Abstract
This paper examines members of the Chinese diaspora who exited China in 1949 (or shortly thereafter) when the Communists swept over the mainland. Having settling in northern Thailand’s Golden Triangle around 1964, these Yunnan Chinese established viable communities in the mountains drawing on traditional cultural knowledge about hill farming and diverse crops, as well as extensive ethnic networks based on their multi-layered Chinese identity. By focusing on production of cash crops such as lychees, tangerines, ginger root, and bamboo shoots, they developed a sustainable rural livelihood that can be described as environmentally friendly, economically profitable, and socio-culturally self-renewing. This study examines issues related to sustainable agriculture or livelihoods and the ambiguous meanings of ＂development.＂ My ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in Banmai Nongbua Village, Chaiprakarn Ampore, Chiang Mai Province in December 2002 and in the summers of 2003, 2004, and 2005.
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