ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the part three of this book. The part deals with the cultural background behind the economic choices of the Karen. It describes the outlook of the Karen, the way they view the world outside their village cluster and the opportunities available there, as well as the influence individuals can have on the economic choices of others. Indigeny induces the Karen to be relatively risk-averse towards what comes from outside the village cluster, and prompts them to reject cash crops if traders do not sell the inputs on credit and promise to come and buy the harvest. The part describes the participatory land use planning approach employed by the Thai-German Highland Development Programme in Mae Hong Son Province, and elaborates possibilities to integrate it into a simplified Geographic Information System.
