A Survey of the Body of Knowledge about Cultural Resources in Baan Maab Mor Community, Baan Puek Subdistrict, Muang District, Chonburi Province

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to 1) review the body of knowledge about cultural resources in the Baan Maab Mor community, Baan Puek, Amphur Muang, Chonburi; and 2) assess the significance of cultural resources in the Baan Mab Mor community, prior to knowledge management. This study employed qualitative methodology, including documentary and field study, which involved focus group and in-depth interviews with community members. The informants, who were community leaders, local scholars and community members, were selected using a snowball/chain sampling technique. Participant observation and the cultural resources value assessment framework were also used as part of data collection. The findings showed that Baan Maab Mor contained a diversity of cultural resources, which could be categorised into two groups. One was the intangible cultural resources including games, customs and festivals. The other was the tangible cultural resources comprising arrowroot flour, handwoven textiles, local recipes, Wat Mai Ket Ngam, and the Yaii Nguan-Yaii Ai House Museum of Handwoven Textiles. According to the data analysis, the community cultural resources contains four types of values: economic, functional, educational and social values. The body of knowledge reviewed in this study could be beneficial for Knowledge Management (KM), the development of cultural-historical learning centre, and the promotion of cultural tourism in the community.