Our Journey: From Wellness Business to Social Enterprise

In April 2019, Chiang Mai Wellbeing Social Enterprise — then operating under the name Art Info Company Limited — entered the wellness sector guided by a single founding philosophy: "Helping, Sharing, and Growing Together."

Founder Mr. Ritthee Gurusingh brought with him a career spanning information technology, integrated risk management, life insurance, marketing, and financial advisory, gained at institutions including SCB Life Insurance (now FWD Life) and Finansa Life Insurance (now Phillip Life). Upon retiring from conventional employment, he sought to build something that families could build together — a wellness enterprise rooted in genuine care.

The first chapter unfolded as Amaravati Wellness Center, a wellness accommodation on Road 34/5 Na Wat Ket, Muang Chiang Mai. From the very beginning, the venture operated in the middle of Chiang Mai's severe PM2.5 haze crisis — one of the city's worst on record. Thai Traditional Medicine training in reflexology, supported by the Chiang Mai Provincial Health Office, began in April 2019. Osho Meditation sessions launched in July. By November, a small community of committed yoga and spiritual-wellness clients had found their way to the center.

Eight months after opening, COVID-19 arrived.

From February 2020 through December 2022 — encompassing what should have been the formative years of a new business — the pandemic shut borders, grounded flights, and stranded travelers across the region. What the team discovered during this period would fundamentally reshape the organization.

Rather than close, they stayed open. When foreign nationals found themselves unable to return home due to travel restrictions and airport closures, Amaravati Wellness Center became a refuge. The standard accommodation rate of 1,500 THB per night was reduced to 200 THB — a reduction of approximately 87%. Standard meals at 150 THB were offered at 50 THB per meal — a reduction of approximately 67%.

Over the following five months, the team supported 10 foreign nationals from 8 countries — the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Japan, the Netherlands, Iran, and Spain — along with 3 Thai nationals. One individual could not cover the service fees at all. Another could only pay in part. Both received full support regardless.

This was not charity. It was a business model discovering its own social purpose: a platform that generated enough revenue to keep operating while extending genuine help to people who needed it most.

The COVID-19 experience clarified something important: a sustainably operating business could simultaneously serve commercial and social purposes — not as two separate activities, but as one integrated approach.

While managing the crisis inside the center, the team engaged actively with the broader community. They joined local entrepreneurs, the Chiang Mai Tourism Industry Council, the Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association, and the Mae Rim Tourism Promotion Club to develop the Mae Rim Tourist Map — a collaborative investment of 10,000 THB aimed not merely at tourism promotion, but at increasing local economic participation along Road 1096, the Mae Rim–Samoeng route, under the campaign tagline: "Mae Rim, Flora Embracing the Mountains, a Hundred Attractions."

They also helped establish the Charming Mae Rim initiative, supported by the Mae Rim District Office, to develop a 2-kilometre corridor along the Mae Taeng–Chiang Mai irrigation canal from Nam Rang Muang Pa to Wat Pa Dara Phiram — creating new recreation areas, tourist destinations, local jobs and community income.

From 2019 through 2021, the organization took an active role in a far larger community challenge.

The buried landfill pits in Moo 10, Mae Raem Subdistrict — spanning approximately 17.5 rai (28,000 square metres) — had been receiving waste from across Chiang Mai Province and neighbouring areas, averaging 50 to 100 tonnes per day. Since 2015, the site had caused persistent odour pollution and insect infestations affecting communities in Moo 7, Rim Tai Subdistrict, and Moo 10, Mae Raem Subdistrict, Mae Rim District.

The management team joined the Supervisory and Monitoring Committee for Landfill Remediation, a body mandated by the Mae Raem Subdistrict Municipality. This was collaborative, community-led, public-sector supported work. CMWSE's predecessor did not close the landfill alone — it contributed sustained leadership and monitoring as part of a broader coalition.

In July 2021, the municipality issued its permanent closure order for the landfill pits. A research report, "Guidelines for Proper Waste Management Facility: A Study," supported by the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), was authored by Assistant Professor Dr. Ruttiphat Kalyanapat and Associate Professor Dr. Pannet Manomaiwibul under the Spearhead Social Plan of the Thai People 4.0 strategy, documenting the work.

Even during the most difficult years, the team continued to develop wellness programs based on what they were learning from their guests and community.

In 2021, the Reborn With Every Breath program launched with support from Naresuan University, aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises facing work-related stress and sleep disorders. The program integrated yoga principles and dietary practices. Its success led to the organization obtaining formal hotel and health spa licences.

Also in 2021, Origan Spa and X On Earth Vegetarian Restaurant were established — Origan Spa offering a blend of Lanna Thai and Ayurvedic treatments, X On Earth specialising in vegetarian, vegan, and Ayurvedic Indian cuisine.

In 2022, the Amazonia & Ganga Transformation Retreat was introduced, incorporating yoga, herbal medicine, and indigenous forest practices to address depression and anxiety. The program produced historically reported outcomes that were encouraging — approximately 60% of participants reported reducing their use of antidepressant medication, while others reported quitting smoking and drinking. These are historical source-reported figures from program records; they are not medical claims.

In 2023, Shambhu Cafe was established — recognised as one of the first in Chiang Mai to offer hydrotherapy (aquatherapy) as part of a holistic wellness offering.

By 2022 and 2023, the work was attracting formal recognition from government agencies.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) awarded X On Earth Vegetarian Restaurant its Sensational Vegan One-Star certificate for 2022. In June 2023, the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Ministry of Public Health, granted the Certified Wellness Center certificate covering accommodation, spa, and dining facilities. That same year, the program was selected among the top 20 in TAT's Thailand Wellness Business Makeover initiative and honoured with 9th position. On 12 October 2023, the organization received the Sustainable Tourism Acceleration Rating at five stars under TAT's Sustainable Tourism Goals project. On 25 December 2023, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, through the Department of Tourism, named CMWSE's predecessor among 11 exemplary health tourism establishments nationwide.

In 2023, the organization also established a collaboration with Doi Pu Muen Community Enterprise and the Royal-sponsored Hill Tribe Shop to develop distribution channels for community products: homestays, farm stays, tea, honey, fruits, and health-oriented beverages — building a Holistic Wellness network while contributing to sustainable income for the hill tribe community.

The decision to register as a Social Enterprise did not begin with paperwork. It grew from everything the team had lived through since 2019.

They had discovered that a business could stay commercially viable while helping people facing real hardship. They had built community maps and irrigation corridor initiatives. They had sat on landfill remediation committees. They had launched wellness programs in partnership with universities. They had earned government recognition for sustainable tourism leadership. They had built brands together as a family.

On December 1, 2023, the Office of Social Enterprise Promotion (OSEP) officially sanctioned the formation of Chiang Mai Wellbeing Social Enterprise Co., Ltd. The organisation had become what it had, in practice, been growing toward since April 2019.

Following registration, the management team sought to raise funds under the Social Enterprise Act B.E. 2562 (2019) to purchase a permanent home. From May through December 2024, the fundraising effort did not meet the required target for purchasing the Amaravati property. In August 2024, the team signed a property management agreement with Insda Global Company Limited to operate Insda Resort — which had been closed since COVID-19 — rebranding it as Insda Wellness Resort, effective September 1, 2024, with a joint purchase option at an agreed value.

In March 2025, Amaravati Wellness Center formally concluded its operations after six years. Origan Spa, X On Earth Vegetarian Restaurant, and Shambhu Cafe relocated to Insda Wellness Resort, consolidating the ecosystem under one operational base in Hang Dong, Chiang Mai.

In 2024, CMWSE joined with Chiang Mai MCN and Education Co., Ltd. to support flood relief in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, and Lamphun. Local entrepreneurs from Ban Pong, Nong Khwai, Mae Hia, and Bo Kaeo came together to form Wellness Hills 1269+ — a network developing the Hang Dong–Samoeng Road (Route 1269) into a holistic wellness route connecting businesses, residents, government agencies, visitors, and local environment.

Wellness Hills 1269+ represents the next chapter of CMWSE's community and ecosystem strategy. The network draws together local entrepreneurs, community residents, government agencies, and environmental stewards along one of Chiang Mai's most scenic routes — Hang Dong to Samoeng.

The CMWSE Wellness DMC is being developed in parallel: a destination management organization for wellness travel and sustainable tourism in Northern Thailand, connecting corporate clients, international travelers, and retreat groups with the community-rooted wellness experiences built over the past seven years.

Amaravati Wellness Center was an important and formative chapter. The ecosystem it helped build is now growing into something larger — rooted in the same founding philosophy of Helping, Sharing, and Growing Together.