Diary Entry - Day 6

By Shanaz Mohamed 
Photos by Amanda Sangeetha Thomas

Having almost the entire evening free the previous day, we were all quite refreshed when we headed for breakfast. After we energized ourselves with toast, porridge, and omelettes, we left to check out the M.B.R. Sporting Goods Co., Ltd. 

M.B.R Sporting Goods Co., Ltd. is a textile and shoe manufacturing factory. Amusingly, we were allowed to take pictures of the inside as long as it was taken from the outside. The manager gave us a tour around the different blocks of the factory which made different products. Although we did not get to enter the factory, we were shown samples of their products such as children’s bed sheets, shoes, lingerie, and even Calvin Klein shirts. We were curious enough to ask whether they sold the reject shirts there, only to discover they sold them at the mini mart a few minutes away.  

By the time we were done there, our vans were waiting to take us to the Bata factory. This particular factory was not owned by Bata, but by the locals. However Bata is their biggest buyer and their products are labelled Bata.  There are 150 workers in the factory. As most of the population in Buriram were women, many workers were female as well. They used division of labour for production; while some were stitching up the soles, others were attaching them to the shoe.  

Unfortunately for them, they face the issue of younger generations leaving to work in factories in Bangkok where their wages are higher than theirs. But they intend to raise their wage rates by the January.

Here’s a fun fact for you, if you look for the number on the Bata shoes, and if it says 455, then they were made in Buriram. 

Our last stop was the Baan Paeeng Puay School. We gathered in the library, where two of their students showed us around the school. The kids told us that they were allowed to borrow books from the library for 7 days per book. 

They also had a ‘tree of good deeds’ in the library where if the students did community service, they wrote what they did on a piece of paper and their parents would sign for verification purposes. Then, these papers were hung from a make shift tree.

The school ran a programme called ‘school bird programme’. This programme is funded by Skoll, Population and Community Development Association, and The Mechai Vravaiya Foundation. Under this programmme, students grew vegetables like mushroom, chilli, eggplant, lime, and mints. They also raised frogs and cat fish. When they were ripe enough to eat, the students gave them to the school and sold the leftovers. The students who grew the mushrooms managed to earn  about 13000 baht. Parents helped to design the program and since the students sold it, the whole community benefited from it. It also goes well with the rice plantations that the rest of the community does. 

Interestingly, the school had decided that they would re-use the old toilet bowls as pots for their plantations.

We came back to C&C to have lunch. And we were packed up and ready to go back to Bangkok by 1:30pm. It was then the realisation, that it was our last day in Buriram, sunk in. I’d say it was bitter sweet, but really, I was really looking forward to bathrooms which weren’t ant infested, or clogged. But we would all definitely miss the greenery, and the carefree life style that the people in the village displayed.


Before everyone went their separate ways for dinner, we had a cultural night practise session. I’d tell you what the dances are, but you’ll just have to wait for the big night to see our dances! But let me tell you this, our dances truly are awesome.

So here we are, back in Bangkok, looking forward to another exciting day

Shanaz Mohamed, 19 is a Psychology and International studies major, a dedicated doodler, collector of quotes, and a comic book geek, among other things. 

Elephants in Thai Culture

By Shanaz Mohamed

Have you ever wondered why you keep seeing elephants everywhere in Thailand? They are in souvenir shops, statues, and other forms of decorations.

Elephant Souvenir Bags. 

“Chang” or elephant is an important part of Thai culture and beliefs. In Thai culture they symbolise the king’s divine right to rule and good luck. They are often featured in Buddhist art and architecture, a spiritual mentor for people of all walks of life. Here, people claim that elephants saved their kingdom.  Back when Thailand was still known as Siam, Thai Kings used elephants as battlewagons and tanks, in warfare against their neighbouring Burma. The flag of Siam for had a white elephant as its symbol until Rama VI removed it. To this day, white elephants are considered to be sacred and auspicious.

What further illustrates the cultural significance of elephants in Thailand is Chaang Thai. It is the National Thai Elephant Day and it’s celebrated on the 13th March. In 2002 the celebrations were hosted at the Maesa Elephant Camp, where a kantoke feast was held for the elephants, along with traditional blessing ceremonies.

National Thai Kantoke feast. (http://www.worldhum.com)

Due to various reasons the elephant population in Thailand dropped from a 100,000 to 5000. However, almost half of the elephants left are domestic. These domesticated elephants are often used in tourism. However, what the tourists aren’t aware of is, in order to domesticate them, they are put through training. The belief is to control them they must be made to feel fear and pain. So the rituals are performed at varying forms and degrees of cruelty. In northern Thailand, young elephants are tied up and put in to a tiny wooden cage, also known as a “training crush”. Nails are stabbed in to their ears and feet. Elephants that have gone through this ritual are taught to raise their feet on command so mobilising them are easier. The orders are enforced by stabbing their legs with sticks that have nails on the end. And mistakes are punished with beatings.

The crushing ritual. Taken from:http://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com

While many people feel that these traditions should be stopped in favour of more humane training strategies, there is the question of whether any other alternatives exist. Moreover, the law remains uncertain about this situation. It states that “Domestic elephants are considered livestock”, so according to Thai law, they are really not any different from cattle. Unfortunately this also means that penalties enforced for abuse is little to none.

Nevertheless, projects to preserve them have been set up in various parts of the country. For instance, there is a Thai Elephant Conservation in Lampung; the Surin elephant gathering at the “ISAN” area, the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai and the Khao Yai National Park. These places allow people to interact with elephants and view them up close.

Surprisingly, elephants are still being used for ceremonial and religious purposes. For example for festival and rituals like marriages, they are dressed in elaborate jewelled robes. Even though the younger generations find elephants less relevant to their lives than their parents and grandparents do, it would still remain important, but in the form of cultural icons.

Wedding Elephant. Taken from: Google Images

To conclude here’s some elephant related Thai legends. Thais believe that a pregnant woman who walks three times under an elephant's belly is ensured of an easy delivery. And many compare marriage to an elephant; the husband is the front legs, choosing directions, and the wife is the back legs, providing the  power!

Shanaz Mohamed, 19, is a Psychology and International Studies major, a dedicated doodler, collector of quotes, and a comic book geek, among other things.