The RSF team decided to pick up this story, not because researching on Google showed this bearing the word “Keeta,” which you know is a delivery platform, but also because this story has got something delivery-related.
The subject is Khun Keeta from Thailand, sharing the name with the app, who is the art teacher and artist behind the “Icons of Hope” shirt collection. The United Nations published its press release, and RSF is echoing it here. Take a look.
According to the United Nations Development Programme’s recent story, Icons of Hope is its collaboration with Yuedpao, a Thai clothing brand.
Similar to the iconic shirt designs you are familiar with in the West, these shirts celebrate Thailand’s most revered species through art, illustrated by Khun Keeta.
But, long before these shirt designs, his story started in the Sam Roi Yot wetlands.
Sam Roi Yot wetlands
Location: Sam Roi Yot wetlands. This scenic destination in Thailand is known for its rich birdlife and breathtaking landscapes. For Khun Keeta, who is also referred to as Paisan Khamhom, the wetlands are his home, classroom, and life-long source of inspiration.
"My home is right next to the Sam Roi Yot wetlands. I grew up here, seeing the marshes and the mountains every day, until I could remember every detail of this landscape,” he told RSF through the United Nations.
Khun Keeta is a visual arts teacher, freelance artist, and President of the Dek Rak Thung Community Enterprise for Ecotourism. He grew up in Sam Roi Yot District, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, where wetlands, mountains, and wildlife sculpted the backdrop of his childhood. It makes sense since Keeta is also an Asian brand.
He shared how he learned making visual arts in school, saying, “Sam Roi Yot has always been like my notebook. The landscape would slowly deteriorate, but after just a short rainfall, the trees would turn green again overnight. It made me realize that if this place continues to have rain, water, and natural resources following their proper seasons, it can continue to sustain all of us.”
Get this shirt delivered to you
Did you know you can purchase this shirt online via the official website of the UN Development Programme, and get it delivered to you? That’s right. The link is here.
The profits from this crowdfunding shirt will be allotted to support community-led conservation initiatives through the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme at the Development Programme, helping protect ecosystems, conserve threatened species, and strengthen sustainable livelihoods across Thailand.
Designs, revealed!
You may watch the official ad campaign for this shirt available for delivery here on YouTube.
It features designs of forests, the Indo-Chinese tiger, the great hornbill, the wetlands, fishing cat, purple swamphen, lotus, the marine, dugong, and green sea turtle. For more delivery stories, keep it locked right here on RSF, your newsroom for ridesharing, coupons, food deliveries, business, people, and more!