One Tambon One Product

One Tambon One Product (OTOP) is a local entrepreneurship stimulus program designed by Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during his 2001-2006 Thai Rak Thai government. The program aimed to support locally made and marketed products of each of Thailand's 7,255 tambons (sub-district). Drawing its inspiration from Japan's successful One Village One Product (OVOP) program,[1][2] the OTOP program encourages village communities to improve the quality and marketing of local products, selecting one superior product from each tambon to receive formal branding as its "starred OTOP product". It provides both a local and national stage to the promote these products. OTOP includes a large array of local products, including traditional handicrafts, cotton and silk garments, pottery, fashion accessories, household items, and foods. After a military junta overthrew Thaksin's government in 2006 following an election cancelled for irregularities, the OTOP program was cancelled. However, it was soon revived and rebranded.

The One Tambon One Product movement is a self-help effort wherein rural communities participate in the creation of a product that can be sold locally and internationally.[3]

  1. ^ "What is OTOP?". Royal Thai Embassy Singapore. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  2. ^ Thaitrakulpanich, Asaree (14 August 2017). "DESIGNERS TAKE OTOP PRODUCTS FROM NOPE TO DOPE". Khaosod English. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  3. ^ Khongsawatkiat, Kittiphun (July–December 2002). "Isan Studies: 'One Tambon, One Product'; A Government Policy Recovers Farmers' Debts and Fragile Rural Sector in Northeastern of Thailand". Kasem Bundit. 3 (2).