"Chang chumchon" = community builders

One of the outcomes of Baan Mankong has been the formation of teams of "chang chumchon", meaning community builders, in the physical sense of the term: masons, carpenters, painters and so on. Whether upgrading for Baan Mankong requires complete reconstruction of homes, or just on-site upgrading such as improving pathways, someone needs to carry out this work, and typically, the options are:
1) the community hires a contractor to implement physical improvements;
2) the community residents build their own homes, with neighbourly assistance, or work with their neighbours to build infrastructure;
3) the community hires fellow community members who are skilled in construction techniques.

Increasingly, it is option 3) that is being chosen by communities for their ugprading projects. Sometimes, community members will all join in a project, especially one that doesn't require particularly high skill levels, such as laying a concrete pathway. Such collective efforts can also serve to demonstrate to outsiders (such as uncooperative municipal officials) the community's collective capacities, and even to emphasise to community residents themselves what they are capable of achieving.

I recently sat in on a meeting of the Bangkok region's network of chang chumchon, a meeting where they reflected on their role in helping communities complete Baan Mankong. They see themselves as having an important role in the Baan Mankong process, not only in building, but also in auditing the construction process in other communities. They are therefore split into two teams: "team chang" (building team) and "team tuat" (quality control team). Outside of communities, they can also demonstrate to external organisations, such as CODI, their ability to move forward the construction process and help to build strong communities. They realise they are not perfect, and this meeting was a chance to air some of the issues that have arisen, such as some builders taking the upper hand and taking decisions on their own, rather than working as a team.

Many communities have had bad experiences hiring outside contractors, who may charge high prices, and take advantage of their clients by suggesting modifications to the house design which are unecessary and costly to those who are already in a tough financial situation. Contractors may want to be paid up front, which is not always possible given the bureaucracy involved in releasing loan money to communities. If payments aren't made, or disagreements arise, they may abandon the project and leave families with unfinished homes, and the chang chumchon are then hired to "clear up the mess". Contractors were generally perceived negatively in this meeting.

The advantage of using chang chumchon is that these workers have been through the Baan Mankong process themselves, and as they are also residents of low-income communities, they are aware of the constraints that other residents face. These are not only financial, but also in terms of meeting building regulations. Baan Mankong communities are often by necessity in breach of some regulations, such as the roads not being the minimum required width (if they were, there would be no room left for the houses!). If houses deviate from the agreed specifications of the Baan Mankong house design, the household risks not being able to obtain a house registration - something to avoid, as this registration is necessary for access to many public services. However, the chang pointed out that they mustn't assume that they only way to do things is the way they were done in their own community - each community has its own methods, and the chang shouldn't impose their own way of doing things, but must listen to the community members.

The "team chang" are an innovative offshoot of Baan Mankong, arising from community members themselves. These teams not only provide community residents with jobs, but also increase their capacities as builders and managers, and gives them more power in the upgrading process.