Abstract:
the purposes of this study were : 1) to determine value, intellectual wisdom, and economy of Palmyra palm culture in the Kingdom of Thailand and the Kingdom of Cambodia : and 2) identify the community model that fits in the Palmyra palm culture in the Kingdom of Thailand based on the principle of sufficiency economy. The study areas in the Kingdom of Thailand were the Palmyra palm culture community in pimai Nuer Subdistrict in Prangkoo District of Srisaket Province and Thumrong subdistrict in Banlad Distrct of Phetchaburi Province. In the Kingdom of Cambodia, the palmyra palm culture community in phrea saduk sundistrict in Bamteay srei sistrict of seam reab province was the study site. The study was conducted and data were collected between June 2007 to June 2009 , Appling qualitive research technique of ethnographic of ethnographic investigation and the technique of Appling influence control (AIC) for data collection based on in-depth interview, focus group discussion, participatory observation, and non-participatory observation. The research findings and concision were drawn from descriptive analysis .
this research and development study yielded findings that the palmyra palm culture in the Kingdom of Thailand valued palmyra palm in 4 aspects : use as food source producing a variety of dishes and dessert : generating and transferring intellectual wisdom in making use of different parts of palmyra palm trees for medicine, household furniture and utensils, and fuel source : formation of beliefs and rituals toward palmyra palm trees that are useful for the people in the community : and boosting community economy is household income earning from selling palmyra palm products. Similarly, in the kingdom of Cambodia, the palmyra palm culture community valued palmyra palm in the same aspects of using palm trees as food source, generating and transferring intellectual wisdom, forming in both kingdoms valued the palmyra palm culture in the same was even though each culture revolutionized its culture differently in terms of production process and method, type of wisdom, and economical aspect.
From the descriptive analysis to identify the community model that fits in the palmyra palm culture in the kingdom of Thailand based on the sufficiency economy principle, it was found that the model was evolved in 4 dimensions. First in the economic dimension, the palmyra palm culture community developed commercial products from palm trees for sale for familys supplementary income. Family members participated in making palmyra palm products. Second in social dimension, the community groups were formed and members and families had closed relationship which eased transferring of intellectual wisdom from generation to generation naturally through routine activities. The community leaders created activities concerning with palmyra palm to attract other people to visit and urged their community to increase more income by improving and developing products from palm trees by their own creativity in food, furniture, toys, and souvenirs. Third in political, it was found that the palmyra palm culture model involved three groups of people : leaders, academic, and labor. With tri-party cooperation, the leaders and the academics tried to maintain, develop, and promote activities for the labor in the palmyra palm culture community to be sustainable self-reliance in producing palm products and earning income. Fourth in natural and environmental dimension, it was found that the community had developed palmyra palm conservation and inherited its intellectual wisdom to the next generations by planting to increase number of the palm trees, gave precedence to using the palmyra palm trees as the community image, and made use of them economically and socially. Conclusively an appropriate community model that fits in the palmyra palm culture in the Kingdom of Thailand stems from the people living in it , the intellectual wisdom they create, and familys adaptation and social cooperation for the living influenced by external agents that cause changes from time to time.