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#IndigenousPeoples ⚠️ What’s Happening to Tai Dam people in Thailand? 🚨 Find out Why We Need to #SaveTaiDam from Unfair Land Eviction! Eviction?

  • Writer: Manushya Foundation
    Manushya Foundation
  • Apr 25
  • 2 min read

The Tai Dam people, known for their black indigo-dyed clothing and rich traditions, have lived and farmed in the Tapi River Basin since 1953. But today, they are fighting for their very right to stay.


In 1986, the Thai government wrongly declared over 4,000 rai of their farmland as public land. More flawed documents followed in 2004 and 2005. In March 2025, 135 families were given 30 days to leave.

Even after protests and a temporary pause on evictions, their land rights remain unprotected.


“This is more than a land dispute. It’s a fight for cultural survival and justice.”


The Tai Dam people are demanding the Thai government:


📄 Revoke the wrongful N.S.L. now: These mistakes from 1986, 2004, and 2005 must be fixed to give back to communities.


🏠 Stop evictions: End the unlawful displacement of 135 families and hold local officials accountable.


🗺️ Transparent Land Survey: Conduct a fair re-survey to confirm historical land use, as promised in 2023. 


🧑‍🌾 Respect the rights of ethnic groups across Thailand: Protect their culture and make sure they can keep their community land.


✊As Decolonial and Intersectional Feminists, we at Manushya Foundation support local communities - rural, ethnic and indigenous people - whose lands are being grabbed either by governments or corporations. Lands belong to the people!


#WeAreManushyan ♾ Equal Human Beings


✊ Manushya Foundation stands in full solidarity with the Tai Dam people of the Tapi River Basin. We support their rightful demands to reclaim over 1,300 rai of farmland and to protect their cultural identity, which has flourished on these lands for more than seven decades. We are committed to amplifying their voices and will continue advocating for justice at both national and international levels.


✊ We strongly condemn the Thai government's failure to protect the Tai Dam peoples’ land rights and cultural survival, caused by bureaucratic errors and systemic neglect. Thailand must uphold its human rights obligations, respect ethnic group heritage, and act now to return the land that rightfully belongs to the Tai Dam people.



 
 
 
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