Thai Hill Tribes at Historic Crossroads

by Brennan O`Connor

The first time I stayed in Atee’s bamboo hut in Ban Appa, one of the last traditional Akha villages near the Thai city of Chiang Rai, I felt like the past and the present were colliding. I watched him work on a laptop designing a tribal website that documents his endangered culture. Atee’s eighty-five year old grandmother and the village’s herbalist, Akhu, sat next to the fire pit in their house, in traditional dress, smoking a long pipe.  

Atee is employed by the Thai Mirror Foundation, an organization that encourages Thai hill tribes to be proud of their distinct culture, while helping them integrate into modern society.

Prapai Kedsara, director of Mirror Foundation’s Bannok TV, a local access hill tribe television program which is controlled and contributed by the community believes their success depends on the methods in which they are taught, particularly if they are simply given the tools to help themselves.

Youth from various tribes design and maintain the Virtual Hill Tribe Museum, a site documenting their unique cultures. E-commerce has been incorporated into the Hill Tribe store where intricate hand woven bags and other traditional products from the villages can be purchased. Home stays that are run by the village have generated much needed revenue for the entire community. Mirror also runs programs that target human trafficking.

Though the hill tribes are among the poorest people of Thailand, their cultures are rich and diverse. Their determination, with the help of Mirror, can maintain the beauty and diversity of traditions while pushing forward to a prosperous future.

Brennan O`Connor On behalf of Mirror Foundation