In southern Thailand, across the provinces of Surat Thani, Krabi, and Nakhon Si Thammarat, landless farmers have organized to reclaim land once controlled by palm oil companies and absentee landlords. Decades of plantation expansion replaced diverse forests and community farmland with monocropped rows of oil palm. When land concessions expired and companies refused to leave, rural families — many without secure access to land — began occupying and restoring the territory collectively.

Out of this struggle, the Southern Peasants Federation of Thailand (SPFT) was formed. What began as a fight for land access evolved into a broader movement for land reform, community self-determination, and agroecology. Members organized cooperatives, established community land titles, and rebuilt degraded soil through collective farming. Women have played a central role in shaping the federation’s political education, food systems, and long-term vision for shared stewardship.

The struggle has not come without risk. SPFT members have faced intimidation, legal battles, and violence for challenging entrenched land interests. Yet communities continue to cultivate oil palm, vegetables, and fruit trees side by side — transforming contested plantations into living examples of what equitable land distribution can look like. Through collective governance structures, they make decisions together about land use, production, and mutual care.

Today, SPFT stands as part of a wider movement in Thailand advocating for land justice and agrarian reform. Their work is not only about reclaiming territory, but about reimagining it: restoring ecological balance, strengthening rural livelihoods, and building systems rooted in solidarity rather than extraction.