Scar tissue: Snail slime saves the day
Mucus from Achatina Fulica is the next big thing in cosmetics, and struggling farmers in Nakhon Nayok are cashing in, writes Aree Thongboonrawd
Giant snails previously spurned as pests that ruined crops are now being bred for their precious slime, which provides farmers with economic security, helps generate jobs and raises awareness about the benefits of going green.
The snails are traditionally picked from rice fields and disposed of as waste. However, that practice is now being upended after the snails have proven to be a commercial goldmine in the cosmetics business.
Snail slime has been scientifically proven to be a core ingredient in producing a variety of cosmetics products as it allegedly contains chemicals that can help heal scars, regenerate skin cells and even brighten the skin.
Nakhon Nayok has long been troubled by the rapid spread of giant snails originating from Africa called Achatina Fulica that feast on their cash crops. The snails have caused extensive damage to many farms.
This species is believed to have been brought into Thailand by Japanese troops during World War II. The soldiers farmed them locally for consumption. Since the war, the snails have regenerated in the wild and invaded local fields.
The snail, which is a hermaphrodite, can weigh up to 600 grammes. They can breed in hot and humid climates and like to munch on over 100 plants as well as beans, tree bark and cooked rice.
They can live for up to five years and lay 1,000 eggs a year. On average, an adult measures seven centimetres in height and 20cm in length.
As villagers in Nakhon Nayok province in central Thailand were finding it hard to put a lid on their snail “problem”, Kitpong Puttarathuvanun, managing director of Aden International Co, seized the opportunity to promote snail farming as a business after learning about their beauty enhancement qualities.
He founded a knowledge centre for Achatina snails in consultation with the provincial agricultural office.
The snail farming project is being supported by Teerasak E-kobon, an academic from Kasetsart University’s Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, and Pramote Chumnanpuen from the Department of Zoology at the same faculty.
The project started with the training of local farmers, including the elderly and the handicapped, on how to farm snails and extract the mucus from them.
They also learned how to perform an initial quality check before sending it to laboratories that can incorporate it into skincare products and other cosmetics.
Farmers can start this business by either collecting snails from natural sources or buying them from Aden for about 20 baht per kilogramme of live snails, he said.
Snails fetched from the wild are brought to the farms and kept in a special pen, where they go through a process to release their natural toxin residue from eating wild plants. At the same time, they are fed chemical-free vegetables.
When they maturity at the age of one, Kitpong Puttarathuvanun: ‘Snail farming has helped supplement farmers’ income and boost employment.’
they are ready to be “milked”. However, this secretion process only occurs once a month per snail, and only healthy and strong snails are used. A litre of mucus costs from 8,000 baht to 15,000 baht, depending on its thickness and quality.
Most of the slime from the giant snails in Nakhon Nayok is sold to Aden. If farmers raise them in substandard conditions, their mucus is rejected by the company. The farmers are also taught how to take care of the health of the shelled gastropods so they can produce top-grade slime.
Farmers said raising snails is easier and far more affordable than farming other animals. They can be bred in simple cement pipes in a small enclosure that can accommodate thousands of them.
As they live on a diet of chemical-free vegetables, farmers and local communities are compelled to grow organic produce.
Mr Kitpong, who also owns Villa Aden Organic Resort in the same province, said snail farming has helped supplement farmers’ income and boost employment.
For example, chores such as picking vegetables for use as snail feed often requires the use of hired hands.
The local administrative authorities said snail farming can be promoted as a community enterprise project with the support of state and private organisations, according to Mr Kitpong.
Several agencies, including the provincial office of non-formal education, Kasetsart University’s Faculty of Science, and the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research have expressed interest in studying further commercial and scientific developments for the snails.
At present there are 85 snail farms under the project in Nakhon Nayok, Prachin Buri and Nakhon Ratchasima. About 600 litres of slime are obtained from them each month.
A source familiar with the matter said the business could take root in other provinces with suitable husbandry conditions and favourable, highland weather including
PRADIT YAMANAN FORMER NAKHON NAYOK GOVERNOR
Phetchabun, Loei, Nan and Chiang Mai.
Thanaporn Chinkhotchabal, 53, a physical education officer, runs a small snail farm in Ban Na district of Nakhon Nayok. She bought her first batch of live snails from villagers who hunted them for 20 baht a kilo.
Initially, she went through a process of trial and error. Giant snails can be tricky to raise if farmers are not mindful of the level of hygiene in the rearing pen, or if they are not selective enough about what to feed them. Most of the snails she bought early on, died.
She originally targeted farming 1,000 snails but has since tripled that goal. Ms Thanaporn said she keeps them in a cool, dark shed built in a similar way to her mushroom house. She feeds them organic vegetables from her backyard.
She said she was not sure whether the vegetables being sold at nearby wet markets were chemical-free.
Snails that are exposed to chemicals in any way produce low-quality mucus that is not sellable.
In terms of income, Ms Thanaporn said if all of her 3,000 snails could produce 10-baht worth each month, she would earn 30,000 baht a month. However, weaker specimens require longer than a month to regenerate enough slime so the real level of income is lower, she added.
“It’s kind of a supplementary job that doesn’t take up all of your spare time, one that brings in a decent income,” she said.
Pradit Yamanan, the former Nakhon Nayok governor who pushed for the community enterprise project, said it was Mr Kitpong who first consulted him about the need to keep a lid on the snail population so as not to have an abundance of ravaged fields.
Meanwhile, the surplus of organic vegetables can be sold at market, creating another win-win, he added.
Socially, members of the families running the farms can swap labourers to keep everything on song.
“This is a social harmony in action, springing from the economic dynamism,” he said.
The former governor added the farms can be an alternative cash spinner to some conventional crops hit by depressed prices.
This (snail farming) is a social harmony in action, springing from the economic dynamism.