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In the anthropology of development, the contributions of poststructuralist theory have been marred by tendencies toward discursive determinism and an inadequate theorizing of agency. The life history approach is a strategy for probing the cultural politics of development in a way that better addresses the reality of development actors. Development does not just determine what counts as knowledge or truth, but also opens opportunities for individual cultural experiments. Richard Fox's concept of the "cultured life" is here used to explore the various cultural and political entanglements in the life of a northern Thai farmer who has helped pioneer a new form of agricultural development in Thailand. (Development, life history, NGOs, agency, Thailand). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a successful political protest in a village in northwestern Thailand and the community's tree ordination to further protect its forest from development. The protest and tree ordination are signs of the increasingly complex relationships that are changing the community's relative political, religious, and economic autonomy and tying different actors in the community into the wider political framework in ways that were not possible before. (Political protest, tree ordination, Thailand, political ritual, Shan) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates Thai monk Phrakhru Pitak Nanthakhun's use of tree ordination to build villagers' commitment to his ecology projects in Nan Province, Thailand. Relationship between Buddhism and ecology; Deforestation in Thailand; Social significance of `ecology monks'; Historical background to Phrakhru Pitak's endeavor; Tree ordination ceremony; Morality of environmentalism.