Participatory Development of a Local Curriculum on Traditional Thai House Regeneration in Samut Songkhram

Abstract

This paper is part of the participatory action research on ‘Architecture for Community Empowering’ project, which has been on-going since 2007. The project emerged from expressed need of local communities to preserve the traditional Thai house as a cultural heritage. A curriculum was developed to provide training on the features of Thai- housing, construction and preservation to empower communities to share and spread this traditional wisdom. Trainees also developed a more profound appreciation for the Thai architectural heritage. This curriculum is the first of its kind in Thailand, and the training is being replicated in other communities in the country.