Sixty-Seven-Year-Old Man Digs 5-Acre Pond by Hand
A 67-year-old man in Nakhon Ratchasima has hand-dug over 60 percent of a 5-acre pond using simple tools, earning the nickname "Uncle the Master Digger" after decades of labor. He envisions the completed pond as a tourist attraction with a s
On July 23, 2569 (2026), it was reported that Khong Thobphakthai, a 67-year-old resident of Sa Takian subdistrict in Sisaket district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, has earned the nickname "Uncle the Master Digger" for spending decades manually digging and sculpting a 5-acre pond using only his two hands and simple tools.
He envisions the pond as a tourist attraction with a sandy beach where visitors can swim, while also serving domestic water needs and potentially becoming a fish farm for subsistence and future income.
Although he initially attempted to hire a backhoe to excavate the pond about 40 percent of the way through, the sandy soil caused the machine to sink and become stuck, forcing him to abandon mechanical methods and continue with manual labor using custom-made shovels and pickaxes. He has now hand-dug over 60 percent of the entire 5-acre area.
Khong explained that serious work began around age 50, when he started shaping embankments, pond edges, and an island in the center. His goal is to develop the entire 17-acre property into a mixed farm following the late King Bhumibol's sustainable agriculture philosophy, while also managing seasonal floodwaters that flow down from nearby hills during the rainy season. He hopes the finished pond will eventually become a community tourism destination and additional source of income for the local area.
