There is not a single person in Thailand that never sees children selling flowers and garlands on the road. Many have to go out selling all day and only come back if they sell out.
We had the chance to meet and have a conversation with the garland sellers in 5 Watcharapol Intersections. One thing that I noticed is that these are family businesses. The adults usually are the ones who convert the flowers into beautiful garlands as they are equipped with experiences. The kids would be the ones who walk around the area to sell. Because Thailand’s weather is super hot, not only would it be hot for the kids but also the flowers would not be able to resist it. The heat from the sun evaporates the moisture from the flowers. As a result, the flowers would look less appealing for the buyers to buy.
Therefore, we have suggested a lean production or JUST IN TIME method in which one person will be at the home base making garland while another will go out selling. We reduce the distance and the quantity of the garland the sellers have to walk and hold. If they sell out, they must come back to refill their supply. The adults promised us that they will try this method some day and reach back to us about the results.
A week later, we got a call from one of the families that we went and taught this manufacturing technique; they told us that they could sell more garlands than before as it seemed like the products were more attractive to the buyers and they will keep doing so to also find the ideal numbers of garlands they should make for each round.
