Creating souvenirs through traditional practices: An analysis of local products and souvenirs in Muang Paem, Thailand Elisa van der Hoop, Annelies Koorn and Linda Willemse June 18, 2013
Introduction Many tourists consider souvenirs as important in order to remind them of the holiday or experience they have had (Swanson, 2004; Love & Kohn, 2010). Souvenir purchases form a significant component of the shopping behavior of tourists (Littrell et al., 1994; Lehto et al., 2004, as noted in Wilkins, 2010). Even though the danger of souvenirs lies in mass production and commercialization of the products, Hashimoto and Telfer (2007) argue that not all souvenirs are commercialized, as there are local products created and sold to tourists while these are merely deformed from local traditions. Muang Paem is an example of selling non-commercialized authentic souvenirs. This village is a white Karen hill-tribe community located in the northern part of Thailand. The community has established their permanent settlement in Muang Paem in 1961, and has recently begun to develop community based tourism (CBT). Before, Muang Paem has also known to trekking tourists due to their location in the mountains (Report Participatory Cultural Mapping For Community Based Tourism Development, n.d.). This community of former Burmese people has established a high degree of selfreliance and earn an additional income from selling these to tourists. Due to its local traditions in weaving, bamboo weaving, herbal medicine and wood carving, the community is rich in local products which can also be sold to tourists. This report aims to analyze the several local products which are sold as souvenirs, the extent of adaption to the needs of the tourists, the places of sales and tourists’ views on souvenirs. During a two-week stay in several homestays in Muang Paem site-specific information is gathered through observation, self-experiencing workshops and interviews to create different views and opinions on the relating subjects. The interviews are held with people who are involved in creating
local
products,
several Image 1, Made by E. van der Hoop. “Interview with community members.�
important community members and ten tourists from different nationalities.
Theory The souvenir is an important aspect of the tourism industry (Wilkins, 2010) as almost one third of the travel expenses are used for shopping in which the expenses for souvenirs are a large contributor (Litrell et al. 1994; Fairhurst, Costello, and Holmes 2007 as noted in Wilkins, 2010). Swanson (2004) argues that it is within the human nature to take home a memorable aspect from the journey taken. There are only few people who will enjoy a holiday without taking back a tangible aspect (Gordon, 1986;Litrell et al. 1994 as noted in Wilkins, 2010). This tangible aspect should be a representation of the intangible in order to remember this experience (Swanson, 2004; Love & Kohn, 2010). Such tangibles are also known as souvenirs. The souvenir can be a representative of many things, such as culture and history. Furthermore, the souvenir corresponds to various geographical levels (Hashimoto & Telfer, 2007). The souvenir can be mass-produced or even handmade (Swanson, 2004). Hashimoto & Telfer (2007) explain that souvenirs can be commercialized, but not necessarily every souvenir is. They state that souvenirs that are made by hand, but slightly adapted to a market, care not considered commercialized. Swanson (2004) argues that authenticity and the souvenir’s connection to the area are the most important in selecting a souvenir. Hashimoto & Telfer (2007) discuss that a souvenir is authentic when it is made, produced or performed by local people using local customs or traditions. Most international
tourists appear to seek for
small
and
easily transportable products,
understandable and useable back home (Swanson, 2004). Furthermore, tourist who are more experienced travelers buy souvenirs related to relationships, people and events, while inexperienced travelers buy souvenirs relating to the destination (Hashimoto & Telfer, 2007).
Methodology This article is based on the literature review of Elisa van der Hoop, where secondary data has been compiled and analyzed. Primary data for this research was gathered during a two-week stay in Muang Paem, Thailand from May 25 till June 9, 2013 and in Chiang Mai on June 11, 2013. Four in-depth interviews were conducted at the village itself to require different views and opinions on the relating subjects. The interviews were held with specially-selected people who are involved in creating local products and people who have a significant function within the community or concerning CBT. These were conducted with the
help of one or two, in the case of translating Karen to Thai, translators. In order to gain information about the demand site, ten tourists with different nationalities were interviewed in Chiang Mai. Besides interviews, observation in the village is executed. Observing the village, the daily lives of the villagers and local products in and around the house provided more knowledge. Moreover, self-experiencing workshops were executed to experience the creation of souvenirs.
Findings In Muang Paem there is a high extent of selfreliance by making their own products. Even though observation has shown that the community is also adapting to modern life, for example by wearing non-traditional and bought clothes, traditional ways of creating products for own use are still in-tact. The local products of Muang Paem show a high variety. Image 2, Made by E. van der Hoop. “Bupa weaving.”
While some of these products are merely created for own use and sales among the locals, and therefore
not sold to outside visitors, there are many products which are also sold to tourists which are known as souvenirs. A distinction is made between products which are made for own use and also sold to tourists and products which are merely made for tourists. The first group knows several products. First of all, the herbs and herbal medicine are gathered from the community forest and some are grown in local gardens. Next to that many of the weaving products are used in daily life. Such products are the shirts, skirts and dresses which are a part of the traditional clothing. Other weaving products are bags and head scarfs. Weaving these products is a women’s job and is purely done during free time, next to their daily jobs. The cotton for these products is not grown by the community itself, but is bought in Pang Ma Pa and Chiang Mai (Report Participatory Cultural Mapping for Community Based Tourism Development, n.d.). Next the cotton is dyed, either in a natural way, by using tree barks, which create Image 3, made by L. Willemse. “Washing dyed cotton.”
soft colors such as yellow or brown, or by using chemical dye bought from the factory, which create brighter colors such as blue and black. After the cotton is dry it is spun in order to be able to start the weaving. After the woman has woven the product it is decorated, after which it can be used by themselves (Bupa, personal communication, June 6, 2013; Report Participatory Cultural Mapping for Community Based Tourism Development, n.d.). Next to the weaving products also bamboo products are considered as a local product. Contrary to cotton weaving, bamboo weaving is traditionally a man’s job also conducted in their free time. Only one man in the village, mr. Tawan, has bamboo weaving as his main occupation. Products which are made for own use are the different baskets, for fish, rice or clothes, trays, fans for separating the rice, chicken coops (Tawan, personal communication, June 7, 2013), fish traps, fish nets, bamboo hats and other structures such as doors, floors and walls (Report Participatory Cultural Mapping for Community Based Tourism Development, n.d.). All these products can be found throughout the village and in the homes. Mr. Tawan (personal communication, June 7, 2013) notes that before a product can be made the right bamboo is gathered in the forest and stripped to the desired size. The duration of creating the product varies according to the size and difficulty of the product. Finally, the bamboo and teak cups and spoons are also considered as local products, which are often used in the houses or while on the fields (Tawan, personal communication, June 7, 2013). When a (wo)man has too little spare time to create their own product, they buy from each other within the village. This applies for both bamboo, as well as for cotton weaving. These products can also be adjusted or created to the specific needs of the tourists, yet this can be difficult as the average stay is only 1,5 days. (Bupa, personal communication, June 6, 2013; Soetet, personal communication, June 8, 2013).
The community has identified several opportunities for creating additional souvenirs, especially for tourists, by using traditional practices. For example scarfs, blankets, ponchos and wooden key-chains shaped as different animals. Many tourists prefer to buy smaller souvenirs, such as the bags and scarfs, as these are easy to be carried. Even though these products are specially based on tourists wishes, these are still created according to the traditional processes. Because they are created and produced by the locals according to the local traditions, Image 4, Made by L. Willemse “Weaving in a workshop.”
Hashimoto and Telfer (2007) consider the products as authentic souvenirs. As tourists value the authenticity of a product this could be an indicator of a successful souvenir. New ideas to develop souvenirs are the use of modern patterns in weaving (Bupa, personal communication, June 6, 2013) and the creation of new weaving products such as dolls in traditional clothing or bracelets. Similar products like these have proven to be successful in other communities and are planned to be developed in Muang Paem as well. With these examples Muang Paem shows that they have adapted their products and created new ones to the needs and wants of the tourists. Still, they remain to use the traditional crafting ways, preserving the authentic quality. Bupa (personal communication, June 6, 2013) notes that tourists are more attracted to weaving products which are naturally dyed when they know the story behind the natural colors. This proves the theory of Hashimoto and Telfer (2007) who argue that the story behind the product, next to the product itself, also plays an important role in souvenirs.
Even though there are only around 100 tourists each year in the community (Poluang, personal communication, June 6, 2013), the weaving group generates around 4,000 to 5,000 baht per month, while the total amount might be double due to sales at homes outside of the women’s group (Bupa, personal communication, June 6, 2013). Still, the local women make these products according to the local traditions in their free time and are not produced in mass. Also the bamboo and teak products take a long time before being finished and are mostly created during the men’s free time as well (Tawan, personal communication, June 7, 2013). Therefore these products are no mass-production and are not commercial according to Hashimoto Image 5, Made by E. van der Hoop. “Weaving products.”
and Telfer (2007). According to Bupa (personal communication, June 6, 2013) and Jingjon (personal communication, June 6, 2013) there is no sufficient marketing for the souvenirs, yet. Promotion is only done by several tour operators in the surrounding of Mae Hong Son. There are currently two shops which sell the community's souvenirs. The first is located in Chiang Mai. Last August this shop owner held a training course for the community concerning souvenirs. In this training the community members learned about tourists’ needs and wants, and created ideas for new products. The community got the opportunity to sell 500 of the
new and adapted souvenirs to the shop in order to promote these. The second shop is the handicraft center in Mae Hong Son which belongs to the university. Pamphlets and brochures are available at different tour companies in the area in order to make tourists aware of the souvenirs in this shop. Nevertheless, sales are slow (Jingjon, personal communication, June 6, 2013). Next to the sales in these shops, souvenirs are sold within the community. When the community has a notification of tourists visiting, the house of the village headman is used as center where weaving products are displayed and sold. Karen women can hand in their weaving products to the weaving group, which exists of 35 women, who are stakeholders for an admission fee of 10 baht. The weaving products are sorted and the selected products are displayed as souvenirs in the center place. Women who hand in their product will get paid by Bupa immediately, if the money is available. After reducing the price of cotton, 10% of the profit is reserved for the management of selling the products. The remaining amount is profit for the person who made the product. Due to the community’s outstanding skills in handicrafts, the government has funded the women’s group with 50,000 baht, showing
the
excellence
of
their
work
(Bupa,
communication, June 6, 2013).
personal
Image 6, Made by E. van der Hoop. “bamboo and wood carved products.”
Besides sales at the central place, souvenirs are sold during workshops such as bamboo or cotton weaving. However, as the average stay is only 1.5 days, many tourists do not have the time to participate themselves. Still, many have a look at the practices of the locals. When relating the souvenir to the local product, the manner of which this local product is made and the place where it is sold is important in order to be an authentic souvenir, which is valued by tourists (Hashimoto & Telfer, 2007). It can be stated that tourists would like to buy a souvenir at the place where the workshop is given. Additionally, locals sell from their houses. These direct sales were especially done in former times. The person who reaches the tourists first would sell the most. Due to the central place, direct sales became less, but are still occurring. However, Soetet (personal communication, June 8, 2013) argues that one cannot forbid the direct sales as they live in a democracy. Furthermore, Thai tourists buy products at the herbal doctors rarely. Yet, it is not considered as a souvenir as these are merely produced for the doctor’s use due to an anxiety of losing too much of their natural environment.
As one can see, efficient marketing is missing. Additionally, if tourists only pass by the village or do not participate in the workshops they might miss the Karen souvenirs. According to Swanson (2004) and Love and Kohn (2010) tourists often buy souvenirs to have a tangible aspect to represent and remember their experience. Nine tourists agreed to this statement since a souvenir should be a reminder of their holiday. Next to that, three tourists said that the souvenir should have a meaning, while three others said that it should represent their stay in the country. Bupa (personal communication, June Image 7, Made by L. Willemse. “Workshop weaving.�
6, 2013) noticed that tourists buy the smaller souvenirs as it is easier to take with them on their
journey. Only one tourist claimed not to be interested in products of hill-tribes, while others said that they would or it would depend. While four tourists stated that they would prefer to buy their souvenirs in a shop, the majority of six agreed that buying them at a workshop would have greater meaning. This shows that these tourists would be willing to buy souvenirs in Muang Paem when this would have a meaning for them. Despite the average stay of 1.5 days for the CBT product, the tourists do visit the handicrafts as it is a fixed part of the program (group interview 1, June 6, 2013). However, it is questionable whether tourists who not participate in CBT, for example trekking tourists, or those who do not want to visit the handicrafts, are aware of the sales as there is no shop in the village located.
Conclusion In the past Muang Paem received many trekking tourists. Tourists habitually buy souvenirs as they want to have a tangible reminder of their experience. The creation of such souvenirs start with the local product. Due to the high extent of self-reliance of traditional practices in cotton and bamboo weaving, wood carving and herbal medicine, Muang Paem knows many. Even though these are originally produced for own use, some products, such as the shoulderbag, are also sold to tourists and can be seen as souvenirs, too. While some local products are slightly changed to meet the needs and wants of the tourists, other products are only made to create a unique souvenir. Despite changes and new additions, authenticity of the souvenir remains as the locals continue to use the traditional processes. Due to the fact that the products are created in their free time and take up some time, these
are not mass produced or commercialized. The community should, therefore, preserve these traditional processes of creating products and souvenirs. Not only are these considered unique, these are also authentic to the Karen culture and have been awarded by the government organization with a large amount of money. Selling the souvenirs is either through home sales or cooperative sales. Although the first only benefits the sales(wo)man, it cannot be prohibited. The cooperative selling of the weaving products, on which the women’s group works together and which are sold in a central place, equals the selling chances of all group members. Other benefits are that the sales are well kept, cotton can be bought at reduced prices and chances of sale increase. The group products are also sold via two shops. However, sales in Mae Hong Son shop are slow, due to a lack of Image 8, Made by L. Willemse. “Women working marketing efforts. Recommended is to strengthen the
on dyeing.�
cooperation with the shop, and thereby increasing the marketing efforts to create a rise in sales. Additionally, the community does not have a clear souvenir or local product shop within the village itself, making it difficult for tourists staying for a short period of time to find souvenirs. Therefore, an option would be to have a place to sell the souvenirs. Since there are little tourists visiting the community, opening a new shop purely for souvenirs would be too ambitious. A solution would be to reserve a small space in front of the grocery shop in the village to display some of the products. As this shop is located on a main road many travelers would be able to see and visit the shop. Still Muang Paem keeps its traditional processes and continuously develops their understanding of tourists buying habits. Consequently, it can be concluded that Muang Paem is doing well concerning their local products relating to souvenirs.
Limitations The main limitation of this research is the language barrier, due to the fact that the community members cannot speak English. Therefore a translator was needed when conducting interviews. A translator can control and influence the conversation while merely summarizing what has been said. As a result it is not known what was said specifically.
Furthermore, difficulties arose with formulating specific and detailed follow-up questions. Due to the limited research time, this research is based on only a few tourist interviews rather than many. This making it difficult to make a general assumption representing all tourists.
Acknowledgements This work has been created with the help of the translations of Pee Mam and Serri. The interviews were conducted with Bupa, head of the weaving group, Tawan, local bamboo weaving man, and two group interviews. One with Jingjon, assistant village headman and local guide, Sukma, chair of women group and CBT committee member, Samun, homestay member, and Bupa.The other with Rangsi, head of the CBT group, Poluang, village headman and Soetet, local guide. Additionally in Chiang Mai, ten random tourists were anonymously interviewed. All participants are thanked for their input. The authors thank Pee Mam for her help in the interviews and support throughout the process and Mr. John Hummel for his input and feedback contributing to a better result.
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