Furniture and Home Decoration Products Development from Lepironia articulata: A Case Study of Khreng Subdistrict Community, Cha-uat District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province

Abstract

The objective of this research is to study the process of preparing Lepironia articulata for molding and creating furniture and home decoration products from Khreng, Cha-uat, Nakhon Si Thammarat. The raw materials from the Kuan Kreng peatlands which is a public source of Lepironia articulate have been used in this research. The researchers cooperated with the Supanimit Cha-uat Women's Cooperative Group in Cha-uat, Nakhon Si Thammarat. From the survey and qualitative data analysis, the results showed that: 1) The process of preparing Lepironia articalata for creating furniture and home decoration products should study from the traditional method including the collecting of Lepironia articalata,  mixing with mud,  exposing to the sun, selecting, ironing, staining, and severing the Lepironia articalata and increasing toughness and reducing mold and; 2) The development of furniture and home decoration products by studying the OTOP product in Ban Hang Dong and Thawai Village, Chiang Mai. The study found that the Lepironia articalata had been produced in both traditional and modern styles. After that, this research used the information collected from the villages in Chiangmai as a guideline to produce Lepironia articalata with the Supanimit Cha-uat Women's Cooperative Group. As a result, there were three forms of products that can be developed: a set of outdoor chairs, a cradle set, and a home decoration lamp. These products were made of metal structure and used Lepironia articalata strings to form a decorative structure and to create beauty and strength when use it.