Guidelines for Value-Added Creation of Toddy Palm Salted Egg as a Tourism Product of Iodine Herb Salted Egg Community Enterprise, Suphanburi Province

Abstract

The Iodine Salted Egg Community Enterprise, Ton Tan subdistrict, Song Phi Nong district, Suphanburi province, had encountered a problem of linking their products to souvenirs for local tourism because it was a common product that lacked the representation of local identity. Thus, the objective of this research was to develop the guidelines for adding value to the iodine salted egg to suit tourism purposes and promote the local identity. Participatory research and development approach was pursued with the members of the community enterprise, community leaders, conservational, and community tourism networks. The process was jointly conducted in the three following steps: 1) to develop the guidelines to create value for the herbal salted eggs with iodine and promote the local identity tourism product, 2) to test the market for the tourism product that promotes local identity and to assess the satisfaction of its consumers, 3) to conduct an after-action review from the community participation process. The result of development revealed that the community enterprise’s sales increased by an average of 23,131 baht per month (62.30%), while sales volumes in all products increased by 723 units per month (59.12%) and generated a total net profit of 7,604 baht per month (82.62%). The community has learned the process of creating value and connecting to tourism activities that lead to a concrete scheme for local toddy palm conservation.