In Thailand there are an estimated 550,000 hill tribe people. Until as recently as nine years ago many of these tribes had little contact with modern society. The Thai Government has re-located many of them from the highlands where they normally reside to lower lands closer to cities. The re-locations are eroding the traditional way of life. The situation is further complicated by the fact that many of the hill tribes do not have Thai citizenship, even though they have resided in the country for several generations. Without citizenship they are unable to purchase land, have access to health care or send their children to school.
However, a Thai NGO called Mirror Art Group is working with hill tribes to help them make necessary adaptations to modern society without losing their culture. The irony is that they are preserving the old ways by utilizing new technologies. One project for example includes a web site called the Virtual Hill Tribe Museum, designed entirely by local youth who are trained by Mirror Art Group. The site uses video and text to document the endangered culture. Mirror also installed solar cells to generate electricity for the village.
