• Struggling for survival
• 'Washed up' fishermen turn carpenter and build their own boats
• 'Tsunami village' rises from rubble
• Inspired by Church aid, sea gypsies turn to Christ
• Foreign aid crucial
• Body ID center looks future
• Shoddy housing doesn't make a home
• Outside volunteer carves new career in housing
• Counting the costs to the environment
• Underwater tourist trails
• Turtle hatchery at risk after waves
• Where the money went
• Covered for everything but the wave
• Corporations learn that caring counts
• Starting again from scratch
• Swedish survivor gains perspective after wave 'turned my life upside-down'
• Reasons to smile
• Justice will prevail, investor believes
• Courage and resilience ease personal pain
• Help wanted
• Second chance to get it right
• Tide turns on tourist demographics in Khao Lak
• Light on the horizon
• One day at a time
• Widows and orphans left out in the cold
• Art for the heart
RECOVERING THE DEAD
Outside volunteer carves new career in housing
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| Individual wood-carved balustrades brighten up houses at Ban Tub Tawan. The carving was done by Niyarm Chivawattanasakul, a carpenter from Narathiwat province who volunteered to help build the houses for tsunami survivors in Phangnga. |
When tsunami volunteer Niyarm Chivawattanasakul, a carpenter from Narathiwat, approached Ban Tub Tawan to help in a housing project in February, his original plan was to make ordinary houses to replace those destroyed by the disaster.
But after a few weeks at the tsunami-devastated community in tambon Bang Muang, his artistry was unlocked and he spent most of his time beautifying the houses.
The houses, 47 units in total, have been given eye-catching balustrades that come in several different patterns and motifs.
''I think these villagers may want something more than a simple square house. After suffering tragedy they may want to see beautiful things. So I made special balustrades to cheer them up,'' said Mr Niyarm.
The results are enchanting, a big difference from the ''box-shape'' houses built by aid agencies.
Ban Tub Tawan villagers who live in Mr Niyarm's buildings said they like their new houses more than the old ones.
Each of the 47 houses has an individual wood-carved balustrade, made from a range of motifs - lotus, sunflower, jasmine, parsley, rose and star.
''The patterns carry no specific meanings. I just think of images from my favourite cartoon books or mural paintings when carrying out the work,'' said the carpenter, who had never done any woodcarving prior to the tsunami. Last month, he experimented with a new pattern - a dragon fish-shaped balustrade.
Mr Niyarm even customises orders from house owners. For instance, one house owner asked him to make a whiskey-bottle-shaped balustrade. ''The man of the house just loves drinking - a habit strongly disapproved of by his wife.''
Mr Niyarm, a 46-year-old widower who lost his wife two years ago, arrived at Ban Tub Tawan on Feb 8, a little more than a month after the tragedy. He is working with the Four Regions Slum Network, a grassroots network helping poor people with housing problems.
The volunteer, who lives on a modest stipend provided by the slum network, said he sympathises with those who lost their living places. As a dweller on land owned by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), he could lose his house at any time if the SRT takes the land back.
''Like these people, I may become homeless if the SRT drives me out,'' he said.
His stay at the village has been longer than he originally planned. Initially, the carpenter planned to stay for three months. Now it's almost a year and he has no plan to leave any time soon - he just keeps on working. Local villagers now amicably call him ''Loong Sien Tub Tawan'' or Uncle Sien from Tub Tawan Village.
It's not just unfinished work that keeps him from leaving. The carpenter said he has developed strong ties with people in the village.
''Maybe I am looking for a nice local woman,'' he said.
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