From farm to hospital in Prachinburi, Thailand:
The making of an herbal supply chain

Herbal medicines produced by the hospital include a medicine used to treat diarrhea, fevers, and sore throats named fah ta lai jone [Latin: Andrographis paniculata], and Turmeric [Latin: Curcuma longa] used for peptic ulcers. Both herbal medicines have been put on the National Drug List and are prescribed in Thai hospitals.

At the heart of the company's operations is an herbal production network. The thirteen villages in Prachin Buri that grow herbs for the hospital are connected in a network to production plants. The production plants process the herbs and transform them into one of the company's many products. Villages in the southernmost provinces of Thailand also provide some essential raw materials to the hospital like turmeric.

Joining the hospital's production network has turned out to be a good decision for most villages who joined. Ban Dong Bang village in Prachin Buri joined in 1988 after growing rice, bamboo, and decorative plants for years. Villagers now typically earn 10,000 to 20,000 per month and are very happy.

The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) played an important role in introducing the farmers to the hospital initially. The BAAC organised field trips to help villagers become more familiar with organic farming before joining the production network. The hospital regularly tests soil samples from farmers to certify that the herbs are grown organically. Ban Dong Bang village even became a demonstration village to show others how to grow herbs organically, with big trees creating shadows that shade the herbs and restrict the growth of weeds so that weed-killers are unnecessary.

For most companies marketing is simply selling products, but for Abhaibhubejhr marketing is also education. The goal is to get the public interested in herbal products and drugs as alternative medicines and spread a philosophy of preventive healthcare. A museum of traditional Thai medicine houses ancient Thai texts on herbal medicines, traditional medicine production tools, as well as samples of traditional herbs. Youth summer camps educate children in environmental awareness and a formal two year study programme in traditional Thai medicine with 100 students at the hospital helps keeps Thailand's longstanding medical traditions alive. Traditional Thai massages and saunas are also available.

(Source: Bangkok Post, @Thailand section, 17-05-08, page 12, Manit Sanubboon, temp-link: #1, #2)

Vocabulary:

a supply chain - the flow of resources into and out of a company's production operations, the steps needed to produce a final good from raw materials, continuing with components and parts, and finally ending with assembly and distribution of the product แหล่งส่งวัตถุดิบ

a green business - a business that does not harm the environment ธุรกิจที่ส่งเสริมการรักษาสิ่งแวดล้อม

a success story - the story of how someone succeeded with their business, made a lot of money เรื่องราวแห่งความสำเร็จ

a recognised brand name - a brand name that most people know ยี่ห้อดังที่เป็นที่รู้จักและนิยม

developing new products - creating new products (to meet the needs of people) พัฒนาผลิตภัณฑ์ใหม่

diarrhea - when your stomach is sick, and you have to go to the bathroom often โรคท้องร่วง

Latin - the language used for the names of medicines (See Wikipedia) ภาษาละติน

peptic ulcer - a painful sore in the stomach, dangerous if it bleeds โรคกระเพาะอาหารอักเสบ

prescribed - when a doctor writes out medicine for you to take, on an official piece of paper, when presented a pharmacy supplies you with the medicine สั่งยา

the heart of the company's operations - the center or most important part of the company's operations หัวใจสำคัญขององค์กร 

a network - many long lines (roads, train tracks, air routes) that connect at certain points (for example, a computer network like the internet, or the network of rails in a subway) เครือข่าย

a production network - the flow of raw materials into factories สายการผลิต เริ่มตั้งแต่วัตถุดิบที่ใช้ในการผลิต

raw materials - things that are used in manufacturing to build or produce something วัตถุดิบ

turned out to be a good decision - after making a decision, learning that it was the right decision เป็นการตัดสินใจที่ถูกต้อง

a role - a position and a function (in a process or organisation) บทบาท หน้าที่

played an important role - had an important function or position (in some process) มีบทบาทสำคัญ

introducing X to Y - cause X to learn about and experience Y for the first time
 
field trips - when a large group travels to a place to gain direct experience of the place (rather than only reading about it in a book)  การออกฟิล์ดเพื่อหาประสบการณ์ การลงปฏิบัติภาคสนาม

organic farming - farming without chemical fertilizers and pesticides and genetically modified organisms, organic farmers rely on crop rotation, green manure, compost, biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests (See Wikipedia) การเพาะปลูกแบบชีวภาพ

soil samples - dirt taken from different places (to test) ตัวอย่างดิน

certify - officially state that something it true ออกใบรับรอง

a demonstration village - a village that is organised to show how something works to people, like how farmers farm หมู่บ้านตัวอย่าง

alternative medicines - ways of treating diseases that include herbal medicine, massage, acupuncture, homeopathy, naturopathy, and chiropractic that are not normally taught in medical schools or available in hospitals (See Wikipedia) แพทย์หรือการรักษาโรคแบบทางเลือก (ใช้สมุนไพรและภูมิปัญญาชาวบ้าน)

preventive healthcare - taking steps to prevent disease before it happens, often just by healthy living การป้องกันโรค

environmental awareness - thinking hard about how your actions affect the environment, and modifying your behaviour accordingly (for example, the gas and what products you buy, the plastics you use, etc) มีจิตสำนึกต่อสิ่งแวดล้อม

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