The Study of Local Healthy Food from Identity of Community-based Tourism for Health Tourism Destinations in Western Thailand Nongrong Community, Nongrong Sub-district, Phanom Tuan District, Kanchanaburi Province

Abstract

Abstract

                This research aimed to: 1) study the community context in community-based tourism at Nongrong Subdistrict; 2) study the local healthy food in Nongrong community and; 3) invent the stories and cooking lesson in local healthy food based on Nongrong community identity. A qualitative method and participatory action research were used by the research team and local people to develop guidelines for promoting community-based tourism development through food story. Additionally, it provided job opportunities to local communities, toward local experiential and health tourism.

The research result were: 1) the identity of Nongrong Community in Kanchanaburi Province was community-based tourism. Ban Huay Sapan Samakkee Community Forest was the starting point of community tourism at Ban Huay Sapan. There were 21 community tourism destination. Local food resources were applied in tourism activities. The local vegetable ingredients, for example, were bamboo shoot, horse radish tree, banana blossom, Thai yellow eggplants, wood apple, hog plum leaves, and sand ginger leaves. These ingredients were identity of Nongrong Community. The research result from in-depth interviewed and focus-group discussion about local food data of Nongrong Community showed 41 local recipes. Most of them were curries without coconut milk. Fishes and chickens were main meat in the recipe. Vegetables and herbs were main ingredients. It is because Nongrong geographical feature was flat plain with small hills where food resources were available for variety of menu. 2) The results also showed that most of the foods were defined as local dishes and are well-known for more than 10 years. 70 percent of ingredients were locally available. Therefore, it was easy for applying cooking to a tourism activity. 3) There were 6 set of local healthy menu for creating stories based on history, background and way of life in Nongrong Community. Lessons in local cooking, Thai cuisine, herbal usage and local wise wisdom were developed as a tourist activity in Nongrong community-based tourism.