The land where durian and mangosteen grow
Thailand’s southeast is not just home to the country’s most developed industry clusters, it is also an agricultural hot spot where exotic fruits and herbs popular all over Southeast Asia and beyond are growing.
Among the fruits are some of the tastiest, non-smelling and therefore most expensive durians in the entire region, together with other yummy fruits such as rambutan, longan and snake fruit, and they are grown in Rayong province at the Southeastern Seaboard of Thailand.
The best-known community that grows the delicious fruits is Ban Chamrung, widely seen as a model community not just for fruit cultivation, but also for rubber farming and exotic ventures such as turtle breeding. It follows, like many other rural communities in Thailand, the sufficiency economy principle purported by Thailand’s king, meaning the community is more or less self-sustaining and can supply most of its needs from within its boundaries, relying on a neighborhood network based on kinship relations.
The community has long been known for its excellent fruits and in the past put its emphasis on organic farming, which makes its products even more desirable. It has established a learning center for farmers and visitors, a community shop which sells fresh fruits and processed organic products, and a number of homestays for agritourism which attract both domestic and international tourists.
Durian: Nutty taste with a breeze of butterscotch
Particularly, the durian sorts that the community cultivates can be highly recommended. They are among the most expensive on the domestic market, and their fresh, nutty taste with a waft of vanilla, a breeze of butterscotch pudding and a subtle hint of hives, paired with the creaminess of caramelised onion, will blow your palate away, no doubt, and they don’t even smell as strong as we are used to when dealing with durians.
Bam Chamrung is just one hour’s drive from another interesting agricultural site in the region, namely HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn HerbalGarden in Map Kha, Rayong, where more then 260 indigenous herbs are cultivated, processed and sold.
The garden consists of over 20,000 trees and bushes categorised in 20 groups according to their medical significance. It also serves as a source for medicinal plants for research at renowned Thai universities Mahidol and Chulalongkorn and is certainly worth a visit.
[caption id="attachment_28537" align="alignleft" width="300"] Durians ready for harvesting All pictures © Arno Maierbrugger[/caption] Thailand's southeast is not just home to the country's most developed industry clusters, it is also an agricultural hot spot where exotic fruits and herbs popular all over Southeast Asia and beyond are growing. Among the fruits are some of the tastiest, non-smelling and therefore most expensive durians in the entire region, together with other yummy fruits such as rambutan, longan and snake fruit, and they are grown in Rayong province at the Southeastern Seaboard of Thailand. The best-known community that grows the delicious fruits is Ban...
Thailand’s southeast is not just home to the country’s most developed industry clusters, it is also an agricultural hot spot where exotic fruits and herbs popular all over Southeast Asia and beyond are growing.
Among the fruits are some of the tastiest, non-smelling and therefore most expensive durians in the entire region, together with other yummy fruits such as rambutan, longan and snake fruit, and they are grown in Rayong province at the Southeastern Seaboard of Thailand.
The best-known community that grows the delicious fruits is Ban Chamrung, widely seen as a model community not just for fruit cultivation, but also for rubber farming and exotic ventures such as turtle breeding. It follows, like many other rural communities in Thailand, the sufficiency economy principle purported by Thailand’s king, meaning the community is more or less self-sustaining and can supply most of its needs from within its boundaries, relying on a neighborhood network based on kinship relations.
The community has long been known for its excellent fruits and in the past put its emphasis on organic farming, which makes its products even more desirable. It has established a learning center for farmers and visitors, a community shop which sells fresh fruits and processed organic products, and a number of homestays for agritourism which attract both domestic and international tourists.
Durian: Nutty taste with a breeze of butterscotch
Particularly, the durian sorts that the community cultivates can be highly recommended. They are among the most expensive on the domestic market, and their fresh, nutty taste with a waft of vanilla, a breeze of butterscotch pudding and a subtle hint of hives, paired with the creaminess of caramelised onion, will blow your palate away, no doubt, and they don’t even smell as strong as we are used to when dealing with durians.
Bam Chamrung is just one hour’s drive from another interesting agricultural site in the region, namely HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn HerbalGarden in Map Kha, Rayong, where more then 260 indigenous herbs are cultivated, processed and sold.
The garden consists of over 20,000 trees and bushes categorised in 20 groups according to their medical significance. It also serves as a source for medicinal plants for research at renowned Thai universities Mahidol and Chulalongkorn and is certainly worth a visit.
