How to make a traditional Thai chicken coop
If you have ever wondered how a traditional Thai chicken coop is made — you know, those circular upside down baskets you will often see at Thai markets housing a couple of chicken for sale — then you must watch this video.
Beautifully filmed by Pie, the widow of British vlogger Graham Briar, the video shows a northern Thai craftsman making a large Thai chicken coop.
The older Thai man starts off by stripping the bark off long pieces of bamboo, and then forming the bamboo into thin strips he is then able to weave into a circular chicken coop shape. Fascinating to watch, the whole process of making a traditional Thai chicken coop takes many hours before it is finished and ready to be sold.
What is even more fascinating is, due to the way the chicken coop is formed, once the man is finished, he is able to sit on the top of the coop and have it bear his weight. At 75 kilos, that is no mean feat.
As for how much does one of these large traditional Thai chicken coops sell for? According to Pie, he sells his for 350 baht, or just over $10.
Watch Pie’s video to see just how beautifully the bamboo is woven together to create a tight, sturdy basket no chicken would ever be able to escape from.
It will also make you think about just how many hours craftsmen like this spend to create traditional Thai crafts most of us in the west would neither have the patience or the skills to ever be able to make.
And, if you would like to buy a traditional Thai chicken coop (they actually make great design features in homes for all kinds of things, including indoor plant displays), your best bet is a local market in Thailand. In Bangkok, you will find them in the animal and pet section at Chatuchak Weekend Market.
As far as the video below goes, if you are interested in what it is like living the traditional lifestyle in northern Thailand, and you like what Pie does (and she does film beautiful videos), be sure to subscribe to her YouTube channel.
She uploads new videos several times a week, and also has a library of hundreds of videos she and her late husband Graham filmed together that show just how beautiful rural northern Thailand is, as well as how hard life can often be for the locals that live there.
