Ban Aiek is an area in San Pa Yang Subdistrict, approximately 25 kilometers from Mae Taeng District, Chiang Mai Province. The journey takes quite a long time. The road is quite narrow and winding along the mountains. Here, the Mae Rim River flows through the village. Most of the area is mountainous and surrounded by lush forests. People still live in harmony with nature. It is peaceful. Mr. Khamchan Intham, or Father Luang Khamchan, the village headman, said that Ban Aiek has large rubber trees and many other large trees, such as banyan trees and many others, surrounding the village. Some of the trees are 100-200 years old. Huai Pu Tha is the village's main water source. It covers an area of ​​over 2 rai. During the rainy season, the area is full of water. This place has a very unique water management system. The mountain water supply is taken care of by a person called the waterworks manager, and there is only one person in the village: Phi Ngern and Mr. Ong-art Boonsom. If there is a problem with the water supply, no matter where it is, it must be fixed immediately. If there is a forest fire, watch out for the water pipes burning. During the rainy season, it is a hard time for the waterworks manager because heavy rain and flash floods can cause the water pipes to break. They have to rush up the mountain so that everyone in the village can use water every month. The waterworks manager has to walk around and collect water fees from the villagers. With a monthly compensation of around 2,000 baht, there is also a mine whose duty is to take care of the water that flows to the villagers’ agricultural areas. Pho Sa-wang, Mr. Sa-wang Singhakorn, or Kae Mueang, is responsible for taking care of the water, sharing it with the villagers, taking care of cleaning, cutting overgrown grass, checking the correctness of the water pipes, turning the water on and off, and having to judge the fairness of water usage equally. There are as many mines as there are water mines in the village. From March to April, there are longan orchards and various flowers here, making them excellent food for the wild bees, who often come to build nests on banyan trees or rubber trees, which are large trees in this village. This has led to the long-standing occupation of bee-swatting. The wild bees will come to make nests on trees in the forest, such as rubber trees and banyan trees, about 40-50 nests, or sometimes 100 nests. The number of wild bee nests varies from tree to tree. The wild bees will choose to make nests on large branches. Some branches have 3-4 nests. The best person and the master of beekeeping here is called Uncle Korn or Nikorn Kanthani. Even though he is 65 years old, he has more than 30 years of experience in beekeeping. When it comes to beekeeping, dressing is very important. The clothes you wear must be tight, 3 layers of shirt, 3 layers of pants, 1 layer of rubber gloves, and most importantly, a mong or hat to protect your face from bees. The mong is made from fertilizer sacks sewn onto a wire mesh. In addition, you must prepare a saba net to use to chase away the bees when you finish your mission. Uncle Korn said that climbing up to get the beehive is a dangerous job. Uncle Korn and Kaen do not have anything to protect themselves. It is a job that requires skill and experience. Uncle Korn and his team will slowly step on the ladders that are made into steps to climb up. The villagers here are showing us the honesty they have. When they get honey, larvae, and royal jelly, they will sell them. Uncle Korn will divide the money equally for everyone because everyone is equally tired. Even though Uncle and the climber are at higher risk than others, they give the same amount because they want the team to have enough income to support their families. And more important than the money is the unity of the team. Beating bees for two months is very important to the villagers' lives. The income from selling honey can send their children to high school until they graduate. After beating the bees, they share it for several more months. The Ban Aiek community has a way to take care of itself without having to let government agencies manage it. It makes me feel that Ban Aiek can still live in the old way today because everyone is happy with their life that relies on nature and relies on each other in the community. Follow the series on the way of life on Sunday, January 2, 2022 from 9:10 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Thai PBS. Watch it later at http://www.thaipbs.or.th/TheConnect ------------------------------------------------------- Click Subscribe to follow the channel's good programs at: http://thaip.bs/YSBht5j and follow Thai PBS online at Website: http://www.thaipbs.or.th Facebook: http://www.fb.com/ThaiPBS Twitter: / thaipbs Instagram: / thaipbs LINE: http://www.thaipbs.or.th/AddLINE YouTube: / thaipbs