Chiang Mai University (CMU) offers free educational programmes and outreach for local and national communities on the sustainable management of land and tourism, in support of Sustainable Development Goal 15 (Life on Land). In 2025, CMU helped village communities turn their community forests into nature trails that they manage themselves, trained local guides for Doi Suthep, and taught tourism business to work in ways that protect tne environment. All of these activities were free of charge of participants.
Doi Phayay community forest nature trail, Lamphun. Since 2022, the Research and Academic Services Center ot the CMU Faculty of Social Science, led by Associate Professor Dr.Wasan Panyakaew , has run the Twin Village project with the Sirindthorn Anthropology Centre, a Thai public organisation. In its fourth year, "Community Culture: Ban San Kayom and Ban Nong Lom, Lamphun", CMU coaches the two villages to develop their own community-based tourism. Ban Nong Lom, Sri Bua Ban Subdistrict, runs the "Doi Phayay Community Forest Nature Study Trail" for study groups and visitors, and BanSan Kayom runs the Hom Hak Sa community learning centre.
- 23 November 2024 : project kick-off with the Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, attended by CMU team and the village heads of both communities, Mr.Nattakorn Sampansak (Ban San Kayom) and Mr. Pradit Temisak (Ban Nong Lom).
- 20 December 2025: "Learning along the Community Forest Trail of Doi Phayay". Thrty students and staff from five CMU faculties, plus exchange students, walked th trail. The village team, led by Mr.Pradit Temisak, guided the walk and shared local knowledge. The stops were Tham Din Cave (a Second World War air-raid shelter), Mon Din Daeng (a traditional cattle-grazing area), Phayay Cliff, local medicinal plants, Wat Nong Lom and the village shrine. The walk showed how the community conserves its forest while using it for learning and tourism. It was Phase 1 of the project "The community Forest Nature Study Trail of Ban Nong Lom - Ban Thung Yao".
Doi Suthep local guide workshop, 29-30 August 2025. The Doi Suthep Nature Center (DNSC), Faculty of Science, trained local guide for Doi Suthep, the mountain and national park beside the main campus. TThe workshop was part of DNSC's 2025 project "Creating and Developing Knowledge of Natural History and Lanna Doi Suthep", under CMU's Creative Lanna Co-Communities programme. Access free of charge.
INNO4Tourism:lifelong learning for a sustainable tourism workforce, launched 18 September 2025. The College of Arts,Media and Technology (CAMT) leads this Eramus+ project, funded by the European Union from December 2023 ti November 2026, with the Department of Tourism (Faculty of Humanities), the Faculty of Education and the CMU School of Lifelong Education platform. At the launch, more than 40 business owners and staff joined a workshop on energy use and carbon footprints in hotels. Guests included the Chiang Mai tourism industry council, the Northern tourism federation, the Chiang Mai guide association and hotel and restaurant operators. Project lead: Assistant Professor Dr. Orawit Thinnukool. Access free of charge.
Sources
- Chiang Mai University. "Experiential Learning through Community Forest Trails at Doi Phayay", 22 December 2025.
- Faculty of Social Sciences, CMU. "Kick-off of the 2025 community", 26 November 2024.
- Doi Suthep Nature Center, CMU. "Doi Suthep local guide workshop",1 September 2025.
- College of Arts, Media and Technology, CMU. "CMU iaunches INNO4Tourism curriculum", 18 September 2025.