SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHANGES IN THE KAREN ETHNIC COMMUNITY: A CASE STUDY OF BAN SALAWA COMMUNITY, LAI WO SUBDISTRICT, SANGKHLA BURI DISTRICT, KANCHANABURI PROVINCE

Abstract

This research aimed to examine changes in the economic and social systems of the Karen ethnic community, the factors and processes associated with these changes, and approaches to promoting and developing economic and social systems in accordance with the cultural context of Ban Salawa, Lai Wo Subdistrict, Sangkhlaburi District, Kanchanaburi Province, during 2020 - 2024. A qualitative research approach was employed. Data were collected through document reviews, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and observations. Twenty-one key informants with relevant knowledge and experience were purposively selected. Data were analyzed through description, interpretation, and inductive synthesis, and the trustworthiness of the findings was established through triangulation. The findings revealed that the economic system had shifted from subsistence production based on rotational farming, natural resources, and household and kinship labor toward a mixed economy integrating paddy cultivation, wage labor, production for sale, and increasing dependence on cash income. Nevertheless, exchange and mutual assistance continued to play important roles. The social system incorporated formal leadership structures, occupational groups, younger generations, and external agencies into existing kinship networks and traditional mechanisms. These changes resulted from interactions among government policies, land constraints, labor and time limitations, market conditions, education, transportation, communication, and contact with external society. The new body of knowledge demonstrates that change does not involve the replacement of traditional systems by modern ones, but rather constitutes a process of adaptation, negotiation, and integration between traditional ways of life and modern systems. Social capital, kinship networks, and mutual assistance help maintain social relationships and enable the community to cope with change. Recommendations: Integrated farming should be promoted with an emphasis on food security alongside income generation, occupational development, group formation, and the intergenerational transmission of local wisdom and cultural identity. These efforts should be driven by community participation and collaboration with network partners to ensure long-term sustainability