Lee Ayu Chuepa is the founder of Akha Ama Coffee, a social enterprise based in the remote Akha Tribal Village in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Lee’s company has transformed his rural village from one of the least educated in Thailand, to one of the most educated in the area. Lee counts restauranteur Andy Ricker and Stumptown Coffee founder Duane Sorenson as his mentors.
Which three books would you recommend?
Jonathan Livingston SeagullRichard Bach
I would like to recommend to young people who are looking for dreams or those who found their dreams , but struggling to make it happens. The reason to recommend this book is because every journey you make there is a mark to remember and every curve of experience you involve could shape the future as well. I found the story of seagull is very powerful to encourage myself not to limit my life journey and always dare to dream even-though there are challenges.
The One-Straw RevolutionMasanobu Fukuoka
I would like to recommend this book to entrepreneurs, especially those in agriculture. Fukuoka was a true agriculturalist who demonstrated, through his experiments, how sustainable farming practices can preserve biodiversity and nature. I believe this book can help entrepreneurs think about how their actions or careers can contribute to sustaining the beauty of the earth while harvesting responsibly. It also influenced my journey in social entrepreneurship, guiding me in developing diverse plans and strategies to navigate challenges—such as landscape planning in coffee plantations, integrating native shady trees to foster biodiversity, and practicing agroforestry.
The End of the LineCharles Clover
This book is quite fascinating! I was born in the village on the mount and had little experiences around ocean. I do really enjoy how important to think about life under the ocean and not just what we could see on the land. I found how meaningful to consume sustainable harvested fishes or seafoods. There are deforestation, chemical usage and monoculture on the land, while in the ocean have over fishing, commercial interest, unsustainable fishing or even using advance technology that exploited beyond to regenerate.
Whose reading list are you most curious about?
I'm curious about the books of Dr. Muhammad Yunus.