Page 317 - Social Enterprise A New Business Paradigm for Thailand

Café Can Do
Café Can Do is a coffee shop inspired by the Hill Station concept in the United Kingdom.
Designed to serve as a central hub for community members, it offers a space for shared

activities such as training sessions and recipe exchanges. The project began as an initiative by a
group of community development volunteers and received support from the Thai Health
Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth). It was envisioned as a venue where volunteers could
gather, exchange knowledge, share ideas, and collaborate on community development efforts.

Established in 2012 in Soi Pracha Uthit 47, the café initially operated during the evening hours.
It quickly became a meeting point for volunteers committed to addressing local issues by
leveraging their own resources and capabilities. The café also functioned as a data hub,
collecting community information to help identify relevant policy concerns, and worked in
partnership with other volunteer networks to mobilize support for grassroots problem-solving.

With its warm and welcoming atmosphere, this small café evolved into a sustainable “happiness

volunteer center” in the form of a community café. Over time, it became a focal point for
weekend volunteer-led activities such as smartphone workshops for seniors, yarn weaving,
board games, and more. Offline activities were also linked with online volunteer networks
through a dedicated Facebook page and website, turning the café into a hub that fostered close-
knit, family-style community bonds, and one that proved financially self-sustaining.

10.4 Summary

Today, a growing number of entrepreneurs and businesses have shown interest in engaging in

socially driven activities aimed at supporting farmers, whether through business enterprises or
social enterprises. This includes publicly listed companies and other firms that adopt CSR
strategies or social enterprise models to implement projects across the coffee supply chain,
particularly at the downstream level. These initiatives seek to create employment and generate
income for upstream farming communities, promote fairness in coffee trade practices, and
contribute to forest conservation. A central goal is to foster a sense of value that flows from
downstream consumers back to the upstream producers. Additionally, by offering coffee that is
free from chemical contaminants, these efforts also benefit the broader public. As coffee shops
have the potential to employ vulnerable groups such as the elderly and the hearing impaired,

social enterprises are increasingly playing a meaningful role within the coffee industry.

A study of the motivations behind social enterprises in Thailand’s coffee industry found that
nearly all coffee-related social enterprises operate in the downstream segment, focusing on
roasted coffee and coffee beverages. These enterprises pursue a range of social and
environmental goals, such as supporting farmers, conserving and restoring forests, and creating
jobs and income for highland communities and vulnerable groups, including the elderly and
persons with disabilities. Despite differences in their social missions, they share a common

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