee Kao village, Mae Fah Luang district (elevation 876 m,
20
17
24.8
N latitude, 99
48
39.6
E longitude). The climate in Doi Tung has three distinct seasons. The cool-dry
season is from November-February which is followed by a hot-dry period from March to May. The rainy season
begins in May-June and ends in November. Climatic data, provided by the Doi Tung Development Project, has been
recorded at 3 stations located at 550, 570, and 1200 m elevation. There is a distinct dry season from December to
March during which there is little to no rain. The first rains are experienced in April, but it is not until May that there
is any regularity in rainfall. The highest amount of rainfall is during July-September. The average annual rainfall at
550 m is 1925 mm, 2100 mm at 750 m, and 2500 mm at 1200 m shows the average monthly amounts of rainfall at all
three elevations. Temperatures are lowest from November to February with an average minimum at 500 m of 13
˚
C in
January-February and 21
˚
C from June-August. At 750 m the lowest average temperature is 13
˚
C in December and
the highest is in April with 31
˚
C. At 1200 m, the temperatures are lower with November-January having average
temperatures at 13
˚
C and a peak in April of 23
˚
C.
Selection of villagers
The villagers were interviewed and questioned about their interest in income generating activities. After the
interview, the villagers were selected and trained on an artificial rearing technique of bamboo caterpillars.
