Coca-Cola Supports "Monkey Cheeks" Water Facilities in Northeast Thailand

February 5, 2008

When monkeys eat, they fill up their cheeks with excess food as temporary storage. This habit gave rise to the term "Monkey Cheeks," a community water storage concept championed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej and supported by The Coca-Cola Foundation Thailand.

A formal ceremony took place on November 22, in which the Project was handed over to residents in a rural area of Buriram Province, Northeastern Thailand. The Project was conducted this year in honor of the auspicious occasion of the 80th birthday anniversary of HM The King of Thailand. 150 associates from the Coca-Cola bottling plant in nearby Korat volunteered that day to plant trees and special vetiver grass along the banks of the irrigation channel. The roots of the vetiver grass help keep the soil along the riverbank moist and prevent soil erosion, so that the irrigation channels will remain sturdy and the water will not be polluted.

Through the Monkey Cheeks Project, new water storage facilities, water filtration treatments, piping systems and distribution canals have been built in the Chumsang sub-district and Nongbot sub-district of Buriram. A total of seven Monkey Cheeks water storage facilities have been installed, with a combined capacity of 65,700 cubic meters. Together, they are providing a long-term supply of clean water to over 500 households in the area.

Like many rural villages in Northeastern Thailand, Chumsang sub-district and Nongbot sub-district have suffered from water shortages and a lack of clean drinking water. The new Monkey Cheeks water retention devices now provide the villagers with a clean and sustainable water supply for agricultural and domestic use. The Monkey Cheeks, or gaemlings as they are called in Thai, also serve as a form of flood protection.

Besides the water storage facilities, The Coca-Cola Foundation Thailand has also helped to equip the local community with a GPS and satellite image mapping system that enables village members to view, plan and manage their water resources in an integrated and sustainable manner.