Community participation in conservation of arts and culture in the Southern border: A case study of Wat Chon Thara Singhe, Narathiwat Province

Abstract

            The purpose of this study was to investigate community participation in conservation of arts and culture, a case study of Wat Chon Thara Singhe, Che He Sub-district, Takbai District, Narathiwat Province.  Data were collected from related documents and from the field through non-participant observations and in-depth interviews with 14 key informants consisting of Buddhist monks, people in the community and local academicians selected using purposive sampling; the data were validated using triangulation, and concluded with analytical description. 

          The study found limited community participation in planning and decision-making regarding repair and maintenance of the historical site but more community participation among local craftsmen, merchants and local people in creation of new work as inheritance of Thai arts. Regarding practice, community participation was found directly and indirectly.  Direct participation was in creating new Thai Buddhist arts and repairing artwork outside the historical site by raising money, materials and labor from devotees.  However, community participation in repairing the historical site was limited by government conditions. Indirect participation was found in dissemination of knowledge, guarding and conserving the environment.  Benefits from participating in conservation were social networks that the community made with visitors to the temple and income from providing services for tourists but these benefits were limited to only government employees and participants of the community tourism project.  Nevertheless, the benefits were minimal because of the small number of tourists due to the unrest situation in this area.  Evaluation of repair was conducted by knowledgeable persons in the community and the abbot by comparing the condition of antiques and patterns of decoration before and after repair. Evaluation results reflect confidence in repair and maintenance by the government. Therefore, organizations responsible for conservation should give understandings to the community.