from group discussions. The action-research approach enabled us (1) to get a firsthand insight into network building processes, (2) to understand the communication,
collaboration and mutual learning processes to be found among the various
actors involved, and (3) to get access to tacit and ‘secret’ knowledge, such as
product specifications, and price negotiation and profit margin information. Theoretically, our research was grounded in the emerging literature on ‘Strategic Niche
Management’ (SNM) (e.g., Kemp et al. 1998; Canie ¨ls and Romijn 2008a). SNM
advocates the creation of socio-technical experiments in protected spaces – socalled ‘niches’ – where innovation agents are encouraged to cooperate and
exchange information, knowledge and experience, without being subject to immediate market pressure as long as the innovation is still at an experimental stage
(Canie ¨ls and Romijn 2008b). The concept of SNM builds on three basic principles,
namely (1) network building, (2) experiential learning, and (3) a convergence of
expectations, all of which can trigger a successful ‘incubation’ and a subsequent
mainstreaming and dissemination of the innovation.
9.5.2.3 Network Formation: New Business Opportunities with a Diverse
Set of Actors
In cooperation with Hmong smallholder farmers in the Doi Suthep-Pui National
Park and with various local and international organizations involved, scientists
from the Uplands Program actively searched for sustainable strategies to address
the challenges faced by litchi growers in the northern uplands of Thailand. In a first
step, an interdisciplinary group of scientists developed an action-research experiment within a fruit processing facility in the villages of Mae Sa Noi and Mae Sa Mai
in 2007. A conventional gas dryer was installed in cooperation with a local
manufacturer, and then made available to farmers under technical and economic
guidance from the researchers. Workshops on litchi drying, litchi jam making,
packaging and accounting were organized for the villagers by lecturers from
Chiang Mai University, one of the partner universities of the Uplands Program in
Thailand. Various Uplands Program sub-projects contributed to the process by
conducting surveys about the taste preferences of Asian and Western consumers
with regard to dried litchi, a comparative market study of dried litchi from highland
and lowland litchi producers, and an economic assessment of the fruit drying
operation. The local drying-oven manufacturer agreed to cooperate with optimizing
the dryer. The initial network set-up is depicted in Fig. 9.7.
In 2007, 90 kg of dried litchi were produced from 1,670 kg of fresh litchi,
whereby six households actively participated in the drying activities. In 2008, a
processing cooperative comprising villagers from two Hmong villages was
established, and more than two thirds of its 32 members were women, who
traditionally tend to be marginalized within patriarchal Hmong society. The cooperative produced 70 kg of dried litchi and more than 200 kg of litchi jam in the 2008
season, with more than half the dried litchi traded locally via small retailers and
tourist facilities and around 32 kg sold as part of a trial export arrangement to a
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A. Neef et al.
collaboration and mutual learning processes to be found among the various
actors involved, and (3) to get access to tacit and ‘secret’ knowledge, such as
product specifications, and price negotiation and profit margin information. Theoretically, our research was grounded in the emerging literature on ‘Strategic Niche
Management’ (SNM) (e.g., Kemp et al. 1998; Canie ¨ls and Romijn 2008a). SNM
advocates the creation of socio-technical experiments in protected spaces – socalled ‘niches’ – where innovation agents are encouraged to cooperate and
exchange information, knowledge and experience, without being subject to immediate market pressure as long as the innovation is still at an experimental stage
(Canie ¨ls and Romijn 2008b). The concept of SNM builds on three basic principles,
namely (1) network building, (2) experiential learning, and (3) a convergence of
expectations, all of which can trigger a successful ‘incubation’ and a subsequent
mainstreaming and dissemination of the innovation.
9.5.2.3 Network Formation: New Business Opportunities with a Diverse
Set of Actors
In cooperation with Hmong smallholder farmers in the Doi Suthep-Pui National
Park and with various local and international organizations involved, scientists
from the Uplands Program actively searched for sustainable strategies to address
the challenges faced by litchi growers in the northern uplands of Thailand. In a first
step, an interdisciplinary group of scientists developed an action-research experiment within a fruit processing facility in the villages of Mae Sa Noi and Mae Sa Mai
in 2007. A conventional gas dryer was installed in cooperation with a local
manufacturer, and then made available to farmers under technical and economic
guidance from the researchers. Workshops on litchi drying, litchi jam making,
packaging and accounting were organized for the villagers by lecturers from
Chiang Mai University, one of the partner universities of the Uplands Program in
Thailand. Various Uplands Program sub-projects contributed to the process by
conducting surveys about the taste preferences of Asian and Western consumers
with regard to dried litchi, a comparative market study of dried litchi from highland
and lowland litchi producers, and an economic assessment of the fruit drying
operation. The local drying-oven manufacturer agreed to cooperate with optimizing
the dryer. The initial network set-up is depicted in Fig. 9.7.
In 2007, 90 kg of dried litchi were produced from 1,670 kg of fresh litchi,
whereby six households actively participated in the drying activities. In 2008, a
processing cooperative comprising villagers from two Hmong villages was
established, and more than two thirds of its 32 members were women, who
traditionally tend to be marginalized within patriarchal Hmong society. The cooperative produced 70 kg of dried litchi and more than 200 kg of litchi jam in the 2008
season, with more than half the dried litchi traded locally via small retailers and
tourist facilities and around 32 kg sold as part of a trial export arrangement to a
352
A. Neef et al.