การพัฒนาชุมชนเพาะเลี้ยงผึ้งชันโรงสู่การเป็นชุมชนนวัตกรรมอย่างยั่งยืน จังหวัดสงขลา

Title

The Development of Stingless Bee Keeping Community to Sustainable Innovation Community, Songkhla Province

Keywords

Innovative Community,Community Development,Community Enterprise,Local Innovators,Stingless Bee Keeping

Abstract

Area based development is to strengthen local people in their hometown according to their context and capital base. The development of stingless bee keeping community to be a sustainable innovation community had the objective to develop the potentiality of stingless bee keeping based on the local resources with organic farming. The development of learning innovation, product processing, and market innovation were using appropriate innovation and technology to solve problem, and upgrading potential level in the locality through Learning and Innovation Platform, including transferring knowledge into actual practices, by creating community innovation with receiving skill and adapting appropriate innovation with context. The research areas were 10 sub-districts in Songkhla province with stingless bee keeping community enterprise including ChaLae, Bang Klam, Tha Chang, Khun Tat Wai, Chalung, Kamphaeng Phet, Tha Chamuang, Bang Riang, Khlong Rang, and Pak Bang sub-districts. The participatory research was done with farmers in each community, to increase the stingless bee keeping, the produce volume and processed products, and income of the community enterprise members. Pollination of stingless bee also helped to increase agricultural produce in an indirect way. During the research period though there was a severe outbreak situation of COVID-19 effecting some of the research area, but did not alter the research plan and objective. In developing the community innovator and creating the Learning Innovation Platform for 10 community enterprises by connecting activities from upstream, midstream and downstream, the sub-project 1 had brought knowledge to create innovation of stingless bee keeping and to increase the number of stingless bees. So the membership number of organic farmers who turned to stingless bee keeping was 400 people. Community enterprise group increased to 16 groups. Stingless beehive box increased to 12,580 boxes. The produce of stingless bee honey was over 2,000 kilograms per year. The sub-project 2 had extended the knowledge in quality development of stingless bee honey and nutritional value through laboratory for consumer’s acceptance. Knowledge in community product processing was transmitted through model products: stingless bee honey drink with collagen, and wrinkleless cream. The sub-project 3 had created recognition and distribution channels through the help of appropriate technology in branding, packaging development, modern recognition channels, and online marketing. Thus the result was that each community enterprise had increased average sales for over 20%. The researchers really hoped that this area based development will help upgrading knowledge and ability of the community innovator in each community enterprise group to be strong, and upgrading the quality of life for each community for better level. This will increase the value of economy and problem management based, to be the sustainable innovation community of Songkhla province.