The Epitome of a Community Café — Discovered in Bangkok

The Epitome of a Community Café — A Model Answer Found in Bangkok

A neighborhood café that doubles as a local community center, with a focus on the community and the environment: a visit to Early BKK in Bangkok.

Words Shin Hyeri
Photos Early BKK Café

There was a time when Bangkok brought to mind motorbikes and smoggy air before anything else. It felt like a city rather far removed from eco-consciousness. This trip changed that impression completely. The Bangkok I returned to after ten years had changed astonishingly. Parks dotted the city center, and cafés and cultural spaces built with sustainability in mind caught my eye at every turn. A city that depends on tourism for its income seemed to have been entirely remade after the ordeal of COVID. In fact, Bangkok has set this year’s vision as a ‘green, smart, and sustainable city’ and is working to put it into practice. Amid these changes, I visited Early BKK Café, one of the sustainable spaces now drawing attention in Bangkok. I wanted to know why Kaytita Chaisuksiri, a local community planner who is sincere about the environment, decided to open a neighborhood café.

What led you to create BKK?
Before founding BKK, I was in charge of space planning for a shopping mall. I had to understand what customers needed and reflect that in my plans. Through that work, I realized how important community and space are, and I also grew eager to run a business myself. At the time, commuting four hours round trip by car was wearing me down, and I wanted an environment where I could work alongside my dog. For that, I had to become the boss myself. Drawing on what I had learned and the training I did in hospitality management in Spain and Singapore, I resolved to open a small shop.

Why did you set up BKK in a city on the outskirts of Bangkok rather than at a tourist destination?
I wanted to start in the neighborhood where I live. It’s an area with no facilities or spaces that dogs can use. There are more than 20 cafés, but not a single one allowed dogs. As more and more of my neighborhood friends adopted and raised dogs, the need for dog-friendly spaces kept growing. So I wanted to build a community for people with dogs and create a space that suited them. I liked the idea of trying something first, so I put ‘Early’ in the café’s name. And we really do open earlier than other cafés.

It looks like most of BKK’s space is decorated with recycled materials. Is there a particular reason?
I haven’t used plastic at all since high school. On days when I forgot my tumbler, I wouldn’t buy a drink or coffee. Call it a punishment I gave myself. My interest in the environment naturally grew, and of course I wanted the café I created to be an eco-friendly space too. I started by decorating the space with materials that are good for the environment. I thought it would be great to make a wonderful space out of things people see as trash, like empty bottles and milk cartons. Since we sell food and drinks, there’s a connection there too. The counter is made from recycled beer bottles, and for the floor we used a ceramic material that keeps the cool in for a long time even if the air conditioner runs only briefly. We crushed discarded ceramics into small pieces and turned them into tiles. As a rule, the air conditioner in the shop runs only in the hottest part of the day.

What does BKK Café aim for?
My hope is for it to go beyond being a simple neighborhood café and become a place of education for children. In particular, I want it to serve as a hub for environmental education, so we hold environment-related workshops regularly. We also pick up litter around the neighborhood together with foreign residents. In Bangkok, awareness of waste separation hasn’t really taken hold yet, so we also teach people how to separate their waste and why they should. At the same time, to support the sustainability of the local commercial district, we hold gatherings where people interested in business can share ideas. On weekends, we hold a flea market and sell secondhand clothes. We sell clothes donated by local residents, and the proceeds go toward helping abandoned dogs.

Why do you think sustainability matters?
The whole world is suffering from environmental problems. Sustainability is an important issue if humanity is to be happy together. People in Bangkok take motorbikes even for short distances rather than walking. I think that’s why the environment is deteriorating even faster. To solve this, people’s awareness has to change, and for that, education is important. I hope BKK can be a space that changes people’s thinking naturally. In fact, when we hire café staff, we ask whether they know how to separate waste. They need to know how to sort waste first, and barista training comes after that. Every week, we check plastic usage with the staff and give a bonus to those who meet the target.

What are your plans for the future?
I plan to open a second BKK. The location isn’t set yet, but I’m looking for a space suited to building a local community that can spread the eco-friendly concept. Personally, I got a lot of ideas from visiting neighborhoods in Seoul like Seongsu-dong and Hannam-dong, and I hope to have the chance to visit again soon.