Expansion of farm land by local peasants within their village territory: the example of Nong Samong

Not all recent land reclamation and pioneer settlement processes have been accompanied by a movement of farmers over long distances. In many cases clearance of new farm land takes place within the village boundaries, where local farmers gradually extend their land beyond an existing "infield" nucleus towards the periphery of village territory because of population pressure and the predominant custom of free divisibility of land upon inheritance. The above-mentioned extension of Thailand's wet-rice areas during the last 30 years is probably in the main the result of such a local farm land expansion. The propaganda made for profitable cash crops like maize, cassava, sugarcane, and kenaf in connection with the introduction of tractor ploughing has, however, speeded up this process considerably.

The basic requirement for this kind of pioneer settlement is, of course, the existence of sufficient land reserves within the village boundaries. Usually extension starts from the existing residence. Only when the newly reclaimed "outfields" lie further away do certain individuals or groups break away from the old village community and found new branch settlements in the neighbourhood of the old village nucleus. Later, an independent village community with its own territory can develop out of these.

An example of such a subsidiary settlement which grew up during land expansion is the village of Nong Samong. This village, which has about 500 registered inhabitants, is located on the southern edge of the Khorat plateau, close to the mountain range which separates north-east Thailand from the central plain and the southeast. It also lies approximately three kilometres east of National Highway 304 (SattahipNakhon Ratchasima).

The natural conditions are more or less in keeping with those in the whole of the northeast. The undulating relief rises gently southwards from 250 m to about 400 m above sealevel towards the mountains bordering the Khorat plateau. There are no obstacles to hinder agricultural use. Although the very flat ridges and depressions hardly stand out from each other in the physiognomy of the landscape, their agricultural values are very different. The alluvial material found in the depressions favours the cultivation of wet rice because of its waterlogging characteristics. On the flat ridges, however, we find a relatively poor, porous substratum. Until recently they were used only as forest pastures. For a few years now, though, they have been developed more and more for the cultivation of upland crops, in particular cassava.

The location of the village on the leeside of the mountain ridge bordering the Khorat plateau may have a negative effect on the rainfall. The average yearly precipitation is hardly over 1,200 mm. The critical months for agricultural production when there is less than 100 mm of rainfall are November through February but can also include March (Sternstein 1976).

The pioneer settlers in Nong Samong broke away from Nong Liom, four kilometres to the north, roughly 40 years ago in order to reclaim land in the forests for the cultivation of rice. The decision to colonize was influenced not only by the idea of providing food for their own consumption but also by the commercial aspect of charcoal production. Later this was complemented by the cultivation of sugarcane until about 1974 and finally, as in many other villages on the southern Khorat plateau, by additional cultivation of cassava. Today about 70 per cent of the farm land belonging to the community is made up of cassava fields and only about 30 per cent is taken up by wet rice. Some cattle are also kept on the forest pastures.

In contrast to the traditional Thai farming system based on the monoculture of wet rice which is still predominant in the central plain (Uhlig 1975), a dual type of farming has developed in the peripheral areas, with the cultivation of wet rice for the farmers' own consumption and in addition a cash crop. In Nong Samong this crop is cassava. Such dual farming systems have proved to be a relatively stable basis of subsistence for peasant families in many other regions of South-East Asia as well.

In spite of the changed economy the political and social organization of the traditional village community has remained more or less the same. The foundation of a subsidiary settlement does indeed lead to a new village community, but one which functions according to the inherited laws and which has a relatively homogeneous social structure. Similarly the physiognomy of the settlement is in keeping with traditional norms. Nong Samong is a clustered village with a loose grouping of farm houses and is surrounded by wet-rice fields. The houses are built on stilts and are each equipped with a rice granary and a large garden with various fruit trees, coconut palms, and a surprisingly large number of kapok trees. The houses are built solidly and have the character of a permanent settlement, that is, one which has been set up for future generations.

Hardly anything has changed in land tenure either. Most farmers are owneroperators, and the renting of land or share cropping are still exceptions. Dependence on other individuals due to indebtedness has so far remained within reason because, as owners of wet-rice land, most farmers possess a fixed title deed which enables them to take out credit from public banks under fair terms. This is also advantageous for their cultivation of cassava, although no title deeds have yet been given for the upland fields.

There remains close social contact with the old village. Several farmers in Nong Samong still own and work their rice fields in their home village of Nong Liom. The reverse is also true of certain inhabitants of Nong Liom who have an "outfield" for cassava in Nong Samong without ever having moved house to the new village. Contact remains also through labour exchange. The wage labourers for the cassava harvest come mainly from Nong Liom, whilst, conversely, several inhabitants of Nong Samong help out during the wet-rice harvest in Nong Liom.