A Study of Production Potential and Development Directions of Thai Community Pottery in Thung Luang, Khiri Mat, Sukhothai Province

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to study the problems and production potential of pottery product in Thung Luang, Khiri Mat, Sukhothai Province; and examine the development directions of the pottery product. The data were collected from 120 households by using an interview, focus group, and scenario analysis techniques to establish the development directions for Thung Luang pottery. The research results showed that, in terms of the production, the products were too heavy, too cheap, fragile, and similar patterns; which resulted in low price offers from intermediary and high cost in manufacturing (both in wage and raw material cost). As for the production potential, most of pottery manufacturers were 1-2 elderly who used wheel throwing and casting methods. Most of the products were cooking pots and plant pots with glaze and decoration. The production capacity varied from 10 to 100 pieces a day with firing at 800-900 degree Celsius. The income of each household was between 10,000 and 15,000 baht per month. It was found that there were four development directions: developing the products in more reasonable price according to the modern marketing channels, promoting marketing by adopting online market to enhance the sales, building strong networks by participating in governmental or institutional projects to solve the product and economic problems, and enhancing community services and activities by building understanding and positive attitudes among pottery manufacturers and creating role models in the community.