Project on a Village of Ceramic Herbal Compress Ball for Heath Tourism, Mae Khai Village and Technology

When talking about ceramics and pottery in Thailand, most people think about Lampang Province. The ceramics and pottery produced in Lampang are well known because of their high quality and their long history. Ban Sala Bua Bok in Kor Kha District, Lampang is a community which produces and distributes ceramics and pottery. Health tourism is also promoted in this area. Since it is located not far away from the city center, many tourists visit to learn about the lifestyle of the community and take advantage of its services.

            The distinctive points of the community and the expertise of the staff from Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, Lampang has led to a collaboration to promote the ceramic industry along with the tourism industry. This collaboration aims to support Ban Sala Bua Bok to become the village where ceramic herbal compress balls is produced in addition to health tourism. This project was supported by the budget from the project of Mai Kai and Technology under the Technology Clinic Project, Ministry of Science and Technology. The duration was 3 years aiming to develop target villages to become villages of science and technology in producing and developing ceramic massage products for health tourism. It also aimed to develop learning skills, appropriately apply science and technology to sustainable production in relation to the community context, and help other nearby communities.

            Assistant Professor Piangpim Chidburee, a lecturer from the Department of Science, Faculty of Science and Agricultural Technology, stated on behalf of the head of the project that in the first year of initiation, the university worked on building understanding among the community regarding learning processes and becoming villages of science and technology, creating positive attitudes and transferring knowledge relating to using science and technology to increase the potential of tourism and services. The transfer of knowledge included developing the quality of massage products (ceramic herbal compress balls), designing packages and labels for the ceramic herbal compress balls, improving ceramic ingredients used in the compress balls, and developing the products to meet acceptable standards. The second year focused on registering to become a One Tambon One Product (OTOP) producer and setting up a community enterprise. Applying for SME status was conducted in the third year.

            This project in villages that produce ceramic herbal compress balls for health tourism is one of the missions of Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, Lampang, in the field of community service. This aims to elevate the quality of the products and the life of people in the community, including to create information exchange and participatory development. These support the philosophy of Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, “The university for community”.