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Thais and foreigners are being drawn to a remote border village to experience the rural lifestyle and to learn how to weave in an ancient, traditional style
An influx of tourists into the area has seen the value of their hand-woven silk rise quite dramatically, supplementing their meagre incomes.
Located 15 kilometres east of downtown Buri Ram, Ban Sanuan Nok comes across typically as a rice-growing village. As with most other farming communities, the villagers struggle financially from income earned from growing rice alone.
Many families have turned to weaving silk as a sideline job, which they sell for extra income. However, in addition to the money from the sale, they figure a new revenue stream could be had from bringing tourists to the village to witness the silk-making process as the tourism can generate cash flow for the local economy.
Ban Sanuan Nok produces a Thai-Cambodian style of silk plus handicrafts. Both Thai and foreign tourists visit the village for a tour where they learn first-hand about Thai silk production, from thread picking from silk worm cocoons to weaving. The visitors also see for themselves the simple life of villagers, local methods of delegating manpower and utilising human resources, as well as the management of the community.
"Today, visitors make trips to the village in diverse groups, including pilgrims. They observe the hand-made silk production and other handicrafts available for display and for sale," said the village assistant headman Sutha Kotoram, 39.
She said that the local silk's natural sheen and unique colours help heighten its aesthetic appeal that fascinate visitors. The silk produced by the village requires the skills and meticulous hands of trained weavers. The amount of thread and the weaving technique must be precise to ensure top-quality fabric.
She added: "The silk cloth here is broken down into small and delicate strands, which can be easily twisted. They are also smooth to the touch, particularly our pha mai yok tin, pa sin teen daeng and pha hang krarock fabrics which have their origins in a mixture of ancient Thai and Cambodian silks," she said. Ms Sutha noted the indigenous silk production has been done by the village for decades, dating back to the time she was born. To her, the silk forms the cornerstone of the local heritage.
According to local history, silk products in the village have been created for more than a hundred years since the era of King Rama V, or King Chulalongkorn.
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