Soil Stay
It works like Airbnb, but farmers book their stay with a jar of their own soil
The translation and summary on this page were generated with AI. Some expressions or proper nouns may be translated inaccurately, so please check the English original for the precise content.
AI Translation Summary
Nearly 40% of Thailand's 13 million farmers don't really understand the soil under their feet, so they farm on habit. Tra Mongkut Fertilizer, which spent a decade building one of the country's largest soil databases, turned that data into a farm-stay program. Farmers send in a soil sample, get matched to a top-performing farm with the very same soil type, and stay there in the off-season to learn hands-on. Over 10,000 signed up, with model farms showing up to a 57% jump in yield.
Cultural Context
'Rai' is a Thai unit of land (about 1,600 m²) and THB is the Thai baht. The program borrows Airbnb's idea of matching a guest to the right 'host' — here the match is based on soil type rather than location.
Entry Information
Summary
Soil Stay is a first-of-its-kind B2B farm-stay program by Tra Mongkut Fertilizer, helping Thai farmers re-learn farming through understanding their soil. With over 13 million people in agriculture but nearly 40% lacking soil knowledge, and more than 300 soil types nationwide, many farmers rely on habitual methods. For over 10 years, the brand has built one of Thailand’s largest soil databases and model farms to test soil-specific practices. Soil Stay transforms this knowledge into real experience. Inspired by Airbnb, farmers join by submitting soil samples and are matched with high-performing farms with similar soil. During off-season stays, they learn through hands-on practice. Launched nationwide and featured at Thailand Sustainability Expo 2025, the program enrolled over 10,000 farmers
Strategy
The strategy is based on a simple insight: farmers trust what they see on real land more than what they hear in training. Seeing results on soil like their own builds true understanding. Tra Mongkut transformed its soil database from an R&D tool into a national matching platform, connecting farmers to model farms with similar soil types. By learning through real experience, farmers gain practical knowledge to manage their land more effectively. Soil Stay improves income through better decisions, enables more precise fertilizer use, and supports long-term soil health. At the same time, farmer data enriches a growing national soil database, strengthening sustainable farming. Education becomes experience, data becomes action, and farming moves toward sustainability.
Execution
Soil Stay was executed by opening Tra Mongkut’s research farms nationwide. Tra Mongkut collected soil samples from farmers, which were analyzed to identify soil type and matched to a model farm with proven performance. During their stay, farmers rested, observed, and learned through real farming practices tailored to their soil conditions. Learning took place directly in the fields, supported by agronomists and existing farm systems. After returning home, farmers applied the soil-specific methods to their own land. The program scaled across regions, adapting to different soil conditions while maintaining a consistent learning experience rooted in real results.
Results
- Over 10,000 farmers enrolled nationwide in the first phase - 57% yield improvement observed within one cultivation cycle (Typical farming ~450 kg/rai at harvest moisture vs Soil Stay model farm 710 kg/rai) - Improved output quality, with 79.47% filled grain and a reduced empty grain ratio (Typical filled grain ~65–70% vs Soil Stay model farm 79.47% filled grain) - Up to 3x higher profit per rai compared to previous farming approaches (Typical net profit ~1,500–2,000 THB/rai vs Soil Stay model farm ~4,500–5,000 THB/rai)