Developing a Sustainable Folk Museum Exhibition Through Ban Yang Lao Community Participation

Abstract

This research article aimed to develop an exhibition model for the Ban Yang Lao Folk Museum through a community participatory process in Ban Yang Subdistrict, Lam Plai Mat District, Buri Ram Province. Applying Participatory Action Research (PAR), the study engaged 32 participants, including Buddhist monks, community leaders, local sages, the elderly, youth, researchers, and academics. The research and development process comprised four key phases: collecting oral accounts of the community’s history and way of life, designing the interior exhibition layout of the folk museum, developing youth storytellers, and creating digital media for museum public relations. The findings revealed that the exhibition model, derived from community integration and co-creation, consists of three main components: 1) a creative exhibition depicting the community's way of life across seven scenes, 2) a youth storyteller program, and 3) three digital media items for public relations and learning. Ultimately, these outcomes fostered a sense of pride and collective ownership of cultural heritage among community members while establishing readiness to welcome visitors for sustainable cultural tourism in the future.