Mahout Biographies!

One of our interns carried out a project on the Mahouts and their background. We will be posting one of these every week, beginning with Boon Chew (our youngest Mahout!). Take a look!

Basic Information

Mahout for	Pbee Mai
Date of Birth	December 7th, 1997
Mother	Seeyoh
Sisters	Orapan (“Eh”), Soodapon (“Dehchi”), Tikdapon (“Vuh”), Waruni (“Beh”),
Birthplace	Huay Pakoot

Biography

Boonchew, the youngest of the mahouts, was born in Huay Pakoot and has wanted to be a mahout since he was a baby. He attended the school here until age 12. Boonchew’s father passed away when he was 4 years old, and so his mother raised him with the help of his sisters and grandfather. He describes himself as naughty, introverted, and smart. Despite Boonchew’s tendency to misbehave, his mother was very loving toward him and was against traditional Asian methods of disciplining (bamboo stick). Because Singtoh taught him the skills he needed in order to become a mahout during his last year of school, Boonchew was able to become a mahout for Mana as soon as he left school. However, once he became experienced enough, he was able to switch over to working with the young and cheeky Pbee Mai. He has never been outside of Thailand and does not have any desire to leave the village, although he would be happy to be a mahout anywhere. In his free time, he enjoys playing football, shooting birds, and fishing.

Fun Facts

Dream Job	Corn farmer
Favorite thing about being a mahout	Having a lot of free time because he doesn’t have to work in the fields
Knowledge about medicinal plants	Yes (little)

Mahout Biographies!