Diary Entry - Day 5

By Nandhini Radhakrishnan

After being in the hustle and bustle of Bangkok, the city that never sleeps, heading to Buriram was a rather refreshing experience for all of us. Having seen only the Mechanai Pattana School, Cabbages and Condom Restaurant and the convenience store nearby, we were pretty excited to explore and discover more of Buriram. The day started with us waking up excitedly for Breakfast, where we were spoilt for choice with a buffet of toast, coffee, tea and more authentic Thai dishes, such as pork porridge and fried rice, delighting the rice lovers. 

Thai local explaining the benefits of the herbs in Nong Ta Kem Herbal Medicine Centre

After filling our tummy, we headed to Nong Ta Kem village, where we visited the local herbal medicine centre and we were introduced to the Village’s Bank Manager who explained the dynamics of the system in place. The village has 125 families totaling the number up to 759 villagers. The villagers adopted the sufficiency economy model, introduced by HM The King, where villagers will engage in activities such as agriculture, live farming where they grew vegetables and flowers and breed poultry and cattle. These efforts are part of the rural development efforts to allow the farmers and villagers to be self-dependent in an effort to balance the economy.

He also explained that the Village Bank, consisted of 90 committee members, supports such entrepreneurial efforts by lending out money for those wishing to start up their own businesses. All you need is two guarantors and you can borrow up to ten times of your current savings at an interest rate of 1 Baht per 100 Baht every month. A successful business model, which is the Herbal Medicine, where natural herbs are grown and processed to be contained in capsules, which can then be used to cure dizziness, high blood pressure and alleviate menstrual pain.  In the midst of the presentation, we were given fresh coconuts by the Thais and all of us were rather touched by their warmth and friendliness towards us.

Towards the end of the demonstration, we looked at their Herbal medicine shop, where some of us bought these natural herbs and honey. Soon after, we headed to the area where the herbs were planted and the poultry were reared. We also got to see the IT Hub, which was a room comprising about 30 computers, where the locals could browse the Internet and use the computer. They were given a manual to aid them in the process, which was rather interesting.  After visiting the IT Hub and farms, we headed to the local market, where the Thais were selling vegetables and fruits, which were grown in their gardens. This was a refreshing outlook on the concept of markets as the line of production and sale were the same.

IT Hub with computers - Microsoft is a Partner of Mechai Foundation

Local market selling organic vegetables

Shortly after, we headed back to the Herbal Centre where we were treated to a sumptuous meal of mushroom tomyum soup, fried vegetables, stir fried vegetables with pork, Phad Thai and it ended off with a fresh serving of Dragonfruit and sponge cakes. Many of us were overwhelmed by their warmth and their desire to give us multiple servings, even though we were on the verge of feeling bloated.

Being intoxicated by food coma, we headed to Nonh Ta Kai Village, where we went to learn about the process of silk making. After a 20 minutes drive from Nong Ta Kem village, we reached our destination. We were introduced to the process of silk making, where the more daring ones tried the boiled silkworm cocoons. Last I heard, they tasted like peanuts. We got to see the process of silk making and one of our travelers, Catharine, boldly took the challenge to weave the silk, as one of the Thai locals demonstrated the method. After learning and watching the process, we headed back, where some of us decided to get scarves for our mothers and sisters, having decided it’s probably the best gift for them.

Later that day we headed to Sayamha market, one of the markets, where local produce was sold. The market, was clean and sold fresh local produce, so much so that live fishes, eels and frogs were sold. Walking along the aisles of the market, we were greeted warmly by the locals, who were often inquisitive about our country of origins, as they couldn’t place a finger on where we could be from, given that races as diverse as Indians, Chinese, Sudanese, and Maldivians were walking together. That was an amusing part for all of us as we explained where all of us were from. After grabbing some local delicacies and the ever-so thirst quenching Thai Iced tea, we headed back to the hotel, where we rested before going for dinner at Cabbages and Condoms Restaurant where we treated to a sumptuous meal of Deep-fried fish served on special Thai chill sauce, mixed vegetables, chicken soup and longan as desserts. With a full tummy, we are all ready for a good night’s rest to prep us for tomorrow and not to mention the awesome Spain vs Portugal match tonight!

Nandhini Radhakrishnan, 20, is a double degree undergraduate majoring in Banking and Finance/Communications and minoring in Journalism.