She is the eighth daughter of Dtaa and Buapan Saengkhieow, both her parents were farmers and had a total of nine children, four boys and five girls. She completed school after the sixth grade from Maerimwittayakom School. In 1984, before she was to graduate from school her mother passed away, the following year her father also passed away suddenly from cancer. After this her elder brother and sist
er took up the responsibility of paying for her schooling. In 1988, she was able to pursue her tertiary education at Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna Lampang in the field of agricultural studies. In 1991, she started working with Mr Singchai Sawasdee. He had graduated from Sukhothai Thammathirat University and was working for the Doi Tung Development Project. It was at this time that Khunchaya was also looking for additional income to help support her family. In 1993, Khunchaya realized that she didn’t enjoy her current work that wasn’t in the field she had studied. She then asked Singchai to join her in starting a flower farm. In 1996, a relative suggested they try growing Siam Tulips. The reason for the suggestion was that it is a cut flower able to be grown throughout the seasons; also it was a flower gaining in popularity at that time. They decided to trial this by planting one rai (1600 m²) of the strain Chiang Mai Pink (cm-pink). When the flowers were grown the pair saw a gap in the agricultural development of this flower for the market. Therefore, they started to grow various strains of the Siam Tulip to fill the market needs. They then continued to expand the area of cultivation and now have around 50 to 60 rai of flowers. In 1997, Khunchaya and Singchai were able to earn a living using the knowledge they had gained from their education background in agriculture. In 2010, Khunchaya went back to pursue her bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Production under the faculty of Agricultural Promotion and Development at Mae Jo University in Chiang Mai, and graduated in 2012. These days, she is able to utilize her knowledge in agriculture at her Siam Tulip farm. She also continues to receive assistance from professors at Mae Jo University. They are always willing to share their knowledge and research in the field of Siam Tulips and to help students and the general public that want to further develop the species or those who want to start a career in Siam Tulip Farming.
