Roi Et farmers have deserted their drought-stricken paddy fields for the chance to earn millions of baht making sandwiches at home.

After the annual harvests, Ban Kok Yai villagers in Bho Chai district were left with no source of income.

Some went to Bangkok to do low-paid manual work. Today, sandwiches give them a better choice.

Suriyan Khamphromma, chief of the Kamphong Tambon Administration Organisation, said yesterday about 500 former farming households have made sandwiches their main livelihood. Some have moved to new areas to cultivate their own markets.

"This has become the most popular career in this arid area," he said.

Thongbai Soisena, 39, said that three years ago he returned home after finishing working in Bangkok and was surprised to find several neighbours concentrating on making sandwiches. Some took their enterprise to other provinces and returned to the village with bundles of money for their old parents and kids.

"So my wife and I imme-diately decided to get into this," he said.

He and his wife became employees for their neigh-bours and learned how to make sandwiches. A year later, they launched their own sandwich business with Bt10,000 in capital.

Every three days, a truck from a bakery in Nakhon Ratchasima brings loaves

of bread to the village. The sandwiches are delivered daily to shops in the area and adjacent provinces including Mukdahan and Kalasin. It brings the villagers over Bt1 million a month.

Thongbai does about 2,000 sandwiches a day, which wholesale at Bt4 apiece. That adds up to Bt20,000 a month.

"It's better than working as a labourer," he said.

"It's the first time in my life to have Bt10,000 in my pocket. And I don't have to leave my family for Bangkok anymore."

Another villager, Sanit Klangboonwat, 30, paid for recipes from his neighbour and then moved to Nong Bua Lampoo to start his own sandwich business. The monthly income can support his kids' education.

"This career dovetails with the sufficiency economy," he said.