Press Release

The King and the Cloud – the story behind the Royal Rainmaking Project

Suvat Chirapant

Droughts have always prevailed in the plateau of Isan, the Thai nickname for the northeastern region of Thailand, where almost half of its population are farmers. Dependent on rainfall to sustain their crops, farmers would traditionally gather at the beginning of the wet season to shoot homemade Bang Fai rockets to the sky to ask the weather god to release the monsoon upon the earth. According to folklore, the higher and louder the rockets blast into the sky, the better. The deity will likely be more pleased with the offering and allow plentiful rainfall for the season’s harvest.

On 14 November 1955, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great travelled through the dried-up Isan region during a royal visit. The then 28-year-old monarch noted the effects of water deficiency in the area, which caused low crop yields and subsequently, the people to suffer from chronic poverty and malnutrition. When the young King looked up to the sky in hope of finding a solution, he noticed that the weather was cloudy, yet it did not result into precipitation. As every cloud has a silver lining, literally, King Bhumibol found one while watching the clouds - an idea of how to draw droplets from the clouds onto the farmlands.

“The idea of artificial rain came to me since 1955 when I visited Isan during the month of November. It was cloudy, yet the drought still persisted. So I had two ideas in mind. First was to build check dams, and second was how to bring the water from the clouds. Then I recalled that I had heard about rain-making before. Later, I mentioned it to Mom Rajawongse Debariddhi [an expert in agricultural engineering] that I have read from the books that it is possible to make artificial rain.” - (His Majesty King Bhumibol, interview with public officers from the Office of the Royal Development Project Board, 17 March 1986)

Having shown keen interest in science from a young age, the King was equipped with knowledge on technological research from his enrolment at the Faculty of Science at the University of Lausanne. After 14 years of research on meteorology and weather modification, the first experiment in making artificial rain was attempted on 1 July 1969. It was quite a remarkable success. After the fleet of aircraft had distributed dry-ice flakes over the top of the clouds, it started to rain within 15 minutes. This operation marked the dawn of what is now acknowledged by Thais as “The Royal Rainmaking Project”.

Since then, the project has gone through a series of transformations to perfect the artificial rainmaking process. His Majesty King Bhumibol recognized that a sufficient amount of moisture is crucial for rainmaking to be successful. Therefore, a new chemical formula was invented to maximise the humidity level for different types of clouds. The current technique of rainmaking now involves three processes. First, “agitating”, or to activate cloud formation by using salt and other chemical substances to accumulate humidity. Second, “fattening,” or to stimulate the accumulation of droplets in the cloud by scattering calcium chloride, and lastly “attacking,” to initiate rainfall from the heavy clouds by adding a mixture of salt and urea.

The project later manifested into the establishment of the Bureau of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation in 1992 under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. The rainmaking technique, however, is exclusive to Thailand. In 2001, King Bhumibol received recognition for the Royal Rainmaking Project from the EUREKA organization “for an invention that is beneficial to the world.” In 2003, King Bhumibol was granted a patent for weather modification from the European Patent Office. Ever since the invention caught the attention of the international community, many countries have sought cooperation with Thailand to apply this know-how in addressing their own drought problems. Jordan, for instance, was granted the use of the rainmaking technique in 2009, through an MOU for training and technology transfer. Other countries who have sought cooperation include Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Australia, and the Philippines. In Thailand, 14 November is now celebrated as “Father of Royal Rainmaking Day” to commemorate the day that inspired this invaluable initiative that has benefitted many countries around the world.

Even 50 years since the birth of the Royal Rainmaking Project, the operation still remains very much active today. There is no need to rely on weather gods, when citizens can submit a request for rain where needed, and rain shall be granted. The project enables Thai farmers to harvest without disruption, and to fill hydroelectric dams to help fulfill the increasing demand for electricity.

In 2013, the Bureau of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation was upgraded to become the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation due to the significance of its mission and expanded responsibilities. In 2019, the Department conducted 1,673 rainmaking operations across the country. Almost 89 percent of the flights were successful, producing rainfall over 63 million hectares of forest, agricultural area, and reservoirs. The downpour of rain has increased the amount of water reserves by 2,595 million cubic metres. Still, the demand of artificial rain is expected to rise due to air pollution problems and the effects of global warming, and the Department is now exploring the use of rockets to help scatter the rainmaking substance over the cloud.

Today, under the guidance of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the legacy of the Royal Rainmaking Project continues to live on. Following in his father’s footsteps, King Vajiralongkorn has also initiated various irrigation projects to address drought, such as the construction of six reservoirs in the western province of Ratchaburi, and the development of canal systems, check dams, and levees to assist farmers in the deep south of Thailand. This is one of the many testimonies of the vision, continued dedication, perseverance, and ingenuity of the monarchs in the Chakri Dynasty watching over the Thai people and the country.

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Mr. Suvat Chirapant is currently the Deputy Secretary General and Advisor on Foreign Affairs of the Office of Chaipattana Foundation. Prior to working with the Chaipattana Foundation, Mr. Chirapant had been a career diplomat until 2017. He served the Thai Foreign Ministry in key positions, including Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ambassador of Thailand to Qatar, Mexico, Permanent Representative and Ambassador to ASEAN, and Ambassador of Thailand to Turkey.

The Princess of Humanity

When a young lady named Sangwan Talapat arrived in the United States of America in the summer of 1917, she would not have imagined that her life would change forever, and that she was about to embark upon a journey of a life time. Born a commoner, she eventually married a prince and became the mother of two kings and a princess. She would touch the lives of countless people, and become an inspiration to them all.

Officially, she is Her Royal Highness Princess Srinagarindra, the Princess Mother of King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great. The title was bestowed in 1970 but most Thais still prefer to call her Somdet Ya or “Princess Grand ma,” an address that rightfully reflects the deep affection and respect she has earned from the Thai people.

The Princess was an exemplary model of a dutiful mother, a lifelong learner and a dedicated working woman who never once let time pass idly by. She was a shining case in point of a woman empowered by education, which was a rare case in the first decades of the 20thcentury when only a few Siamese girls attended school. Yet, despite her status of a princess, she led a simple, humble and down-to-earth life until her very last day. That is why the people’s sentiment towards her is a warm and caring bond, as if she were their own beloved grandmother.

A competent single mother

Due to the untimely death of her husband, Prince Mahidol of Songkhla, in 1929, she abruptly became a single mother of three at the tender age of 29. The Princess moved to Lausanne, Switzerland to raise her three young children. During her stay there, she lived in an unassuming apartment, did the grocery shopping herself and was known by her neighbours as Madame Mahidol rather than as a princess.

A Thai proverb that underlines the influence of mothers on their children states that ‘a good elephant is detectable from its tail and a good lady is identifiable from her mother.’ In the case of the Princess, her thoughtful ways of raising her daughter and two sons have shaped all of them into capable, responsible and caring adults who have followed in the footsteps of their parents, finding immense joy in helping people in need.

Her daughter, the late Princess Galyani Vadhana, recalled that the Princess Mother always taught and retained her children to be punctual, frugal and polite. This had not changed even after her eldest son became King Ananda Mahidol at the age of nine in 1935.

An avid student and an active initiator for change

The Princess was an enthusiastic lifelong learner and a working woman in every sense of the word. She received a scholarship to study nursing in the United States of America where she met her future husband. She took courses at Simmons College in Boston while Prince Mahidol of Songkhla attended public health courses at Harvard University. The interest of the Mahidol couple in these fields would later prove that it was a boon for the development of modern medicine and public health in Thailand.

In 1974, the Princess established the Princess Mother’s Medical Volunteer Foundation (PMMVF) to dispatch volunteer medical teams to offer treatment to people in remote areas. Thailand back then was a second-tier developing country faced with security challenges in various forms, such as internal unrest, poverty and public health. Therefore, the efforts of the Princess not only elevated community spirit but also complemented the government’s work in uplifting public welfare.

The Princess would frequently travel with the medical team to every remote corner of the country, often accompanied by her daughter. Hill tribe people were familiar with the sound of her helicopter and referred to her as Mae Fah Luang or Princess from the Sky. The PMMVF has matured over the years with a wide range of projects, including mobile dentistry, eye surgery, and assistance to disabled persons.

Lausanne had been the Princess’s second home for over 50 years. She decided to reside in Thailand permanently when she was almost 90 years old. Doi Tung in northern Chiang Rai was chosen as the location for her ‘first home’ in her motherland not because of its breathtaking scenery but for the crisis it was suffering. The Princess had visited Doi Tung before and experienced first-hand that the mountains were severely deforested. She vowed to turn this place into lush greenery once again. “I will reforest Doi Tung,” so she said.

That was how the Mae Fah Luang Foundation, which started in 1972 as the Thai Hill Crafts Foundation, became involved in the development of Doi Tung. It was well known internationally for its mission to elevate the quality of life for locals and to help them achieve sustainable livelihoods. The Foundation is recognised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for its successful and unique modalities that have helped rural communities eradicate poppy cultivation, empowering them with a community-centred participatory approach. The Foundation has since shared its experiences with other countries and expanded its development collaboration projects with Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Indonesia.

Three decades after, Doi Tung has been restored to its pristine natural condition with villagers enjoying a sustainable income from alternative crops supported by the Foundation, such as coffee and macadamia nuts. The Foundation also helps villagers to market their handicraft products by supplying them to international brands such as Ikea.

The legacy continues

The Princess passed away in 1995 just three months before she would turn 95. The Princess from the Sky has returned to where she belongs. But her commitment to community service still lives on in the spirit of every medical volunteer of the Princess Mother’s Medical Volunteer Foundation. Her love for nature and compassion for the marginalised also remain a magical source of inspiration in Doi Tung and beyond.

The Princess Srinagarindra Award

In 2000, on the centenary of her birth year, UNESCO honoured the Princess as a “great personality in public service in the fields of education, applied science, and human, social, and environmental development.” On the same occasion, the Princess Srinagarindra Award was established and conferred on persons with outstanding achievements in nursing and social services.