T he air in Bangkok has been horrendous these past couple of months and we can’t help but feel like we’re basically inhaling exhaust fumes. The difference in air quality is so evident that when you go to another country and take a huge whiff of oxygen, you actually get a bit of a high because the air is cleaner than what you’re usually used to. We can go on complaining, something you all know we’re really good at, or we can find ways to be part of the solution instead of being whiny toddlers. These businesses are providing us the opportunity to do just that.
BANGKOK SOAP OPERA
Ekamai Soi 10
http://bangkoksoapopera.com, http://fb.com/bangkoksoapopera
We’re pretty reliant on chemically-made cosmetics and our go-to place to buy them are supermarkets and convenience stores. Bangkok Soap Opera, however, gives its customers a chance to do things differently. It prides itself in selling homemade cosmetic products that are made from organic, edible, and easily available items, their motto being “If you can eat it, it’s safe to apply to your skin.” Bangkok Soap Opera offers products like flower waters, detox face mask, natural deodorant and a variety of soaps, hence the name. Their products are handmade, are made fresh and free of preservatives. Aside from selling these products, they also offer workshops in soap-making and perfume-making so you can learn how to make these things for yourself, as well as workshops on face and body care. They’ve also got a social project named “Soap Making With A Difference” where they teach street vendors and restaurants how to recycle waste cooking oil and turn it into soap. Follow their FB page and check their website for more details on the workshops, as well their products.
SOS
http://scholarsofsustenance.org
Most of us live in a world where we enjoy a lot of luxuries we take for granted, one of which is food. We enjoy the privilege of choosing what we want to eat because there are so many choices. Meanwhile, there are people struggling to eat a meal a day. A lot of the places we eat at end up throwing away a lot of food because of the surplus and waste, but this is where SOS comes in. SOS, a play on the morse code distress signal, actually stands for “Scholars of Sustenance”. In simple terms, they take the surplus food from retailers that would otherwise be thrown into the trash and deliver them to places like orphanages, schools and refugee centers. Basically, they don’t want any food to go to waste and gives it to people who are less fortunate yet equally deserving of a proper meal. Their programme runs in four countries, including Thailand, and they’re planning to expand into other nations. They run solely on private donations. Every B10 donation means one person in need is fed.
FARM TO YOU
Nakniwat Road, Lad Phrao Soi 71
http://farmtoyoubkk.com, http://fb.com/farmtoyoubkk
The name is pretty straightforward and self-explanatory. In a world where chemical-filled products are easily accessible thanks to convenience stores on every street corner, Farm To You aims to make organic products readily available for us city dwellers. You can easily shop online through their website or you can add them on LINE (@farmtoyou) with the products being delivered to your doors. There’s no limit to where they can deliver so you can rest easy about that. As you can obviously see, they live up to their name. Plus, cutting the “middleman” means you get a pretty cheap price on their items, which include organic fruits and vegetables, seafood and organic dairy products, all made by local businesses. Farm To You also sells their organic products to schools so that unhealthy canteen food is replaced with healthy, edible meals. You can also head over to their shop and pay them a visit. They’re also planning to do pop-ups in the future.
BETTER MOON CAFE X REFILL STATION
Sukhumvit 71/1, 8am-10pm
A first glance at the name and it sounds as if this could be a cafe and possibly a gas station. We guess it’s sort of like that? Better Moon Cafe serves food and drinks made from local products, as well as a chance to be able to mix and match your own tea, which they have a varied selection of. There’s also a bunch of Thai snacks and dried fruits, which you can buy and put in a jar kind of like those candy shops in malls. As for the Refill Station, it’s pretty straightforward: customers can bring plastic containers or buy some from the store itself and they can choose to fill it up with a variety of products. The products that can fill your container range from shampoo, shower gel and even dish-washing liquid, and all of them are made locally. The overall principle of the cafe, as well as the refill station is to reduce plastic waste, which is why they encourage customers to bring their own containers to fill up and it’s also why they use paper straws in their drinks. Plus, they also have a meeting room and nine guest rooms that you can rent out.
UNCLE REE FARM
19 Phet Kasem Soi 46, Bang Wa
http://fb.com/unclereefarm.page
Uncle Ree Farm has been in the business of growing worms for some time. Yes, worms. Starting off as a hobby in his garage, Uncle Ree has a full-blown worm farm that enables him to grow his own produce. Not only that, but he also sells a kit of “DIY fertiliser” so you can, you know, do it yourself, as well as vermicompost, which is stuff you can use to fertilise your soil and grow your own veggies even if you’re in the city. According to Uncle Ree, it’s easy to do, hassle-free and doesn’t smell so it’s doable even in an urban environment.
