People, Dairy Buffalo and the Way of Agro-Tourism: A Model for Kudrung Dairy Buffalo Farm, Sarika Subdistrict, Nakhon Nayok Province

Abstract

This research aimed to 1) examine the potential and community capital of Ban Kut Rang for its development as an agro-tourism destination; 2) formulate a dairy buffalo farm agricultural tourism model; and 3) assess the agricultural tourism model at the Ban Kut Rang dairy buffalo farm in Sarika Subdistrict, Mueang Nakhon Nayok District, Nakhon Nayok Province. A mixed-method study technique was utilized, incorporating community-based tourism principles and assessing potential using the 4H's and 5A's frameworks. The sample comprised 400 agro-tourists, 20 community stakeholders, 7 experts, 30 community spokespeople, and 30 tourists involved in the pilot program. The instruments used for data collection were questionnaires, focus group discussion notes, and community participatory study tools, including expert maps, historical timelines, and community calendars. Quantitative data were examined by fundamental statistical methods, while qualitative data were assessed via descriptive content analysis and triangulation.

The findings indicated that Ban Kut Rang has potential rooted in the Tai Yo people's lifestyle, linguistic identity, culture, and integrated agricultural handicrafts, notably the Murrah dairy buffalo, which serves as a significant biological resource. The formulation of tourist models emphasizes educational activities such milking, rice cultivation, cheese production, coloring fabric with buffalo clay, and transforming milk into diverse goods to provide economic value and knowledge acquisition. The assessment outcomes of the "Tam Roi Nomkwai” (Following the Trail of Dairy Buffalo" (NOMKHWAI) initiative indicated that participants exhibited a high degree of satisfaction.