A look at visiting Bang Rong, and how community based tourism in Phuket can help maintain local traditions and way of life, and show us how successful conservation projects can be. An unmissable experience for those wanting to learn more about local communities in Phuket.
Bang Rong is a small Muslim community of fishermen and farmers located in the north-east of Phuket with a history that goes back more than 200 years.
Established during the Ayutthaya period, Bang Rong used to be a busy transportation hub for goods, and Bang Rong Pier was once a very busy port. Located on the mouth of Bang Rong River, the pier is still in use, but it’s no longer the hub it used to be.
Bang Rong Pier is now known as the departure point for speedboats taking tourists on day trips to Ko Yao Noi and Ko Yao Yai. But most of the time, these tourists don’t even realise that there is a lot to see and experience in Bang Rong village itself.
A visit to Bang Rong village is not only a really fun day out, but you’d also be supporting a way of life that is in danger of disappearing. You get to learn about agricultural and fishing life, and to experience community based tourism in Phuket at its best.
A Successful Conservation Project
Bang Rong Pier and the village are surrounded by a large mangrove forest, the last mangrove forest in Phuket.
Now a thriving forest, it wasn’t always this way. It was only in the 1990s that it was in danger of disappearing, together with the area’s fish population, due to deforestation, putting the future of the local community in danger of disappearing too.
But just over 20 years ago, Bang Rong created a conservation program that involved the reforestation of the mangroves, which in turn restored the marine habitat and the local fish, crab and shrimp population.
Discovering Community Based Tourism in Phuket
As a result of the conservation project’s success, people started visiting the village to learn from the community’s experience, and this is how it all started for Bang Rong’s community based tourism in Phuket.
Bang Rong is not only a great day out, but it is also a great place to learn about a way of life that was once at risk and is now thriving again. It was great to see during my visit, that tourism can help reverse that risk and be harnessed to help it protect the local traditions.
Bang Rong’s community based tourism program allows visitors to learn and get involved in the day to day of rural life in Phuket, and it allows local people to continue to maintain their traditional way of life. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.
Here are some of the things you can do on the best project for community based tourism in Phuket.
Things to do in Bang Rong
By visiting Ban Rong, not only are you supporting a way of life that is in danger of disappearing, but you get to learn and experience agricultural and fishing life in Phuket.
This once endangered way of life can be experienced and enjoyed in lots of different ways. So here are a few on offer on a day out in Bang Rong.
Paint your own Pateh handbag
The first activity I took part in when I first arrived in Ban Rong was to take part in a small Pateh handbag painting workshop.
Pateh is a Muslim traditional style cloth printed with Phuket batik, which is used to make a lovely reusable tote bag. I got to paint over the batik print using glitter paint, personalising the tote bag to my own taste and style.
It was a great way to start the day.
Learn about rubber harvesting and production
One of the things included on a day in Bang Rong is a visit to a rubber plantation. Here you will get to learn how to harvest rubber and have a go at doing it yourself.
You will also learn and observe the process of turning rubber into latex. It’s really fascinating to watch how a sticky white liquid becomes an easily recognisable material that will then get shipped off to manufacturers to turn it into everyday objects.
Try the sweetest pineapple
A visit to a pineapple plantation is also on the plans here, where you will learn about farming life and try the sweetest pineapple you’ve ever eaten, straight from the plant.
You will also learn that pineapple plantations last around 7 years, and are planted among very young rubber plantations.
This allows the farmers to grow the fruit while they wait for the rubber trees to mature. They need to be at least 10 years old before you can start harvesting rubber.
Go coconut picking and sampling
There is also a visit to a coconut plantation, where you get to try freshly picked coconut and you learn about the different by-products of the coconut.
You also get to learn about the difference between young (the ones you drink from) and old coconuts, and between coconut cream and coconut milk.
You will also try tom yod ma praw, a dessert typical from Bang Rong, made of sticky rice and coconut milk and wrapped in coconut palm leaf. Part savoury, part sweet, it is absolutely delicious!
Help release protected crabs
You can take a boat trip out to sea from the mangroves in order to release female crabs carrying eggs onto the seagrass.
When these crabs are found in areas where they are at risk of being caught and eaten by humans, they are collected by locals and taken to a nursery.
When they are ready to hatch, they are then released onto a seagrass area, where the eggs will have a better chance of survival.
These female crabs normally carry 400,000 to 500,000 eggs, but only 5% make it through, so it’s important to give them as much of a chance of success as possible.
Visit a true desert island
While out at sea, you can also visit Koh Phae, a true desert island and real hidden gem in Phuket. It is a small rocky island with a long sandbar that is visible and accessible only at low tide.
It’s a true desert island and it feels really paradisiac.
Kayak through the mangroves
Kayaking through the mangroves is also a popular activity in Bang Rong. You can rent kayaks and paddles from the floating restaurant.
How to book a day out in Bang Rong
At the moment, the only way to book a day out in Bang Rong Village is by messaging the village representatives directly on their Facebook Page. The Bang Rong Village Facebook Page is in Thai, but they do speak English.
Alternatively, you can contact Mr. Praset, the leader of the community, on WhatsApp on +66947148707. He speaks English.
You can also arrange a visit through Bang Pong Connect.
Do you know of any other community based tourism in Phuket?
Let me know in the comments
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