Puppets

The Duang Prateep Foundation's mobile puppet troupe is called Nithan Caravan. Nithan is the Thai word for tale or fable and the role of the troupe is to bring fables and tales to children throughout Thailand.

The puppeteers have several objectives in their work, which combines education with entertainment. The troupe is working to encourage an interest in books and study, they are trying to teach children about Thai culture, they are looking to make youngsters more environmentally aware and to instill sound morals and behaviour in their audiences, all the while making sure that everyone has fun.

The Nithan Caravan has travelled to many provinces throughout Thailand, performing in front of crowds ranging between a few dozen and several hundred children. The troupe usually performs for children in disadvantaged areas, but they are prepared to bring their performances to any children all over Thailand.

In addition to performing themselves, Nithan Caravan workers have trained many others in puppet making and performing skills. Nithan Caravan puppeteers have arranged workshops for teachers from several parts of the country. They have also taught puppet skills to many young people, including hill-tribe youngsters, former addicts and children who are HIV+. Nithan Caravan have even be to male prisons to teach inmates how to make and use puppets.

The puppet shows usually have a simple moral message, suitable for each audience. Each performance begins with a warm-up session from the puppeteers, for example a simple game to get the children happy and alert. When the children are ready, the puppet show begins.

One of the shows the puppeteers often perform for city children is about rice culture. It shows children how rice is grown and how necessary it is to protect nature and ensure a good environment for crops and people. The show is particularly important for urban children, who probably have little or no contact with the rural lifestyles their parents or grandparents grew up with.

After the show the puppeteers talk about the performance, to ensure that their audience have understood what they have seen. The puppeteers then switch to talking about books. They discuss how important books are for gaining knowledge. Next books are distributed from a mobile library, that the troupe takes with them on their travels. The puppeteers mingle with their audience and discuss the books with the children before it is time to pack up and move on to the next venue.

The puppeteers have many opportunities to experience the joy they bring to children in deprived areas, where schools have few books and the children have few opportunities to enjoy entertainment. The eagerness with which the children browse through the books in the mobile library after the Nithan Caravan performances is testimony to the impact the troupe makes on its audiences.

The group has also received many letters from teachers and non-governmental organisations about how children have become inspired to read books through watching Nithan Caravan. At some shows the puppet troupe has also been able to donate small story books about the performance to all the children in the audience. For children living in remote rural areas, the present of a book, however small, is a moment to treasure.