PHANAT NIKHOM, Chonburi: Villagers in Wat Bot Subdistrict gathered on Sunday, September 13th, to continue one of Thailand’s last remaining traditions of offering homemade khanom krok to monks, a practice local leaders now hope to register as provincial intangible cultural heritage.
The 2026 Wat Bot Subdistrict Khanom Krok Alms-Giving Festival opened at the preaching hall of Wat Bot, Phanat Nikhom District. Anan Preedasutthichit, Member of Parliament for Chonburi, presided over the ceremony.
Somdet Wutthitairat, chairman of the Wat Bot Subdistrict Cultural Council, said the custom has been passed down from grandparents and great-grandparents. It reflects the daily life of rice farmers, long described as the backbone of the nation, and is held each year in the middle of Buddhist Lent.
Residents assemble at the temple hall with soaked jasmine rice, which they grind on a stone mill. The rice flour is mixed with coconut milk and sugar, then ladled into traditional clay khanom krok stoves. The finished cakes are offered as the midday meal to every monk at Wat Bot.
Organizers described the rite as a local soft power that should be conserved, handed on, and made better known. They said Wat Bot is now the only community in Chonburi Province and the Eastern region still keeping the tradition, and that fewer than five such observances remain anywhere in Thailand.
The community has applied to place the event on Chonburi’s inventory of intangible cultural heritage under the category of social practices, rituals and festive events, in line with a 2026 provincial announcement.
The festival also included a coconut-grating contest to see who could produce the most coconut milk. The winner was Daranai Charoensuk, who obtained five khit (500 grams).
