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 Phang
Nga Bay still offers some of the best cultural encounters anywhere
in Thailand. You can participate in a Community Involvement Programs
which include working with the Homestay Project and the local highschool.
Your involvement will make a difference!
You can
learn how to process rubber from start to finish. First you'll tap
the tree with a specially-designed cutting tool. The rubber flows
into a cup. Next, you fill pans with the raw latex and add a compound
that causes it to coagulate. Once firm, you walk on the rectangular
blob to pre-flatten it. The final step is to run the rubber through
ringers to make mats. Hang these mats out to cure and you've processed
rubber.
You'll
also get to help re-plant a barren mudflat with mangrove trees. Mangrove
forests are the nursery for the ocean and are considered the first
link in the chain of life for the sea. It is imperative that they
remain intact and healthy. By planting mangrove trees you’ll
help restore the natural balance that Nature originally supplied.
This planting takes place behind the local high school. You’ll
also walk through the school’s science museum and the local
students will help explain everything you’ll see in their school
museum.
Bring
along some gifts for the school. Gifts can be sports equipment,
school supplies or food. Your kindness will be rewarded.
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The
village has kept their old rice milling machinery so you can
see how they did it in the old days. This is very fun and
interesting. Everyone gets a chance to try the various machines
and it's not as easy as the locals make it look.
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Local
high school students are your guides and new friends. They
love practicing their English and they love making new friends.
Here, a local student reads a paper on how Pig-Tailed Macaques
(monkeys) are trained to collect coconuts. A monkey can collect
up to a thousand coconuts in one day! A human would be lucky
if he gathered a hundred.
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Bring
out your artistic talents with batik painting. This fun activity
is always a big hit with students.
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You
can help - You can make a difference in someone's life and you can
have a good time doing it!
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