CHIANG MAI: Ms Konkit Khanapanya has been making lanterns by hand for some 40 years.
But the 53-year-old owner of Khom Mae Bua Lai Kana Panya lantern shop in Chiang Mai is worried that such crafts will end with her generation, as young people are losing interest in them.
“The young only care for things that can give them money. They are not proud of a hand-made product anymore,” said Ms Konkit, who picked up the skills from her mother-in-law.
“All the local knowledge will be gone, like what we are seeing with the elderly using traditional methods, the young won’t know them anymore.”
The lanterns, which come in various colours and sizes, are unique to northern Thailand, especially in the Chiang Mai province, where the Yee Peng Festival is celebrated annually towards the end of the year.
This festival is meant to mark the transition from the gloomy days of the rainy season to the brighter days of the cool season.