Thai Hill Tribe products to sell in Europe through IKEA

A collection of handmade ceramic products and some textile products from Doi Tung Development Project (DTDP) will this year be sold for the first time in Europe through a cooperation with IKEA.

The cooperation started on a test basis in 2013. At that time there were 40 workers at the factory at the foot of Doi Tung mountain in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, part of Asia’s so-called Golden Triangle where opium used to be the main trade. 

In 2015, Ikea Singapore requested to sell two of the products from the Doi Tung project. That was Doi Tung’s first market in Asia outside of Thailand.

Today, 330 workers are employed on producing the ceramic series for the IKEA stores in all of Europe.

The Doi Tung project is one of the social enterprises supported by the Royal Project Foundation founded by the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1969. Originally, the project was aimed at providing a more sustainable income for the people living in the hills. Doi Tung is now one of the famous Thai brand names synonymous with macadamia nuts, coffee and northern-style crafts.

 

About Gregers Møller

Editor-in-Chief • ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd. • Bangkok, Thailand

View all posts by Gregers Møller

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *