Bamboo Breath in Ban Tam Village At Bo Suak, Nan

Close your eyes in Ban Tam Village and the first noise you hear isn’t traffic; it’s bamboo. A blade whispers through a stalk. Strips brush against each other. Scrape… scrape. Soft, steady, like a lullaby the village and its long held song that has been playing for generations. This is where craft is to be measured by fingertips. Not rushed. Not forced. 

So repetitive  just quietly, until memories, habits and the spirit of Nan sink into every woven weave. A mae kru (master teacher), or elder artisan sits among piles of bamboo in a small workspace. Here, weaving doesn’t start with weaving. It starts from reading the bamboo: picking a right stalk, feeling its texture, cutting out each strip to the right thickness. The hands know which part will bend into a smooth curve, and which part must remain firm to stabilize the shape.

That care is a village’s “breath,” carried on without much in the way of words. What is special about Ban Tam Village is that tradition keeps going. Simple objects become something more: woven fans that sparkle with color, polished baskets that feel almost like functional art to the spectator, tiny miniatures requiring near-intense focus. And the little bamboo horse, often in row, simple, playful and quietly symbolic. A craft that won’t stay still.

The best way to know it is to attempt it. Sit down, keep the bamboo strips in hand, lift and press, weave and smooth. In no time, you will have something in your hand that is more than a souvenir; it is a moment you created for yourself. And in 2026, the Year of the Horse, Ban Tam Village is inviting guests to weave a lucky bamboo horse (or a small bunny, if that’s your thing).

Because the most sweet kind of happiness sometimes isn’t about finding something perfect. It’s about making something meaningful — slowly, gently — in a place where time seems kind. Workshop information. To participate in a workshop in Ban Tam Village, contact:

Khun Sriphan — Tel. 094-234-4770. (Make sure to contact us about it 3–5 days in advance. Artisans may be traveling to markets or other workshops.)