3 Flavours Sweet Salty Sour

sweet salty sour

The precious agricultural resources of Phetchaburi consist in 3 major flavours relating to 3 different matters as follows:

Palmyra Palm Plantation

The lifestyle of Phetchaburi locals has been inseparably linked to the palmyra palm in several aspects from the distant past to the present day. Petchaburi people were very familliar with this multi-purpose tree which grew in abundance here, there and everywhere all over the “Muang Phet” areas to such an extent extent that Sunthorn Phu, famous poet in the Rattanakosin period, remarked in his travelling poem: “No matter to which direction I point around here, I catch sight of palm trees unavoidably”. To show unbreakable bond with their most cherished tree, Phetchaburi locals have decided to select leafy palm trees surrounding the Phra Nakhon Khiri Palace as a motif for the province’s emblem. Unlike the coconut harvest with the help of trained monkeys in the South, palm farmers unluckily have no assistant to do this backbreaking job. Full-grown palm trees are estimated to rise to at least 30 metres. Those having the courage to reap palm spikes at such height are mostly elderly persons who have got long and

and hands-on experience. Tucking a knife and several bamboo tubes for collecting palm juice around their waist, palm farmers are required to securely tie 2 bamboo poles with branches cut short to be used as rungs, lean a so-called ladder against the serrated trunk and shin up the tree. Palmyra palm can be processed to make crude palm sugar, fresh palm juice and several delicious desserts such as toddy palm cake and jelly-like palm pulp in syrup. Its fan-shaped leaves can be converted into wickerwork products.

In terms of architecture, palmyra palm has incredibly become one of basic ingredients for Phetchaburi artisans when making stucco.

Salt Farm

According to official statistics in 2018,

Phetchaburi is ranked number one in sea salt farming, accounting for around 46% of the total area of salt pans throughout the Kingdom. The rural highway No. 2021 flanked on either side by acres and acres

of salt mounds during the dry season gives Ban Laem District breathtaking views. The salt is normally farmed once a year, starting in September after the rainy season, and will last about 7 months until May the following year. The salt is harvested in January through a solar evaporating process, with a combination of wind and sunlight, evaporating the water from shallow marshes, leaving dazzling white crystals behind. After harvesting, the salt is washed, drained and refined

until its salinity reaches the required level. There are large drying sheds at the edge of the farm. Once the salt is processed, it is bagged for sale by the roadside or in local shops. The top-grade “Dok Kluea” or flower of salt is highly sought after for

upmarket skincare product as well as spa treatments and can fetch high prices.

To promote the salt-producing industry, the province’s commercial office has

organised the “Art of Salt Festival” every March, where visitors canview monumental sculptures made of salt, enjoy a salt spa and salt-colouring activities and learn more from the big model of a salt farm in a folk salt museum.

Lime Plantation

Apart from brine salt farms, Petchaburi also gets a name for cultivating limes. The Manao Paen Mueang Phet which etymologically means “Paen lime of Phetchaburi Town” is a key prolific citrus fruit of Thailand. It features a large juicy fruit in round or oval shape, with light yellow flesh, few small seeds, thin

peel and fragrant smell. It tastes mildly acid and delicate. Some major factors in quite high yield of lime farming in Petchaburi include its topography of river basin, well-drained loamy soil and favourable weather conditions. Considering overwhelming advantages, the Royal Project of H.M. King Bhumibhol the Great (King Rama IX) has strived to educate local farmers about this horticulture and share with them professional expertise for more than 20 years. The upshot is that Phetchaburi’s

“Phetchaburi lime” is a profitable crop. It has been registered as a geographic indication (GI) product since 2013.

lime plantation area spreads over 15,800 acres, scattering in 8 districts, particularly in Tha Yang and Nong Ya Plong.