Damnoen Saduak Floating Market: The construction of floating market community identity from agricultural society to tourism community

Abstract

     This qualitative research aimed to investigate the construction of a floating market's community identity and its impact on the people of Damnoen Saduak community. Data were collected using in-depth interviews, informal conversations, and participatory and non-participatory observations of the interactions and activities in daily life at the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. The 52 key informants were Damnoen Saduak Floating Market stakeholders: 1) 20 entrepreneurs, members of community and government officers, selected using a snowball technique, and 2) 32 tourists selected using an accidental sampling technique. The findings of this study indicated that the construction of the floating market's community identity contained many meanings. The meanings of three eras were: 1) the community of the local agriculturists' waterways roaming, 1868-1967, 2) the community of the local way of life floating market for tourism, 1967-1977, and 3) the community of floating market for intensive tourism, 1977-present. The impact of the floating market community identity on the people of Damnoen Saduak community was to form both positive and negative characteristics. The positive impacts included the occurrence of a floating market which became known to outsiders and the employment and monetization of community members. The negative impacts included the changes to the traditional lifestyle such as the change from a barter system to a trading system and the change in the types of relationship from generosity to competition.