Mae Fah Luang Foundation

The Mae Fah Luang Foundation (Thai: มูลนิธิแม่ฟ้าหลวง; RTGS: munnithi mae fa luang) (MFLF) is a private, non‐profit organization established to improve the quality of life of people in poverty and deprived of opportunities. It manages numerous projects in Thailand as well as other countries in Asia. The foundation's mission focuses on three main areas: “improving social and economic development, preserving the environment, and supporting local art and culture.”

In 1972, Her Royal Highness Princess Srinagarindra (Princess Mother), grandmother of the present King of Thailand, Vajiralongkorn, founded the Hill Crafts Foundation to offer market access for craft-making villages in the northern highlands. It was renamed the Mae Fah Luang Foundation in 1985, after the name given to the princess mother by the ethnic minorities, 'royal mother from the sky'. The new name indicated the growing scope of social development efforts the foundation was assuming based on the ideas and philosophy of the princess mother.

In 1988, the MFLF initiated its flagship project, the Doi Tung Development Project, on Doi Tung in Chiang Rai, with the goal of providing people with sustainable livelihoods. The MFLF developed the Sustainable Alternative Livelihood Development (SALD) model, which emphasizes understanding the needs of the local people and their socio-geographical realities, as well as integration and involvement of all levels. This model has been replicated in its projects in Thailand, Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Indonesia.