Transferring knowledge on innovation in herbal oil spray production
to the community in Song Salueng Subdistrict, Klaeng District, Rayong Province Project
Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Burapha University is an organization whose vision and mission are to be a source of knowledge and a refuge for the science of wellness for the community, aiming to develop the community to be self-reliant and sustainable. Activities in this project support understanding community needs through surveys. This process will find additional problems or health needs in the community and can lead to further developments. Transferring knowledge on innovative herbal oil spray production to the community project based on the community enterprise in Nong Sam Sam Subdistrict, Ban Bueng District, Chonburi Province, there is a need to change the balm products to be a product that has a contemporary design and is more convenient to use. Observations of the production process of community enterprises revealed problems. The project administrators have used scientific and Thai traditional medicine knowledge to improve the process and developed a new formula for a herbal oil spray product for use in relieving muscle pain.
This knowledge transfer activity was held at the Song Salueng Subdistrict, Klaeng District, Rayong Province, a community that is mainly in agriculture and close to famous tourist attractions in Rayong Province. But people in the Song Salueng subdistrict community were considered a population group with a lower average income compared to communities in other subdistricts in Rayong Province. The project leader’s visits to the Song Salung Subdistrict community for three years found that the Song Salueng Subdistrict community is a community that has the potential to expand in business. In addition, people in the area have also established a natural farming center to be a learning center and provide agricultural information. In addition to being a source of income for the community within the natural farming center, 75 medicinal plants are cultivated. When the harvest season arrives, the medicinal ingredients are harvested and sold, but the medicinal plants are unable to sell all those fresh medicinal plants. As a result, many parts of the medicinal plants were spoiled, causing a loss of income.
This project began with an in-depth community survey to collect information on needs and medicinal plants commonly found or grown in the community to improve products suitable for the community. Then transfer knowledge on producing herbal oil sprays to the community, which are produced from medicinal plants available in the natural farming center. In order to solve the problem of being unable to sell all fresh medicinal plants, it increases the value of herbs by changing from the community normally selling just fresh medicinal plants to processing them into products that the community can produce themselves. The knowledge that is transferred to the community begins with the selection of raw materials, medicinal plant extraction methods, and the use of pharmaceutical techniques such as mixing and measuring.
The knowledge transferred at this time can be applied to other products that the community may produce in the future. These are considered to promote sustainable development and learning in the community. Knowledge from the innovations that were transferred can be used in business and careers, extending it to solving various problems in the daily lives of the community.
Project Leader: Assistant Professor Marut Tangwattanachuleeporn, Faculty of Allied Health Science