Of the people, for the people and by the people

Of the people, for the people and by the people

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE
Of the people, for the people and by the people

Locall Thailand connects small, individually-run shops, and even food vendors, with customers while creating a sense of community. Peangploy Jitiyatham, co-founder of Locall Thailand and civil society network Satarana's management team member, has introduced an online delivery platform that is created "by the community and for the community".

Satarana is a network of organisations and businesses that promotes urban development with public participation at its core. Peangploy, who holds a master's degree in marketing from Chulalongkorn University, tells Guru how Locall Thailand helps uncles and aunties keep their shops alive.


How did Locall Thailand come about?

Once Again Hostel, a partner of Satarana, in Pratu Phi-Sao Ching Cha areas of Bangkok, had to quickly adapt their business model due to Covid-19. The hostel had always included the local community in their business practice by connecting tourists around the world with the local life and small businesses before the pandemic hit. The team decided to change their business to deliver anything "from the community, by the community and for the community". Locall Thailand started out as Locall.bkk to be the intermediary between customers and small shops in Pratu Phi-Sao Ching Cha areas before the same concept spread to other areas so we changed the name to Locall Thailand to reflect our rapid growth. Locall launched on April 3.

How do you explain Locall Thailand?

Locall Thailand is a tool to create a sense of community and connect people within the same community in order to build a sustainable economic development of that community. We don't think of Locall as a mere delivery platform. It connects creative businesses like us, delivery men and local shops to form a symbiosis relationship. Creative businesses encourage local shops to develop goods and help them with management while goods will be delivered by a delivery man from the community, as well. The creative business receives a management fee from the shops, the delivery person gets their delivery fee and the shop makes more sales. Our platform highlights local shops and it allows users to buy from different shops within the same neighbourhood in one order. We believe when people within a community form a bond, sustainable development becomes possible.

What are the goals of Locall Thailand?

We hope to see 'small people' work together to develop their own community; whether to conserve their legacy, survive any crises or adapt to new changes while improving their livelihood and quality of life. While they continue to introduce new products and services that meet consumer needs, Locall is a gateway for those who wish to support local businesses.

How has the feedback been?

Shops that have joined us see an increase in sales during the lockdown as they slowly adapt to the digital age. Many shops have requested to join us and now we have more than 300 shops in six hubs of Bangkok and three more provincial hubs.

How much has Locall expanded?

During the first two and a half months of Locall, we opened several new hubs. By the end of this month, we plan to have 12 hubs. Eight in Bangkok; Pratu Phi, Yaowarat, Nang Linchi, Talad Phlu, Sutthisan, Wang Burapha, Bang Sue and Klong Toey. Four more in Nonthaburi's Ratchapruek, Saraburi's Talad Nai, Chiang Mai's Laem Chang and Samut Prakan's Wat Dan Samrong. Whenever a new community reaches out to us, we're more than willing to help them establish our system in their area.

What have you learned from founding Locall Thailand?

We all have individual value and expertise within us that can be utilised to benefit ourselves and others if given an opportunity. A crisis can be an opportunity, as well. Founding members of Locall Thailand all have adapted to their new roles from running a hostel to creating online content, taking photos, editing video and analysing data. I also appreciate how big organisations offer help to smaller ones. The uncles and aunties we work with try to adapt to these unprecedented times and grow with us. I've seen creative businesses in other areas of Bangkok, trying to adopt the same model in their areas. I realise that we all are capable of helping each other much more than we give ourselves credit for. We don't need policymakers to rescue us as we all can do our individual parts in creating an impact on society.

Visit fb.com/LocallThailand.

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