Suree, a farmer turned environmentalist and social entrepreneur, leads the ninth UN Women Women’s Empowerment and Learning Centre (WE Centre) in Mai Rut subdistrict, Khlong Yai District, 400 km south-east of Bangkok.
Her mission is practical: increase income, reduce expenses and protect the environment that sustains local livelihoods.
“Our centre is different because we focus on nature and the environment,” she explains. “About 80 per cent of people here live a fishing way of life. So nature and the environment are essential to the work of this centre.”
Climate change is something Suree has watched unfold over decades: “The sea level keeps rising natural disasters are happening more. Before, storms came in a pattern. Now it’s not like that. A storm can come and the roof is gone.”
Small-scale fishers are among the most affected. Many families live along canals close to the coast, making both homes and livelihoods highly exposed. Warmer seas make it harder for marine life to reproduce. And mangrove forests, where many species begin their life cycles before moving into deeper waters, are under pressure.
“Our fishers are vulnerable,” Suree says. “Their housing and their livelihoods are fragile. When the sea warms, it affects breeding and it affects the catch.”
A women-led hub for solutions
The WE Centre is a space for women to meet regularly, learn new skills and build solidarity.
“The centre helps women come together,” Suree says. “We meet often, we become united and when there are problems, we can discuss and agree on solutions.”
Over time, women’s participation has brought societal change, reshaping household dynamics.
“In the past, men went to sea and women stayed home,” she reflects. “Now women have additional work and income. When women earn, it builds leadership. Women who used to stay at home now come out, become confident and become leaders. Then men follow and join environmental activities too.”
From marine litter to a circular economy
Suree’s approach connects livelihoods with environmental stewardship, starting with waste.
“If you set the goal to collect and sell, you only think about price,” Suree explains. “But if you change the goal to managing waste, you stop focusing on price.”
At the centre, waste is sorted by type and cleaned, especially when collected from the shoreline. The materials are then transformed into practical products that create income while reducing pollution.
Activities include weaving handbags from washed coffee sachets, making pots and other items from discarded foam packaging, producing diesel fuel from certain plastic bags and creating blocks and small household items such as cup coasters. The centre also experiments with difficult-to-recycle plastics, such as shiny snack wrappers, which are processed and repurposed into furniture, including chairs.
A voice from the community: Ratree Butthanu
Ratree Butthanu, 56, makes handbags through the community enterprise group while her husband goes to sea.
“It is enough to pay the water and electricity bills, about 2,000 to 3,000 baht ($ 80 – $ 95) per month. It helps us manage,” says Ratree. “When my husband goes to sea, anything can happen.”
With fishing bringing in around 6,000 ($ 200) baht per month, her handbag-making has become a stabilizing force over the past two years. Her husband actively supports the work, even helping wash and cut the sachets.
“Since I started, our family is happier,” Ratree adds. “We have income coming in, and I can support my husband and my family.”
A vision for six villages, led by women
Suree’s long-term ambition is to expand to all six villages in Mai Rut subdistrict: “I want waste management and women’s leadership to grow.”
“In a community facing rising seas and growing environmental threats, Suree’s work shows what local climate action can look like: practical, inclusive and led by women, turning daily waste into a pathway for income, resilience and cleaner seas,” says Naruedee Janthasing, UN Women Programme Analyst.
