Roosters crowed an hour before dawn. Since every family in the hilly village of Ban Huay Tong Kor (also spelled Ban Huai Tong Ko) in Mae Hong Son raised chickens, the cry was pretty loud and seemed to be nonstop. It could wake up even those drunk on local rice wine from the night before.
Signature patterns for embroidery inspired by tong kor leaves and a tong kor thatch roof. Jetjaras Na Ranong
The weather was cold. The chilly wind found its way inside the wooden room where I stayed. The two blankets were not enough to keep me warm. It was hard to believe that it was summer where the heat was almost unbearable during daytime, but the night was about 14C.
My homestay host Thinakon Lerka and his wife Yaowaluck had already woken. They were preparing food for us in the kitchen while my friends and I went inside to see if our host needed an extra hand.
"Did you sleep well last night?" asked Thinakon, who is the president of the Community Based Tourism Club of Ban Huay Tong Kor. We nodded our heads and said yes at the same time. It was a daylong journey, starting at 6am from Don Mueang airport in Bangkok and ending at 8pm in the community. That night, we slept like babies.
(Video by Jetjaras Na Ranong and Karnjana Karnjanatawe )
Although Ban Huay Tong Kor is still in Muang district of Mae Hong Son, it is remote. The distance from the city to the community is only 60km, but driving along the winding potholed dirt road took us almost three hours.
The village is serene and away from the bustle of the city. It does not have electricity from the Provincial Electricity Authority. Their lights are generated from a solar panel attached to each house. There is no TV, internet nor mobile phone signal. But the water is plenty, sourced from the Pu Ling Waterfall, which has water all year round. It flows to the Pai River in Mae Hong Son and later to the Salween River in Myanmar.
The morning mist in Ban Huay Tong Kor. Photo: Karnjana Karnjanatawe
The community is home to the Pakakayor, a Karen ethnic group. They migrated from Myanmar with other ethnic groups like Tai Yai to Mae Hong Son more than 250 years ago.
"We used to live in the city before our ancestors moved to the mountainous area because we loved solitude," said Thinakon, 49, who called himself phati, meaning uncle, referring to a married man, while a married woman is called moeka in their language, meaning aunt.
But after a disease outbreak almost a century ago, the group moved a bit further uphill and later separated into four communities. They are Ban Huay Tong Kor, Ban Huay Pu Ling, Ban Huay Hee and Ban Huay Kung.
Ban Huay Tong Kor is a small village. They have only 24 families, reduced from 32 households years before. They are subsistence farmers who grow rice and vegetables in an organic way.
They also raise chickens and pigs that they cook for special ceremonies like a wedding or monk ordination. Their main source of income is from selling livestock like buffaloes and oxen.
About three decades ago, the community along with other nearby villages had a serious opium addiction problem. A volunteer team of the Thai-German Technical Cooperation visited the villages to help develop the communities. The team brought knowledge about farming to help improve farm produce as well as introduced some highland cash crops like coffee trees. The development project ran for a decade before the communities wanted to promote the villages as tourist destinations in 1999.
Each community had to find their own strength. Ban Huay Tong Kor realised that their simple way of life that blends in with nature was the key message they want tourists to know.
Products from Ban Huay Tong Kor include clothes, cotton bags and scarfs. They are promoted as Tong Kor Family brand and under the DoiSter project. Jetjaras Na Ranong
"Our lives rely on the forest from birth to death," said Thinakon, the former village head.
They segment the forest area into three major zones. One is called pa sadue in the Thai language, meaning navel forest. It is a protected area where each family guards a designated large tree that they choose for hanging the umbilical cord of their newborn baby from generation to generation. The cord is kept in a bamboo container and tied to the tree. They believe that it will create a bond between the baby and the forest.
Another zone is the pa cha or graveyard of the community. It is also a preserved area where they cremate their ancestors. The last zone is called pa munwian, which is used for growing khao rai (upland rice) and other crops like corn.
They can cultivate rice only once a year so they protect the farm produce from wild animals like rats and boars by growing pumpkin and corn as a boundary. When the animals search for food, they eat the vegetables before eating rice crops. Farmers also grow millet in the rice fields because the crop is tall and can lure birds to eat the millet seeds rather than rice grains.
About 20 years ago, they opened their village to tourism with the help of the Thailand Community Based Tourism Institute (CBT-i), an NGO in Chiang Mai. They have welcomed niche groups of visitors. Most of them are Westerners who like trekking in the forest and want to have an exotic experience. Later, college students from the United States visited the village as part of the enrolled programme of the Chiang Mai-based International Sustainable Development Studies Institute.
Suchai Manfahsikhram is one of a few blacksmiths in the village. He buys second-hand leaf springs from spare part shops in the city of Mae Hong Son to make steel knives. His most popular product is a 15cm pointed knife (350 baht), which is used in the kitchen. In addition, he also makes swords, axes and farming tools like sickles. Jetjaras Na Ranong
"During the past 10 years, we learned that visitors are willing to spend more on local products like woven fabrics," said Somphop Yeejaw-haw, 42, a volunteer of CBT-i, who helped shape the village's tourism destination initiative since the start.
A couple of years ago, he initiated an idea to add value to the fabrics by using naturally dyed colours. He helped the women form a weaving group, taking a trial-and-error learning process. Today, they produce a number of colours by using natural local materials like turmeric, Indian gooseberries and seeds from tong kor trees. Tong kor, which is the name of the village, is one variety of palm tree. People use its leaves for making thatch roofs for their homes.
Last year a research team from Chiang Mai Rajabhat University received funding from the Thailand Research Fund to enhance the quality of products produced by ethnic groups in Mae Hong Son. The team worked with CBT-i and selected six villages including Ban Huay Tong Kor in the initial phase.
"We created two new embroidery patterns specifically for Ban Huay Tong Kor. They are a tong kor thatch roof and a tong kor leaf. We also use tong kor seeds to dye yarns. So one piece of cloth is made of yarns dyed with seeds of tong kor, has embroidery designs of tong kor patterns and is made by people of Ban Huay Tong Kor village," he said.
Ruensakdej Praipana is weaving a bamboo rice container, which is called kheu dor khor in the Pakakayor language. He can make bamboo utensils such as forks, spoons and cups, which he sells as souvenirs. Jetjaras Na Ranong
The woven cloth of Ban Huay Tong Kor is promoted through the "DoiSter" brand, which was created a few years ago to help develop tourism and products of ethnic groups in the North. The project was kicked off in Mae Hong Son. Last year, woven products from Ban Huay Tong Kor were promoted at the DoiSter booth during the Thai Tiew Thai travel fair in Bangkok. This February, the Tourism Authority of Thailand invited the weaving group from Ban Huay Tong Kor to participate and organise an embroidery workshop in ITB Berlin, the world's leading travel trade show.
"I'm very glad to learn that people like our cloth," said Yaowaluck Lerka, leader of the weaving group.
During our stay, we also learned how the group prepares and dyes cotton yarns. A local guide led us to pick up some herbs used for healing mild illnesses. We also experienced how locals make bamboo crafts and observed how a cutler makes knives and farming tools. If we had more time, Thinakon advised us to trek to the Pu Ling waterfall. The trip requires camping in the forest. The idea made me think of my next visit.
"If you like the chilled weather, come back in early November. You will not only have fresh air but also see the golden rice terrace. It is the best time to visit us," he said.
Natural materials like the fruits of tong kor trees and ashes are used for dying cotton yarns for weaving cloth. Jetjaras Na Ranong
Women in Ban Huay Tong Kor weave cloth when they are free from farming. As per tradition, women are taught fabric weaving when they are young because they will be responsible for weaving cloth for their families after getting married. Jetjaras Na Ranong
My favourite food in the homestay was musa to (chilli dip made from boiled gourd). They make the dish by frying garlic and chilli and pounding them with the vegetable, adding flavour by using soy sauce. The chilli dip can also be made from other kinds of vegetables such as boiled pumpkin or from dry ingredients like pumpkin seeds or peanuts. The dish is served with boiled or fresh vegetables. Another tasty dish is a vegetable soup made from purple yams and mustard greens. The locals do not like deep fried food so most of their food is cooked by boiling, grilling and stir-frying. Photos: Karnjana Karnjanatawe
TRAVEL INFO
- The most convenient way to travel to Mae Hong Son is to fly. Nok Air (nokair.com) offers direct flights from Bangkok while Bangkok Airways (bangkokair.com) offers a service with one stop in Chiang Mai.
- From the city of Mae Hong Son, call the village for the pickup service. The one-way fee is 600 baht for a motorcycle ride and 3,000 baht for a pickup truck.
- A night stay is priced at 150 baht. Price per meal is 100 baht per person.
- A service charge for a guide to tour around the village is 300 baht and 500 baht for trekking.
- If guests want to join a workshop such as weaving cloth, making a bamboo container or a knife, the price is 600 baht per one course per group.
- For more information, visit www.facebook.com/pg/cbt.huaytongkor or call Thinakon Lerka at 088-291-2419.