mechai has tried to develop sustainable ideas that would be accessible in rural settings. on a beach resort once owned by mechai's family, it's now run by a nonprofit group he founded, is a garden of so-called "intensive agriculture." >> this is the new style condom. this is the poverty eradication condom! >> reporter: the unusual metaphor aside, he says these recycled bags of potting soil can grow produce, in this case, cantaloupes with a minimum of water and space and maximum profit. >> you'd grow it four times a year, so that's 24,000 baht. that's just under $1,000 for this much space. nearly as good as marijuana. might be even better. don't have to share with the police, either. >> reporter: joking aside, he says thai staples like mushrooms, limes, poultry, and hydroponic produce could be grown in rural enterprises. to demonstrate, he took us to buriram province, about four hours from bangkok. he's worked here for two decades, introducing new ideas like intensive agriculture. several older initiatives have taken off independently. >> you have a factory in the middle of

but to truly transform rural communities, mechai says will take new approaches to education.nd that's where the bamboo school comes in. it is now three years old, serving grades seven through 10. funds to build it came from profits from his resort, the gates prize money and corporate donations. longer term, the school is developing its own vegetable farm, a key part of its business strategy. so when this is up and running and flourishing, the cantaloupes and the limes will be paying the teacher salaries. >> amongst other things. >> reporter: the motto here is: give a little to get a little. aside from academics, every student and family faces strict work requirements. >> the parents do community service and the kids do community service and for every lunch time or meal time, they have to do one hours of community service so that payment is in providing help to other people. that's their school fees. >> reporter: as part of their service, these students were preparing lesson plans to teach younger children in a nearby government school. it's part of their training in leadershi