Silver craft and Buddhist temple in the shaping of neighbourhood communities in Wua-Lai, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Abstract

This paper explores neighbourhood-based projects such as “local project” (Magnaghi, 2005), the strategic scenarios that set out a process of mobilisation and promotion of local resources, planned and run by local people. It focuses on two residential communities in Wua-Lai neighbourhood, namely Chumchon Wat Muen-Sarn and Chumchon Wat Sri-Suphan. The analysis deals with three local projects: Wua-Lai Walking Street and Saturday Market, Lanna Arts Study Centre and community museums. It seeks to understand how the residents use silver handicraft, Buddhist temple and local marketplaces for shaping their projects and for connecting the neighbourhood to the city. This study allows us to identify the key elements in place on which the local projects are premised and how these elements reproduce sense of belonging and sociability that create the potential for collective action. It intends to highlight on the neighbourhood capacities, and its limits, to carry out local initiatives and to challenge more economic forces.