Towards Designing Community Learning Platforms for Smallholding Organic Farming Practitioners in Phitsanulok Province
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69650/jcdrhs.2026.1566Keywords:
Community Learning Platforms, Organic Farming Practitioners, SmallholdingsAbstract
Smallholding Organic Farming Practitioners (SOFPs) play a vital role in sustainable agriculture, yet they often lack access to suitable Community Learning Platforms (CLPs). This study examines how CLPs function among SOFPs in Phitsanulok Province, Thailand, focusing on the learning spaces through which knowledge exchange occurs and the structural conditions that shape these learning processes. The research employed a qualitative grounded theory approach, combining documentary research with digital ethnography through interviews, field observations, and analysis of online interactions with 28 practitioners across 16 farms in Phitsanulok Province, Thailand. The findings indicate that personal experiences and local contexts shape CLPs, yet these learning systems remain fragmented and loosely structured. Learning occurs across six physical spaces—farms, marketplaces, government and academic venues, private settings, and community learning centres—and one virtual space through digital platforms. While these spaces facilitate knowledge exchange, they often lack coherence and continuity, limiting their effectiveness and their capacity to adapt to changing conditions. The study highlights the need to strengthen CLPs through community-based management, sustained participation, and adaptive systems responsive to social and geographic contexts. Strengthening these platforms is essential for enhancing resilience, adaptive capacity, and the long-term sustainability of small-scale organic farming communities.
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