Distribución de los egresos 2011 del Grupo

There were four activities in seven events in which I engaged as a participant observer: (1) I observed and participated in two Buddhist ceremonies in Na Isan and Chaem Luang Community, (2) I observed informal education representing the learning process in the community at Na Isan, (3) I observed and participated in two meetings between Nan’s Buddhist monks and researchers

from The Thailand Research Fund Regional Office (northern), and (4) I participated in two activities reflecting the Karen lifestyle. At every event I

joined in with an activity in the role of a participant-as-observer.

Furthermore, during the research period, I remained in the community making regular observations of villagers’ behaviour, collecting documents and recording field notes. Before and after events I also engaged in small talk with participants. All this participation provided me with good opportunities to discuss with others, outside the study area, various points of view on the topics of home, temple and school in the community, the country and the impacts of cultural change. Also, residing with the chief informants in each area, such as Por Liam’s house at Na Isan and Phra Ajan Somkid‘s guest house at Wat Pong Kham, gave me many opportunities to attend community meetings, and to meet informally with groups of community leaders and villagers in their houses, village coffee shops and school canteens.

The details of the selected study areas and data collection methods in the study areas and the details of participant observations are depicted below in Table 3.1 and Table 3.2 respectively.

Table 3.1 Study Area Selection and Data Collection Method

Where/When Descriptions Represent Unstructured interviewing Participant observation Na Isan (NI) Na Isan Community, Tha Kradan subdistrict, Sanam Chai Khet district, Chachoengsao province

Central Thailand,

July 2008

Thai local knower (H)

Buddhist abbot (T) Secondary school teacher (S)

Buddhist Festival

- Asalha Bucha Day - Buddhist Lent Day Thai local knowledge on agriculture

Northeastern Thai (Isan) community / Buddhism

Bo Saen (Pong Kham)

Bo Saen subdistrict, Thap Put district, Phang Nga province

Southern Thailand, July 2008 and February 2009 Thai local knowledge experts (H) Secondary school teachers (S) Imam of community mosque (M) Chief of Or Bor Tor

Bo Saen (H)

Chaem luang (CL)

Chaem Luang subdistrict, Galyani Wadhana District, Chiang Mai province

Northern Thailand, March 2009 Secondary school teachers (S) Christian school teacher (S) Buddhist abbot (T) Village ritual leader (T)

Housewives (H) Young male villager (H)

Karen students (s)

Karen lifestyle

Karen local knowledge on the forest ecosystem and

environment conservation

Karen community / Christianity / Buddhism

Pong Kham (Pong Kham)

Pong Kham community, Du Phong subdistrict,

Santi Suk district, Nan Province

Northern Thailand,

March 2009

Buddhist abbot (T) Thai local healer (H) Elderly female villagers (H) Secondary school students (S) University students (S)

Thai local knowledge in Nan province

Buddhist Festival ‘thet maha chart’

Table 3.2 The Details of Participant Observation

Where / When Events and Activities

NI (Na Isan)

The day before Asalha Bucha Day

Buddhist ceremony on Asalha Bucha Day and Buddhist Lent Day (Wan Khao Phansa)

1. Helping and observing male villagers and youths decorate and prepare a car for the candle parade that represents Na Isan village. 2. Helping and observing female villagers and elderly people cooking food and preparing flowers for making merit and giving alms to monks.

3. Learning and practising how to prepare flowers for Buddhist rites with a group of housewives.

On Asalha Bucha Day 7.00 am: Giving alms (Tak Bat) to monks at Na Isan monastery

9.00 am: Candle Parade Ceremony

11.00 am: Offer wax candles and make donations (food, monk’s robe, lotus flowers, buckets full of useful goods) to monks at Wat Na Yao

NI (Na Isan)

The day before seminar day

Seminar on Thai local knowledge by Por Liam (Na Isan villager and Thai Local Knowledge Expert)

1. Helping a group of housewives prepare food, desserts and snacks for the participants

On the seminar day 1. Observing seminar and talking to participants

2. Joining seminar participants’ study tour on Thai local knowledge of agriculture in Por Liam’s garden

CL (Chaem Luang)

1. Walking in the community forest and learning about Karen local knowledge on the forest ecosystem and environmental conservation 2. Walking and fishing along Mae Chaem River with housewives from Chaem Luang village

PK (Pong Kham) Wat Ming Mueang

Wat Pong Kham

1. Observing a meeting between a group of Nan’s Buddhist monks and researchers from The Thailand Research Fund Regional Office (northern) about Thai local knowledge in Nan province

2. Observing a meeting between a group of people (local government officials and villagers from district level, such as Santi Suk district, Na Noi district, Bo kleua district) and researchers from The Thailand Research Fund Regional Office (northern) about community research in Nan province

Wat Pong Kham The annual Buddhist festival, ‘thet maha chart’, a sermon about the last incarnation of Buddha.

1. Helping and observing Pong Kham villagers prepare places and food for this festival on the day before and after the festival.

CONCLUSION

The research methodology presented in this chapter was interpretivist, using qualitative and inductive research approaches. An ethnographic research method was employed for the collection of data. Unstructured interviewing and

participant observation were used for gathering qualitative data in the field. Documents were obtained during data collection and documentary analysis

was employed to put together the four main themes for my study. In particular, community of practice was the research concept used to analyse data, together with qualitative document analysis. The research was carried out in four communities in rural areas across Thailand, namely: Na Isan (NI), Bo Saen (BS), Chaem Luang (CL) and Pong Kham (PK) community in which HTS Organisation has been operating and is still alive. The next chapter explores BOR WORN-HTS Organisation both in Thailand and in this study.

INTRODUCTION

This chapter explains the details of BOR WORN-Home, Temple and School Organisation which is the main theme of the study. It is divided into three sections: HTS Organisation in Thailand, HTS Organisation in the four

communities studied, and an interpretation of research findings in BOR WORN-HTS Organisation. To begin with, general information is given on

BOR WORN-HTS Organisation, then the chapter explores HTS Organisation in four communities across Thailand. Lastly, the research findings in the HTS Organisation context are discussed including revealing the importance of BOR WORN-HTS Organisation to Thai society and culture and the learning which occurs in HTS Organisation