Fresh from Youth – School Break Students Help Build Clay Buddha Images
School children are helping craft clay Buddha images at a Nakhon Ratchasima temple during their break, learning religious values while keeping busy away from mobile phones. The hands-on project uses traditional clay-firing and modern stone-
Wat Khao Sap Phong Phot in Non Somborn Subdistrict, Sai Thong District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province is constructing a nine-story stupa and preparing Buddha images to be installed on the fourth level. Community members volunteer daily, and during the school break, local youth join their parents to help craft the images.
Grandmother Somjit Thongduang from Ban Suan Pang Mai shares that she comes to make Buddha images every day, living about 10 kilometers from the temple. During the school closure, she invited children to join in, giving them meaningful activities away from mobile phones while instilling religious values and teaching productive use of free time. The children have become so enthusiastic that initially parents had to encourage them, but now the children invite their parents to come.
There are two methods used at the temple: making clay-fired Buddha images and creating images from stone mixed with resin or epoxy. Children primarily work on the clay-fired images, kneading clay until it achieves the right consistency, then pressing it into Buddha-shaped molds. After drying, the molds are removed to reveal beautiful clay Buddha images.
Another activity the children particularly enjoy is hunting for beautiful stones in stone piles to be used by parents and adults to create resin or epoxy-mixed Buddha images. The colors and patterns vary depending on the creator's imagination and how different stones are arranged in the molds.
Temple Buddha-making activities start at 8 a.m. daily. Anyone interested can participate at Wat Khao Sap Phong Phot in Non Somborn Subdistrict, Sai Thong District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province. Those unable to attend can contribute clay or donate resin or epoxy for the project.
