Group of women, one girl, and a man walking at a construction site, some wearing bright orange shirts and head coverings, with construction materials and other people in the background.

Who we are

Our Mission 

The Building Social Impact Initiative is a collaborative effort, powered by Baan Dek Foundation and supported by UNICEF and Thai construction leaders, to improve the living conditions and access to services of workers and their children living in construction camps across Thailand.

Two young children in school uniforms playing and digging in a mound of sand outdoors, with trees and makeshift structures in the background.

After almost a decade of working directly with construction camp communities, Baan Dek Foundation consolidated this experience in 2018, partnered with UNICEF and published Building Futures in Thailand, a research on workers and their children living in the construction camps in Thailand. 

A group of three people, two adults and a child, smiling at a construction site. The adults are wearing yellow safety helmets and casual clothes with logo prints. The child is wearing colorful pajamas with cartoon characters on it. They appear to be happy and enjoying their time together.

Our Story

Baan Dek Foundation has been providing direct social support and community empowerment to migrant and minority families in urban slums in Chiang Mai since 2002. Following the construction boom in Chiang Mai in the early 2010’s, Baan Dek Foundation began to focus more on children and workers in construction camps, supporting their access to public services.

Cover image of a report titled 'Building Futures in Thailand' showing a smiling child with dusty face and checkered shirt, supporting children living in construction site camps, with logos of UNICEF and Baan Dek Foundation.

Through this research we found that workers and their children face intersecting challenges in the construction sector, including social exclusion, and lack of access to healthcare, social protection, and education. Through our years of ground level work, we estimate there to be tens of thousands of children living in such conditions throughout Thailand. 

The research resulted in the Framework for Action, a set of 12 actionable recommendations guiding businesses in construction on how to address risks in camps identified in the research. The Framework, and its accompanying Toolkit were then tested and developed in consultation with pioneering companies as well as the communities themselves, leading to the launch of the Building Social Impact (BSI) Initiative in February 2022.

Framework for Action

An infographic divided into four colorful sections representing different community services. The top left yellow section shows a girl working on water pipes, labeled 'Infrastructure.' The top right blue section features children smiling and playing, labeled 'Welfare & Services.' The bottom left red section depicts a healthcare worker and a child wearing masks, labeled 'Health.' The bottom right green section displays children looking at a tablet, labeled 'Education.'
A woman gives a presentation to a group of people seated around a conference table in a modern room with beige walls and gray curtains. The woman points at a large screen displaying a chart titled "BUILDING SOCIAL IMPACT".

Our Services

Driven by the vision to improve living conditions and access to services of workers and their children, the BSI Initiative works directly with businesses to practically break down how they can meaningfully incorporate respect for the rights of workers and children in construction camps. 

Joining the BSI Initiative gives businesses free access to the BSI Toolkit and Training Package, which are specifically designed to meet the human rights due diligence needs of Thai businesses in the property and construction sector. Once you become part of the Initiative, you can demonstrate to clients, investors and regulators your commitment to respect child rights and human rights and boost your sustainability performance and reputation.