Community Enterprise of Thung Aor Villages banana processeing Tambon Thung Chang, Amphoe Thung Chang, Nan Province

There are approximately 30 members in our Banana Processing Product Community Enterprise in Thung Aor Village.

“What makes our products unique is the crispiness and diverse flavorings that we offer. We take pride in our secret frying technique so each slice is the perfect level of crispiness.” – Banana Processing Community Enterprise leader
The Banana Processing Community Enterprise sells two products: seasoned banana chips (salt, honey, paprika, and barbecue flavors) and fried banana chips. There are approximately 30 members from the village within the Banana Processing Product Community Enterprise in Thung Aor Village. The production process is straight forward and simple. Each member works according to their skillsets which includes : sorting, washing, peeling, slicing, frying, drying, and packaging the products before sending them off. The process begins by each banana being peeled off by the team of ‘banana peelers’ ranging from retired elders, unemployed workers, and students who want to earn extra income. The peeled bananas are then passed on to the ‘fruit processing master’ who carefully peels the bananas into thin pieces with a fruit knife.

This community enterprise began with a group of female members within the village who wanted to find ways to increase income for the community. This opportunity came when this group of women observed that there were lots of bananas laying around within their village. The leader of this community enterprise remarked that during the initial start of the enterprise, she had no idea what “expense” or “income” meant. She went with her gut feeling and started the business without realizing whether they received profit or loss.

“Through learnings, we are currently finding ways to reduce our cost, for example, by identifying cheaper sources of palm oil, and trying to distribute our product sales throughout the province, instead of selling to just one company. By doing this, we aim to promote a sustainable business and increase our profit in order to provide better lives to our members in the future. We have a regular retail customer from a well-known banana company known as the Siam Banana Company which helps a lot with our income.

We were also able to receive support from various governmental offices including Community Development Office and Thung Chang Agricultural Office, who was the first organization that provided us with support for the banana processing venue and provided training about banana planting and the product packaging. Raks Thai Foundation helped to train us on how to differentiate between income and expenses. They also help provide knowledge regarding product analysis and planning, product branding, online marketing, and packaging design. Through these new skills, we were able to start running the business more systematically. This also helped to strengthen our own community,” explained the leader of the enterprise.

Currently, the banana products are being recognized by other sub-districts as well as in other provinces. With more than seven years of experience in mastering this technique, they are able to process more orders when needed and continue to develop new product lines to suit the consumer’s preference. Through this whole journey, the female members of the community were able to provide a sustainable income for the community.

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