Sukhothai - Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art

[PeteC]

Many photos at link

https://www.bangkokpost.com/travel/1861634/a-new-dawn

It was late afternoon. The weather was pleasant and the Sun was about to set. My friends and I slowly walked toward the direction of the music. Lining both sides of the walkway were kiosks of arts and crafts. Some vendors had a workshop for visitors to try painting a fish on a plate or creating a keychain by using colourful woven threads.

Ahead of us was the ruins of Wat Mahathat where the band was performing the traditional songs on a temporary stage. The music was a signal that a ceremony was about to begin. The event recently hosted by the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Dasta) aimed to celebrate Sukhothai as a Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).

"I am glad that Sukhothai received the honour," said Baisri Sridumdej, 63, a member of the Tai Khrang ethnic group in Ban Koh Noi in Si Satchanalai district. She had a booth at the fair to exhibit the traditions of Tai Khrang and also had vivid wool threads for visitors to create their own earrings. She handed me a brochure of her village and said that the creative city status would help further promote the province and may bring more visitors to her village.

Situated in the lower part of the northern region, Sukhothai was the first Kingdom of Siam in the 13th and 14th centuries. The province is home to the historic towns of Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai, which were listed together with Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park as Unesco World Heritage sites.

"However, Sukhothai is not yet regarded as one of the most popular tourist destinations. Most visitors who travel to the province are those who love history," said Dasta director-general Taweebhong Wichaidit.

"In fact, the way of life of locals is also related to historical sites such as Sangkhalok ceramic wares that were produced in the old Kingdom of Sukhothai dating back more than 700 years. The art is still made by locals today," he said.

The goal of the creative city is to encourage people, especially the younger generation, to learn to create new products or services based on what they have and add more value to their treasures.

Sukhothai is known for its many outstanding handicraft works. Among them are gold and silver carved ornaments, ceramics and pha tin jok, which is colourful hand-woven fabrics with intricate traditional patterns. The challenge is that it is hard to pick only one to be the highlight of the province, Taweebhong said.

Sukhothai can learn from the success of other creative cities like Phuket, which was listed in the Unesco Creative City Network as the creative city of gastronomy in 2015.

"Sukhothai needs to highlight one of its folk arts as its identity so that every policy and action plan will go forward in the same direction," said mayor Somjai Sowasupana of Phuket City, who joined the event.

"Since we started promoting local food, especially in the old town of Phuket, we see more shophouses, which had been closed, are now renovated and open. Young people come back home to run coffee shops, boutique hotels and restaurants. Life returns to the old town. Today Phuket is known not only for sun, sand and sea but also a destination for delicious cuisine. Thanks to the creative city status," she said.

For Sukhothai, part of the plan that was submitted to Unesco is to have an arts and crafts centre to showcase local wisdom. In future, an R&D centre for arts and crafts must be established to help locals improve their products or introduce new services. Schools will offer courses that teach students about Sukhothai handicrafts so that the skills will be passed on to the younger generation.

"The award makes us proud of our heritage and encourages young minds to preserve our treasures and learn to add value into them," said Raveewan Khanadnid, a descendant of Tai Phuan ethnic group and managing partner of Suntree weaving textile shop.

When people love their city, they will not look for work in other provinces, she said. They will keep on improving on what they have. "Being known as a creative city will help bring sustainability to our community in the future," she added.