Guidelines for Community Participation in the Woven Fabric Conservation for Cultural Tourism in Phai Hu Change Community in Banglane District, Nakhon Pathom Province

Abstract

The aims of this research were 1) to study the woven fabric context of Phai Hu Change Community; 2) to study community participate in the conservation of woven fabric; and 3) to discover the guidelines for community participate in woven fabric conservation for cultural tourism. The sample groups consisted of 30 key informants, including local administrative offices, community leaders, woven fabric group members, shop owners, restaurant owners, and local resident in Phai Hu Change Community. In terms of the data analysis, content analysis had been applied and presented in this article. The results were as follows; 1) the history of woven fabric of Phai Hu Change Community inherited for a long time when the Tai Dam ethnic group emigrated from Petchaburi province and settled at Phai Hu Change in Nakhon Pathom Province. They brought the woven fabric culture, which helped them earn their living. The fabric was commonly black and in watermelon pattern. They used “Ki Kra Took” loom in weaving. The weaving wisdom was uninterruptedly passed down to their descendants in their family; 2) local people in the community participated in decision making and planning of the activities. The community leaders would call for an assembly of the local people when a festival or an event was to be held. And 3) the cultural conservation of Phai Hu Change Community focused on the preservation of the Sen Roeun tradition and Pad Tong ritual, the two majors customs of Tai Dam ethnic people which had represented their history and lifestyle since the olden days . According to the results, the research was able to found the guidelines for community participation in the woven fabric conservation as follows: 1) The environment conservation should be promoted as it assists to sustain the natural resources which provide the local people with necessary materials and ingredients like the color from True Indigo Tree; 2) more local people should be encouraged to take weaving as their part-time job for alternative career choice in the future; 3) the community should establish a channel to publicize their products, preferably on social media; 4) knowledge pertaining to the culture and its fabric should be shared between local people and tourists to understand the ancient wearing method for value added creation and conservation of weaving fabric and 5) their descendants should be raise awareness of knowledge and importance of conservation of woven fabrics as their heritage that creates value for their locality through cultural tourism activities. 6) The community should create a network of cooperation between their woven fabric group and other local weaving groups in linkage area.