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- The local community of this old resort town aims to keep its rich cultural heritage alive and attract new visitors through a new cultural centre08.07.2010
When mentioning Cha-am, what comes to mind? Deep blue sea and beautiful beaches? Yes, of course. But that is only one small aspect of this resort town. While it is widely known the sea and beaches are the natural wealth that draws millions of tourists to this old town every year, bringing about huge income for resort operators and those in tourism-related businesses, it is the cultural wealth the local people take enormous pride in.
CLASSIC DESIGNS: The cultural centre in Cha-am involves a cluster of traditional buildings that represent the architectural styles of central Thailand. PHOTO: YINGYONG UN-ANONGRAK
"Basically, most outsiders only know us as a resort town. It's the sea and beaches that attract visitors here, but we do have more to flaunt and that is our cultural heritage," said Ouamporn Topanurakkul, a teacher at the Cha-am Khunying Nuengburi School and a staunch advocate for Cha-am heritage conservation.
The teacher is spearheading the project for the new cultural centre in Cha-am, which would open and comprise a cluster of traditional Thai houses on the same grounds of the Cha-am Khunying Nuengburi School; the school is on the opposite side of Phetkasem highway.
Ms Ouamporn said the new Thai-style structure would be more than just an eye-catcher. In fact, it would be a symbol of the community's united efforts to safeguard its traditional local culture.
The idea of having a local museum was initiated by the school administrators in 1997, and received warm support from the neighbouring communities, temples as well as public and private agencies in Phetchaburi. The support came in the form of cash and kind. Part of the construction materials, in particular the valuable wood, were donated by the local temples.
The elegant two-storey structure that resulted represents the central region's traditional architectural style, and has served as a local museum since 2001.
Now the community has agreed to redevelop it into a cultural centre in order to give greater life to the gorgeous structure, said Ms Ouamporn.
WELCOME: Main entrance sign welcoming visitors to the cultural centre.
Cha-am has a unique cultural identity which the locals are highly proud of, the teacher noted. This is because much of Cha-am's culture and local livelihood still remains, she added.
"Unlike Hua Hin, where much of the cultural life is mostly a reproduction, what we have here is authentic and original. Klong Tien, for example, is a lively fishing village and on the other side of the railway visitors can get a glimpse of the original farming patterns. And we also have a No-Nae folk performance which has been beautifully revived. These are the charms of Cha-am," she said.
Cha-am was developed in the 1920s - at the same time when Hua Hin emerged as a favourite seaside resort town for the Siamese court.
"The King [Rama VII] and some senior members of the Royal Family stayed in Hua Hin while other royal members and noblemen instead chose to explore and settle down in Cha-am, which is sited between Phetchaburi and Hua Hin."
LOCAL CULTURE: Students performing the ‘No-Nae’ folk dance
Among them was Prince Naradhip Bhrabhanbhong (1861 to 1931), who was known for his role in helping to develop Cha-am, then a tambon or sub-district. The prince, also recognised for his literary talent, took the role of Cha-am's first village headman sometime in 1927.
Prince Naradhip laid out Cha-am's brilliant town planning and design from the beginning, said Ms Ouamporn. And to show their gratitude to the prince, the local people built a monument in his honour.
"It was the prince's idea to have a main road linking the railway to the supporting street along the beach. In that era, the road was paved to resemble Ratchadamnoen Avenue in Bangkok," she said.
In a bid to raise funds for the project, Ms Ouamporn is working on a book about the history of Cha-am with help from the Lek-Prapai Viriyapan Foundation, a major advocate of local museum development. Part of the book is a revised collection of articles she wrote, which also appear on her personal website. Besides, the students at Khunying Nuengburi School, who formed a group called "Khunying Nuengburi School Girls Love Their Hometown", are making their own contributions to the book as well.
IN MINIATURE: Clay dolls depicting the famous ox-cart races held in Phetchaburi.
The students are instructed to go to the village areas to learn more about their cultural roots, then write reports about them, she said.
If things go as planned, Ms Ouamporn said the cultural centre would become more lively with activities from various sections of the community, such as live performances by the students, exhibitions and demonstrations on making handicrafts, cooking popular local dishes, as well as workshops for young guides.
One section of the cultural centre should be dedicated to Cha-am's rich history, said Ms Ouamporn. "It should be a place where visitors can find information on things they want to know about Cha-am."
Ms Ouamporn also said she is pushing for the subject of Cha-am's local history to be included into the school curriculum in order to keep the cultural heritage alive.
"There are a few obstacles for the new cultural centre though," she said. "We are not in a position to hire full-time staff members for the centre but we really do need them. Moreover, consistent agreement on the building policy on the part of the school administrators would enable the project to move ahead," she said.
Some activities that incorporate students, for instance, need approval from the school administration, she added.
Meanwhile, the community's cultural plans have had a blessing from Srisakra Vallibhotama of the Lek-Prapai Viriyapan Foundation.
Mr Srisakra said he is quite impressed by the community's level of enthusiasm. More importantly, he noted, the project's main goal is self-fulfilling, rather than to promote tourism.
He said that having local history taught in schools as suggested by Ms Ouamporn should help to fill the gap created by modern education, which primarily responds to the job market sector, discarding social and spiritual values.
"The real goal of education is to groom youths into decent citizens, not just to produce more workforce. Local history that encourages the residents to go back to their roots and be proud of their identity while respecting diversity is important," he said, adding that local history is a living history and not a "dead history" that separates people from their cultural roots.
Learning local history, said Mr Srisakra, is key to heritage-saving.(Bangkok Post, 8/7/10)
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