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Pulling into a quite dirt road I welcome the break from the bumpy four-wheel trip up the jungle-mountain roads. Nestled deep within the misty mountains of Northern Thailand, wood and bamboo houses peek out from the lush surrounding vegetation, marking one of the The hill tribe people have a rich culture and a hard working life, mostly making their living by subsistence farming and handy crafts. Though their ancestors originated from Burma and Laos, these villagers have been in the jungles of Thailand for centuries. With the ever-increasing pressures of modernization they are now being faced with the encroaching demand of the Thai government to assimilate into Thai society. Their villages and farms now lie within the boundaries of newly created National Parks therefore bringing a rise in tourism. These simple lives must be given another option for livelihood if their culture is going to survive. Ban Huy Hee has been lucky. Although the location of their village lies within the National Park, a non-governmental organization (NGO) has stepped in and given these people of the Karen tribe an option to take tourism into their own hands. The REST organization has come in and taught the people of the village how Sonju, the headman of the village, and only person who speaks any English at all, takes us to his home where we will be spending the next few nights. The main wood and bamboo house is made up of the living area and an open rice processing area on the ground level, and upstairs bedrooms. Around the side is the cooking shelter and out back is the shower and toilet. The grounds are all mud with flowers and lush vegetation surrounding the houses. Once we are settled in, Sonju calls us down for a home cooked meal of fragrant mountain rice, baby bamboo, mushrooms, omelets, spiced squirrel and other jungle delicacies. After we eat, people from the village come by for a visit and we drink salted tea and have a very interesting cultural exchange. With one translator among us, the people are curious about the foreigners and ask us many questions. “Are you married?” “How many people are in yo Rising at first light we are served a delicious breakfast and spend our first day in the mountains trekking up to the highest peek. Sonju leads us, and as we ascend the gentle jungle trail he shares his intimate knowledge of the forest with us. He teaches us about the usefulness of the plants; shows us what is poisonous, which ones are medicinal, which are spices and even slices off a piece of bark from a cinnamon tree for us to try. As we get to the summit the fog becomes so thick that the trees around us are barely visible and the land below is a complete white out. We eat our lunch of mountain rice, which is neatly packed in banana leaves and tied with palm fronds. As the fog clears we can see buffalo on the ridge across a small valley, and the awful surrounding cliffs of the landscape become visible. We begin our rainy descent trying not to slip and watching for leaches that are waiting on the trail for a nice human snack. The next day begins much like the first. With an early breakfast in us we head off to see the mountain farm. The villagers use the slash and burn technique in a rotational farming system. Looked down on by modern society, they use this technique in such a way that it is a more sustainable method than any modern farming practice used in the Western world. They have eig After three days with the lovely people of the jungle, it is time for us to make the descent down the treacherous dirt roads and back to our modern world. We feel enriched with this experience and fulfilled that our money has gone directly to support these people and not to exploit them as many of the tours in Northern Thailand do. **All photos by Heather Holt
If You Go
REST contacts rest@ecotour.in.th +66 (0)29387007
Fern Resort (for relaxation before and after the hill tribe experience) info@fernresort.info +66 (0)536861101
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many small hill tribe villages scattered through out the area. Children are playing happily on the dirt road and chickens roam freely, making as much noise as possible. We get out of the car and are greeted by Sonju with a warm “hello” in English, emphasized with his deeply creased smiling eyes. Immediately we feel welcomed into the village. As respected visitors, we have something to learn from these simple villagers just as much as we have something to teach them.
to organize a committee to deal with the tourists. The tourists pay the people directly, for meals and accommodation, therefore the committee is treated like a business. They rotate homes where the visitors stay and they decide when they do not want to be bothered with guests. With the money going directly back into the village, they see immediate gains with this new method of community-based tourism. REST has also taught the people of Ban Huy Hee what the tourists want and expect, while maintaining their hill tribe cultures and values, and not compromising their beliefs.
ur family?” “What is it like where you come from?” These are some of the common questions the villagers ask. We are a bit more inquisitive and are curious about how they get supplies, what happens if they get sick and how the children get an education. It is a very open and friendly atmosphere, and there is much joking and laughing with these light hearted and good humored people.
ht plots of land each used for one year. At the beginning of the season they cut the trees to about 4 ½ feet and burn the land. They then plant an assortment of crops ranging from corn and rice to a variety of other vegetables and herbs. Everyone from the village works on the farm and in return the farm feeds everyone in the village. Rice is money up in the mountains.