“Hilltribes” is a term for all of the various tribal peoples who migrated from China and Tibet over the past few centuries. They now inhabit the remote border areas between Northern Thailand, Laos and Myanmar (Burma). These areas are known for their thick forests and mountainous terrain. The six major hilltribes within Thailand are the Karen, Mien, Hmong, Lisu, Lahu and Akha, each with a distinct language and culture. The Mirror Art Group works in the Mae Yao sub-district of the Chiang Rai province, populated mostly by Lahu, Karen and Akha, with only a few Mien and Lanna Thai villages.

The hilltribes are subsistence farmers who use slash and burn agricultural techniques to farm their heavily forested communities. Tighter conservation of Thailand's virtually depleted forests, however, has forced hilltribe people to abandon their traditional agricultural methods. Traditionally hilltribes were also a migratory people, leaving land as it became depleted of natural resources. This migratory pattern, however, is not possible in modern Thailand.

The issues confronting hilltribe people in modern Thailand include poverty, land rights, drug abuse, racism, cultural erosion, human trafficking, an overall lack of education, and, most importantly, the lack of Thai citizenship for nearly 50% of all qualified people. Without Thai citizenship, one is not eligible for any of the state rights or benefits, including free secondary education, the right to vote or discounted health care.

The tourist industry poses additional problems for hilltribes. Organized tours and trekking in the villages do not provide any income to the residents. Rather, the money goes to travel agencies located in the cities. Guides from these agencies are often Thai people who know little about the culture and lifestyle of the hilltribes, and consequently provide inaccurate information to tourists. Tours frequently treat hilltribe communities like zoos; tourists come to the village, take pictures, and leave, without interacting or truly experiencing the hilltribe way of life.

Unlike traditional tourism companies, we kept the aforementioned risk-factors in mind when designing our home-stay program. Through our program you will have the chance to live, interact, and exchange culture with hilltribe villagers. Below is some information on the three main hilltribes that The Mirror Art Group works with; to learn more about Thailand's hilltribes, please visit our Virtual Hilltribe Museum at www.hilltribes.org.

The tourist industry constitutes an other problem for Hilltribes. Organized tours and trekking in the villages do not provide any income to the residents, as the money goes to the travel agencies located in the cities. Guides from these agencies are often Thai people who may not know much about the Hilltribes, consequently, who can provide false information about their culture and lifestyle. Tours create as well the “zoo” phenomenon, an other negative issue for villagers. Tourists come to the village, take pictures and leave back to the city, without interacting and truly experiencing the Hilltribe way of life. This is why we invite you to live a cultural Home-stay experience in a Hilltribe village, where you will have the chance to meet, stay and exchange with Hilltribe villagers.

The Akha hilltribe

The Akha, closely related to the Hani of China's Yunnan province, constitute 25 percent of Mae Yao's population. Also known derogatorily in Thai as the Gaw or the E-gaw, the Akha are one of the dominant cultural influences in the area. There are two to three million Akha and Akha-Hani in total, 70,000 of whom live in Thailand. The Akha speak a language in the Lolo/Yi branch of the Tibeto-Burman language group, but have no traditional written language.

The Lahu hilltribe

The Lahu are a strong independent ethnic group who constitute 25 percent of Mae Yao's population. Their settlements are usually remote from roads and towns due to their strong commitment to the maintenance of the Lahu way of life.

In Thailand there are four different Lahu tribes: Black, Red, Yellow and Shehleh. Each has its own distinct language, only some of which are mutually intelligible. The standard Lahu dialect is considered to be that of the Black Lahu, as it is the most populous tribe. In Mae Yao, the majority of Lahu are Red Lahu, pantheistic animists who follow a Dtobo (messianic leader). The other Lahu tribes are predominately Christian, and have been so for nearly a century.

Although primarily subsistence farmers, growing rice and corn for their own consumption, the Lahu are also proud of their hunter-warrior heritage. They remain an austere people, governed by strong principles of right and wrong and gender equality. Each individual in the village answers to the common will of the elders. The Lahu are strongly committed to principles of unity and working together for survival, though they place less emphasis on the extended family than other hilltribe communities. While twenty percent of the Lahu in Mae Yao have converted to Christianity, eighty percent retain their traditional spiritual beliefs.

The Karen hilltribe

The Pwakin-nyaw, known to many as Karen, and to others as Kariang, are one of the largest hilltribes in Southeast Asia. They have a total population of about three million, spread throughout Burma, Laos and Thailand. The approximately 320,000 Karen in Thailand comprise half of the country's total hilltribe population.

While the Karen still practice slash and burn farming as other hilltribes do, they differ in that they live in permanent villages at lower elevations and have been aggressive in developing environmentally sustainable terraced rice fields. These factors have allowed the Karen to better integrate themselves into Thai society. In Mae Yao they constitute fifteen percent of the population, with eighty percent holding Thai citizenship, allowing them to buy land and to have access to free education, luxuries then other hilltribes do not yet have. The size and unity of the Karen population has allowed them to adapt to modern Thai society while still retaining their cultural identity.