Abstract
Social Organizations and Developments of the Community: a Case Study of the Community of Tambon Nakha, Amphoe Wapipathum, Mahasarakham Province Three major purposes of this study were: 1) to examine developments of various organizations with working roles in community characteristics, 2) to investigate factors and conditions that strengthened different organizations in the community and had being community characteristics, and 3) to examine formations and developments of being community. The study was conducted according to the conceptual frameworks which were factors and conditions strengthening different social organizations or having being community characteristics. These included: (1) opportunities and stages which were placed to meet and exchange learning with one another as well as forming groups, (2) the process of learning and decision – making in working together among different sectors, (3) leadership styles and leadership in the community, (4) equipment or communication techniques, (5) feelings and thoughts of the people, especially the system of ideas in self - dependence and participation, (6) activities for working together and relationships between people in the community and various institutions in the community, and (7) unity and cooperation among different social organizations in these groups. The study revealed the following. Group activities that occurred before 1984, as promoted and urged by both state and private sectors, were in these aspects: development of quality of life, public health, social welfare, funds, women, youths, careers, community shops, and rice banks. After 1984, there were these groups: public utilities, welfare, funds, savings, credit unions, community rice mills, Bun Khao Chi Merit – making culture, cattle bank, and silk – cloth weaving. These groups were established by state, private and community sectors. Most activity characteristics were in the self – dependence from while the state sector support partly. However some groups were dependent upon the state sectors such as village funds. The private sector promoted such activities as cattle banks during 1998 – 1999 by the Thai Farmers’ Foundation, community rice mills, silk – cloth weaving and paper sandalwood flowers groups, and centers for preschool child development in the monastery from Wang Chan community by the office of fund for community. The process of learning and decision - making included: learning together within the group, high compromises, kinship interactions among persons and the same career, and being dependent on one another in the village and the community. However, in width, there were traditional activities of Bun Khao Chi merit – making (by offering baked glutinous rice to monks) and social funds such as the cattle band of the Lomkhom Group which could cover all the tambon (sub – district). Youth sports between these groups and the tambon administrative organization could be found in the Bun Khao Chi activity. It appeared that the tambon administrative organization supported groups with budgets. In local politics, it was in the kinship type as a whole by having high public sense together, having dividends of benefits for the public at both tambon level, i.e. group activities and the Bun Khao Chi merit – making, and at the community group level which included saving groups, shops, community rice mills of Wang Chan community which could give services to the community, villages in and outside the tambon.
