Thung Saeng Tawan Revisits Doi Tao Village, Youth Now Leaders
Thung Saeng Tawan revisited Ban Halaykaew in Doi Tao, finding former child participants Bank and Fuse now working as adults in their hometown — Bank at the subdistrict office, Fuse in community development.
Ban Halaykaew in Bong Tan subdistrict, Doi Tao district, Chiang Mai province first became known through the Thung Saeng Tawan program many years ago. Many children have since grown up and followed their own paths, some staying in the village while others moved far away.
Talking on the day they became adults with sister Niramon.
Thung Saeng Tawan recently had the opportunity to revisit Ban Halaykaew again, meeting Bank Thanwaphatch Kham-ai and Fuse Nattaphat Po-thi, the children from back then. Interestingly, both now work in their birthplace. Both were among the first generation of Thung Saeng Tawan children from the village, filmed together since primary school.
Fuse in the past.
Fuse recalls: "My friends and I would go up the mountain to collect poupeng leaves, taste poupeng seeds, then bring the leaves to make brooms. Another thing was learning to make toys with Grandma Chan, playing happily. The rest was being extras in the girls' scenes like dyeing cloth and weaving."
Happy life at Ban Halaykaew.
Bank led the team up the mountain to collect cotton, introducing Ban Halaykaew in Doi Tao district to television viewers for the first time.
Bank tells the story of the mountain cotton fields.
Learning natural dyeing techniques.
"Mine was the episode when cotton flowers bloom at Ban Halaykaew, colors from Doi Tao. We went to pick cotton flowers then make woven cloth, telling the various processes until it becomes the cloth we wear every day."
Making toys with friends.
Today, cotton flowers still bloom at Ban Halaykaew and there is a project to propagate cotton for more weaving in the future, while the small seedlings from back then have grown into trees standing firmly on their own and ready to help others in the present.
Bank and friends in childhood.
In the past, adults often organized various activities and gave children opportunities to participate to varying degrees. This atmosphere nurtured both Bank and Fuse to grow up with love, pride in their hometown, and fostered their roles in the community later on.
Fields and mountain forests.
Bank today chose to work in her hometown and raise her young child at the same time. "I work at the Bong Tan Subdistrict Administrative Organization, our home village. I'm a policy and plan analyst, making budget plans for the SAO."
Bank Thanwaphatch Kham-ai.
As for Fuse, from a loud-voiced child, he stepped into work that suits him. "I work at the Phumiphon Dam Self-Development Community in Doi Tao district, Chiang Mai province. I'm a social development and welfare support officer, going into the field to visit the elderly, help the destitute, and the disabled for the provincial office."
Fuse Nattaphat Po-thi.
Lifestyles, ways of life, and socio-economics change every day. It's clear to see the children have grown up, living life as they wish, wanting to stay home, able to stay and able to make a living — something Thung Saeng Tawan is happy about for the children and the community from the heart.
The children offer perspectives on growing up and thoughts on raising children today. Watch on Thung Saeng Tawan online via the Facebook page "Thung Saeng Tawan" and YouTube PayaiTV. Click to watch various stories from the "Peeking at Doi Tao" series anytime, anywhere.
Wasawan Rongdech.
