Enterprise put to test
Students develop 'massage shoes', paper-to-art objects and vacuum-packed rice,
- Published: 8/05/2010 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: News
The "3D Thai cartoons and paintings" project by a Nakhon Pathom school has won the Krung Thai Young Enterprise Scheme this year, beating more than 800 contestants across the country.
A group of students from Sri Wichai School in Nakhon Pathom won the Krung Thai Young Enterprise award this year for its 3D Thai cartoons project. The works were created with used paper.
Phalit Silpa Co, comprising seven student members from Sri Wichai School, turned used paper into a profit-making art business.
The students started the project with capital of only 500 baht each from their own pockets and borrowed another 7,000 baht from a school fund.
They have managed to turn that into a handsome profit of 6,499 baht each.
They converted the used paper into various artworks, including a wall artefact and a CD cover design.
The clean side of a piece of used paper was painted before being turned into a three-dimensional artefact.
The group turned out traditional Thai-style paintings and drawings such as a set of Thai cartoons and another set featuring fairground amusements popular among Thais in the past.
Many art pieces were also converted into computer graphics and printed on CD covers to make white backgrounds look more interesting.
Khao hang rice by the Occupational College in Buri Ram’s Nang Rong district.
The products were sold at shops, and directly to customers.
"My friends and I have learned to work as a team and solve problems together," said Kitti Mueandao, one of the students.
They want to carry on with the project after they leave school.
The first runners-up are a group of Montfort College students in Chiang Mai who developed foot-massaging shoes called "MC relax shoes".
The team was inspired by a shoe-making business run by the parents of one team member, and the booming health massage and spa business in their northern city.
They combined these two things into a pair of shoes which "massage" the feet.
Sasibut Yingyuenyong, a Mathayom 4 student and a Montfort College team member, said the foot-massaging shoes give wearers the sense that their feet are being massaged at five main spots on the foot.
First runners-up were the team from Montfort College who created these ‘‘MC relax shoes’’, which massage the wearer’s feet.
Aromatic oil extracts are released as they are walking to enhance the foot massaging effect. Customers include tourists, spa houses and athletes with strained foot muscles. Shops in Chiang Mai offer the shoes for sale with the help of parents at the school.
Also among the winners is khao hang rice, developed by the Occupational College in Nang Rong district of Buri Ram province.
The product is designed to be an alternative for those who are not impressed by tough khao klong rice but cannot afford to buy expensive khao klong ngok rice regularly.
Khao hang is made of ordinary rice soaked in water, steamed, milled and packed in a vacuum container.
This way of preparing rice is thought to preserve nutrients, soften the rice mass, and make it more aromatic.
Students from Khiri Mat Pitayakom school in Sukhothai demonstrate their pumpkin slicing machine.
The Nang Rong college team suggests that consumers mix their khao hang with ordinary rice when cooking, to save money.
Khao hang is based on local food preservation methods which the team studied, modernised and then turned into a business venture. It is sold in the school area.
The Krung Thai Young Enterprise Scheme serves as an experiment for students who want to find out if they would be interested in running a business of their own.
Students draft a business plan, are responsible for their own marketing, and do their own accounting, says Sumana Vonggapan, senior executive vice-president of Krung Thai Bank.
"Students will learn themselves if they really want to become entrepreneurs, and can pass on the knowledge they have gained to the community," she said.
Krung Thai gets 'responsible'
Krung Thai Bank has been trying to convince major firms to join its corporate social responsibility network in a bid to develop Thailand's intellectual capital.
Permanent secretary for finance Sathit Limphongphun presides over the Krung Thai competition’s awards ceremony.
Santi Vilassakdanont, chairman of KTB's Corporate Governance and Social and Environmental Responsibility Committee, said the bank expects other major companies to join its CSR initiative.
"We're ready to welcome them as it would make our effort more powerful," he said.
Mr Santi said if more companies joined the network, it would be able to reach more beneficiaries, especially students. The network would then become a driver of intellectual capital development in the country.
KTB has focused its efforts on developing intellectual capital through supporting educational, social and environmental programmes, as well as initiatives involving art, culture and sports, he said. The Krung Thai Dream Weaving Project has set aside 200 million baht to support the Office of Basic Education Commission's One District One Dream School Project for the past six years.
Santi: Looking for ethical partners
The project hopes to develop a model school in every district through staff training, particularly for information technology, and the acquisition of modern educational facilities such as sound labs.
The bank has also established the Krung Thai Dream Weaving toward Graduation Project.
Under this project, the bank provides 50,000 baht scholarships for students who meet the scheme's criteria.
To encourage students to develop their business skills, the bank held several contests, such as the Krung Thai Young Business Operators, Krung Thai Creative Vocation for Business and Krung Thai White Saplings Project.
For social and environmental development, the bank campaigns for environmental conservation and the reduction of energy usage through its Growing Green Project.
KTB supports an annual national arts contest. The bank buys the winning paintings and displays them at the Krung Thai Art Gallery in Yaowarat.
The bank has also built a sculpture park and training centre in Nakhon Ratchasima's Pak Chong district.
KTB has also set aside 60 million baht a year for the Thai national amateur boxing team. - Kannika Phonlakarn
About the author
- Writer: Kannika Phonlakarn
- Position: Reporter
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