Baan Chiew Lan Royal Folk Arts & Crafts Center
Our Thailand Travel Team were making our way to
Cheow Lan Lake in Khao Sok National Park when we rounded a corner and I spotted a handful of women weaving away under a pavilion of sorts. I immediately asked my friend to pull over and I dashed out of the car and made my way to one of the women. I asked for her permission via the international hand sign for "camera", "photograph", "picture" and she nodded that it would be ok. Back to the trunk I rummaged to throw on my 35 mm and get to work. It was a wonderful side step to our planned daily adventures and I'm so happy my friend and husband are always ok with letting me be my photographer self.
According to signage posted near the pavilion - Baan Chiew Lan Royal Folk Arts and Crafts Center is a royal thought project of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit. The center had been bestowed in 1999. It is said that Mr. Prason Vibhavadi Minor was the one who begged Her Majesty's grant of a part-time self-employment job so that the members in Baan Kraisorn and nearby communities could increase their income. On Sept. 15, 2000, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit therefore granted the project of weaving profession including the weaving buildings and tools. There were 36 members who joined the project at the very beginning. The members were trained by the specialists from Vibhavadi Minor District Royal Folk Arts and Crafts Center.
