Arborists or tree doctors are people who take care of our trees in a similar way to doctors in hospitals who take care of patients, from screening, evaluating symptoms, discussing methods of care, following up on results, including taking care of the beauty and pruning branches and leaves. The more we trust the care of doctors in hospitals, the more we can trust real tree doctors to take care of our trees.
In this episode, we will get to know Rukkhakon Social Enterprise Co., Ltd. with the story of treating and caring for trees with the correct methods like those who really know. Currently, there are many people who love trees, but very few people know how to really take care of trees. If you are wondering what a tree doctor is and why we need a tree doctor when we already have gardeners, we will go and understand this matter in a new way through an interview with Mr. La-iat Panphat, General Manager of Rukkhakon Social Enterprise Co., Ltd.
What does “ arborist or tree doctor” mean?
With a unique name that sounds familiar, but I still can’t figure out what “Rukkhakon” really means. Khun Deet said that the ancients liked to say “Rukkhathewada” which means the gods who live in trees. Therefore, when there is the word “Rukkha”, it immediately means trees. When combined with “Korn”, we get the word “Rukkhakon” which means someone who works with trees. In addition, Rukkhakon also has the same meaning as the English word “ Arborist ” which means a professional who is responsible for managing and taking care of trees. However, the word that Thais are most familiar with is the word “Tree Doctor”.
beginning
Rukkhakon Social Enterprise Co., Ltd. was created from a group of people with diverse careers called the BIGTrees group . They sat down to talk about trees in the city in various places that should be preserved. After starting the campaign for a while, they began to see that taking care of trees is actually a specific profession, but in Thailand it is not well-known yet. Therefore, there is no standard for professional tree care and trimming.
“Trees need proper care from the roots to the tips of the branches.”
BIGTrees promotes this profession to have a role in society, to make tree pruning or care standardized, until we sat down and talked about opening a company to be a model for people interested in this profession. After that, we started looking at the science of learning about trees in the right way and supporting people in the organization to have standardized professions, pushing people in the organization to participate in the Arboretum and seriously drive the profession in this field. Currently, the company has 2 arborists.
“Many times, trees have become the defendants of society.”
When talking about past social problems, Khun La-laid said that most people do not realize until a problem occurs, even though trees are very close to us. Many people choose to blame trees when a problem occurs instead of blaming themselves. For example, this tree is beautiful. I love this tree. I park under it every day. I take out the trash, dig the drain, do all sorts of things to this tree, but say that I love this tree. When one day the tree falls down for whatever reason, people will blame the tree for being too big. If it falls down, it might injure someone. The tree is wrong without you looking back at what you did to it or how you took care of it.
“The person who should have answered that question couldn’t.”
Although there are real tree caretakers in society who are government agencies, the problem is that they do not truly understand tree care work. There is still a unclear understanding. Therefore, when a problem arises that is a problem for society, they cannot clearly communicate to society why they must do this or why they must do that. The officers who work in this area can only answer that they are following orders, but cannot explain and provide knowledge about trees to the public or those who are curious.
“No one has ever explained why trees need to be cut down when they can be replaced?”
You explained that this question has an answer, but the people in power don’t accept the answer. This happens because no one really knows how to solve the problem, or they don’t try to solve the problem of trees properly. Most people say, I love trees, but they still cut down trees to make roads instead of moving them. Everyone forgets how long it takes for a tree to grow into a big tree. How much care does it take? They may not consider the value of the carbon sequestration that a tree can provide because cutting it down is easier. But thinking about the long-term negative impacts is very difficult for people who just have a follow-the-order approach.
The role of arborists in helping society
Initially, Rukkhakon Social Enterprise Co., Ltd. has a Facebook page and a phone number for customers to contact to use the service. When customers contact, there will be a discussion about the direction of the customer’s needs. After talking and understanding, we will go to the area to assess the feasibility and present the best solution.
“We choose to build houses according to the wishes of the occupants.”
Since the company is a company that hires tree trimming, the service work is to do what the customer wants anyway. But if there is an opportunity or the customer is ready to receive advice, then a better method will be recommended or the correct knowledge will be explained to the customer. After going through the discussion process and agreeing on the direction of the work, a price is offered and then the work is done. In addition, advice is given after the work is completed. And after 1 year of service, the company will send an arborist from the company to inspect the condition if the customer wants.
“Compared to the number of trees, there are too many people who misunderstand trees.”
The company, Rukkhakon Social Enterprise, therefore tries to provide correct knowledge and understanding to all customers who come to use the service because doing this will push the arborist profession to advance to the word standard more. This profession is still very few in Thai society. And the scary thing is that people who work in the tree care profession nowadays do not really have knowledge about trees. Therefore, the company comes in to be an option in society to help take care of trees correctly and have true knowledge about trees.
“I’ve used regular tree cutters before and there was no problem. Why do I need to use arborists like you?”
Khun Dee-ard said that the biggest obstacle is the lack of understanding from customers because normally when people want to cut down trees, they will hire regular gardeners who do not have real knowledge about trees but can cut down trees. They think why pay more to hire arborists to cut down trees? But the expensive price is reasonable because it comes from the cost of the company sending people to train, study and try real work to become complete arborists, including the cost of equipment that must create safety during work for the company’s employees and the customers themselves.
“How can you be a gardener and teach me?”
There are some customers that you have met before who have never used an arborist before and think that arborists are just gardeners. How can you teach them about trees? Fortunately, some customers are open-minded and choose to change their attitude after receiving knowledge from arborists. The knowledge and skills of arborists will be the tool to prove themselves without having to explain how arborists are different from gardeners.
“Our goal is simply to teach people how to properly care for and prune trees.”
Promoting the arborist profession has become difficult because most arborists graduate with a degree in a related field. However, it appears that many people who graduate with a bachelor’s degree want to become civil servants, where the work is easy and they don’t want to go through the trouble of cutting down trees. Or when targeting the group to support people who are already gardeners to come and train to become arborists, some people do not cooperate even though what they need to do is just make small changes to their processes and work. These changes are made to increase their own skills and safety.
“We just want to use our knowledge to create understanding for them.”
Khun Dee-ard said that every time there is a tree assessment, the company always sends arborists to the area. Sometimes, when only 2 trees are assessed, the company’s arborists will be on site for over 2 weeks to find the best way to manage the trees. Working hard like this will help push other arborists to have more work because customers will understand the reasons why arborists are needed. The more arborists there are, the more options customers have when it comes to using their services.
What is it like to be an arborist?
In the past 2-3 years, we have become more acquainted with the company. Many people have come to us for advice and messaged us on Facebook. For example, during periods of heavy rain or strong winds, many people have contacted us to ask questions. The company does not only give advice to customers, but some people also contact us to ask questions or seek advice. They do not need any services at all. The company gives advice to everyone, whether they are thinking of hiring our company or not.
“Every organization can be a social enterprise.”
Every person, every profession, every company can do social activities, even if they are not social enterprises. We do not need to put money in a donation box for anyone, but rather look at the raw materials and potential within ourselves or our organization, and consider how we can make ourselves and our organization participate in helping society. Look at what people in society need, and think about what your organization can fulfill in their area.
Conclusion
It must be admitted that nowadays people have to look at each other to find help. Hoping for agencies or other people to help us has become a difficult thing to hope for. When one day you think you are ready to be a social enterprise organization, try contacting the place that wants to provide help and contact the government agency that oversees social enterprises because they will have officers who will give good advice on what to do next. We have to look at ourselves first to see what activities we can do for society. Then we can look at the organization to see how it can push the organization to become a social enterprise. But if you think you will do it for personal gain, I recommend that you do not do it because social enterprise means working for society in a true way.
“Start with social activities first, then develop into a social enterprise.”
Trees “Friends” of Society | The Practical Sustainability “Friends” of Society Enterprises
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Contact channels
Rukkhakon Social Enterprise Co., Ltd.
Email: urbantreecare2014@gmail.com
Tel. 093-983-3050, 083-024-4053
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thaiurbantreecare
Supported by the Office of Social Enterprise Promotion (OSEP)
