Commodifying nature and culture for tourism in Mae Klang Luang Karen village, Chiang Mai

Abstract

Commodification can be understood as the process of turning something into valuable goods. In a setting of tourism activities, scholars argued that in ethnic community destinations this phenomenon usually happened. Ethnic community villages in Chiang Mai are known for their way of life that is rooted in nature and practice conservation as the way to sustain the nature surrounding their homes. Mae Klang Luang is a Karen ethnic village located in Doi Inthanon National Park, District of Chomthong, Chiang Mai. In the past, the community used to participate in opium plantation and practiced traditional swidden agriculture. After opium was illegalized and traditional agriculture was prohibited by the authorities, the community experienced major changes in their livelihood including their adaptation to terrace paddy field cultivation and acceptance to the Royal Project substitute commodities. The thesis to this research is that the Karen community in Mae Klang Luang takes tourism through commodification as a means of struggle after major shifts in their circumstances from socio-political changes. This participation in tourism later contributed to the contestation of their ethnic identity. At present, this S’gaw Karen community village have been participating in tourism activities for about two decades, offering the experience of being close with the nature. This research employed three concepts to understand the process of commodification in the village. Commodification as the major concept is employed to analyze the process as a whole with two supporting minor concepts; ethnic identity and community based tourism (CBT). This research looked at both nature and culture that are parts of the Karen ethnic identity in Mae Klang Luang involved under tourism activities and how the local community manages these tourism activities in the village. The beautiful atmosphere of terrace paddy field holds an important role not only as the village’s main agriculture practice but also as the main tourist attraction. The fieldwork was conducted in the village for both data collection and visiting period of seven months to see the stages of process of the paddy field cultivation and the diversification of plants as part of their strategy to attract tourists. The research found that the Karen people in Mae Klang Luang turned the nature surrounding the village that is part of their culture and their unique culture to become tourist attractions on two accounts; human resource distribution and ethnic identity contestation. Additionally, this research also found interesting finding that coffee came as a substitute commodity to the village from the Royal Project but at present, local “Karen” coffee shops in the village can be found providing local made coffee crafts to the tourists. However, tourism in the village under community based tourism (CBT) does not run without implication and challenges. This research concluded that tourism through commodification provides a presence for the village to not only promote their culture but also to contest their ethnic identity from the imposed stigma of being traditional and non-modern. The organized terrace paddy field shows their strategy in developing tourism in the village and their commitment to the coffee production shows the nurtured relationship between the village and the Royal Project authorities. For Mae Klang Luang, this research addresses recommendation on the account of the village’s digital information by the local Karen youth participation to maximize it. For future publications, this research addresses to the issue of contribution to the village’s initiation to strive for development in their own village rather than to wider the perspective that they are the victim of modernization that is tourism.