Thai social platform helps small eateries survive COVID-19 crisis
04 September, 2021
The sound of a metal spatula against a wok was a familiar greeting to visitors at a small eatery on Samran Rat road.
Aromatic smoke, sometimes with a spicy note of chillies, and the sizzling of food over hot flames used to fill its little unpretentious space on the ground floor of an old shophouse.
For five decades, its occupants - three sisters now in their 60s and 70s - have cooked and served an array of local dishes to generations of customers. Their eatery Three Aunties’ is one of many in Bangkok’s historic neighbourhood known as Pratu Pee or ‘Ghost Gate’ among Thais.
Once an exit way for dead bodies from Bangkok’s old city, the area is home to numerous street-food legends, whose culinary fame and mouthwatering dishes such as Phad Thai noodles and Ba Chang sticky rice dumplings had long attracted throngs of foodies.
Today, the neighbourhood is unusually quiet. COVID-19 and various lockdown measures have dealt a heavy blow to the restaurants. People stay at home to avoid infections and many have less spending power than before. With hardly any walk-in customers for more than a year, small eateries are struggling to survive.
“We used to make 3,000 to 4,000 baht (US$92 to US$122) per day but right now, we can barely make 1,000 baht,” said 68-year-old Wilailak Thanakitwibul from Three Aunties’.
Scant income has caused the siblings to slip into debt and dejection. They owe their landlord two months’ rent and have to live sparingly to get by.
Knowing they may not have any customers, the three sisters have no choice but to open their eatery every day and hope for the best.
“We can’t stop because the rent is more than 500 baht per day,” Wilailak said. “It’s so exhausting to earn some money these days.
Still, there have been some lucky days with hundreds of orders, thanks to a community-driven platform called Locall.
According to its co-founder Peangploy Jitpiyatham, Locall is a by-product of the pandemic, formed in April last year by a civil society network named SATARANA. Its digital platform allows customers to place orders for select restaurants and cafes in different neighbourhoods, focusing on small and elderly sellers with no access to online delivery services.
They also engage unemployed community members who wish to deliver food from local sellers to customers.
Locall's food delivery function exists within the Line messenger app. Orders must be placed two days in advance to allow participating eateries enough time to prepare them.
They are processed by Locall’s staff, who then proceed to inform each food seller of what they need to cook, how much is required and when it has to be ready for collection.
“Working with uncles and aunties has to be mostly non-digital because they lack the devices,” Peangploy said. Many of them have to be reached by phone, she added, and explanation can take time.
At a glance, Locall may seem like one of many food delivery platforms in Thailand which have grown exponentially since public movement became restricted due to the pandemic.
But at its core, it functions as a social mechanism that connects and strengthens communities through inclusive businesses, with an aim to create economic opportunities for small people who would otherwise be left behind in the COVID-19 crisis.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com