Changing Labor Allocations and Formation of New Socioeconomic Relationships under the Influence of Strawberry Cropping among the Karen in Northern Thailand

In this paper I examine the interaction between the practice of cash cropping and villagers’ daily lives in a local community, from a case study of Karen people in Northern Thailand. By focusing on the transition from subsistence rice farming to cash-oriented strawberry cropping, I discuss how the demands specific to strawberry production intersect with changes in labor allocation and the agricultural calendar. Shan laborers from Myanmar are employed seasonally, socioeconomic disparity among villagers is widening, and new leadership and patron-client relationships are emerging. By describing the historical process of this interaction, I will demonstrate (1) the logic whereby Karen, who have hitherto been known as subsistence rice farmers, have accepted cash cropping; and (2) how cash cropping redefines the forms of labor and villagers’ socioeconomic relationships within and outside the village, including ethnic relationships.