Thailand Discovery Pages - The beginnings of the Karen Hill Tribe and their hand crafted silver

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The beginnings of the Karen Hill Tribe and their hand crafted silver

The Karen Hill Tribe is found in the more remote areas of the mountainous region of Chang Mai in Northern Thailand. Consisting mainly of subsistence farmers who strive to live and work in harmony with nature, the Karen Hill Tribe has been making silver jewelry for generations. Currently, the Karen Hill Tribe has approximately 320,000 members. Known as one of the largest of the hill tribes, the Karen settled in Chiang Mai, having previously originated from South China. Today, members of the tribe can be found all over South East Asia with the largest proportion based in Thailand. The Karen have their own language, although many members can also speak Thai.

Members of the Karen Hill Tribe are noted for being skilled elephant trainers and excellent arable farmers. However, due to financial hardship and drought, several of the tribes became engaged in growing opium in the Golden Triangle, (the mountainous region on the border of Northern Thailand, Burma and China). This activity involves extreme farming methods, such as the widespread clearing of land. The method also means that after the crop has been grown, the fields are left in a sorry state, having had all the nutrients extracted during the growing process. This resulted in the hill tribes receiving criticism from local Thai residents as well as governments worldwide

Following the establishment of the Royal project in the late 60s, King Bhumibol visited many of the hill tribe communities in the mountain ranges of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai in order to understand their issues. As an alternative to opium farming, His Majesty the King set up a Royal project, which introduced the idea of making and selling silver jewelry.

The Royal project helped the farmers to discover alternative crops whilst highlighting the importance of conservation and self-sufficiency. And, although many diverse Hill Tribes made hand crafted silver jewelry, which they wore as a symbol of wealth and status, it was the Royal project that introduced many of the farmers of the Karen Hill tribe to the silver crafting techniques. For many, creating silver jewelry has become their main source of income.

Karen Hill Tribe silver jewelry is made from a high content of silver (up to 98 percent). The jewelry's outstanding designs reflect the Karen's own beliefs and ideas about the harmony of nature. Each of the silver charms, pendants and beads are not only of a high quality, but they also embody centuries of history and culture, making the silver jewelry of the Karen Hill Tribe far richer than gold.