I first got to know about Hear & Found when I attended Wonderfruit in 2024 and joined a workshop that showcased works and sounds by Thailand’s indigenous groups like the Hin Dam and Karen as well as natural dyes found in flowers and fruits used to colour garments. Interestingly, through the hands-on dye workshop I participated that one Friday morning got me to understand a bit deeper the plight of the indigenous communities.
As development erodes land in the name of modernisation, more and more of our flora and fauna disappear into the past. Hear & Found, a social enterprise founded by Pansita Sasirawuth and Sirasar Boonma aims to preserve as much as they can, folklore stories from these communities that live with nature. They’ve since, recorded more than 200 files of running rivers, birdsongs, bamboo forests, just stories. Some of these recordings were previewed together at the natural dye workshop, inside an earthen well I’d like to describe it, which only intensifies the listening process.
Share with us your background in studies/job before you started Hear and Found.
Pansita: Hear & Found was co-founded by two individuals, Sirasar Boonma (Mae) and Pansita Sasirawuth (Rux), each bringing a unique background that converged into this shared vision.
Mae’s journey spans over a decade in the creative and cultural industries. Her academic foundation lies in music, having earned a bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Music at Silpakorn University, a leading arts institution in Thailand, in 2009. She further pursued her passion with a master’s degree in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship (Music Pathway) from Goldsmiths University of London in 2015. Beyond her formal education, Mae dedicated herself to supporting the creative and cultural sector for over ten years. This included a five-year tenure as a project manager at the Creative Economy Agency, a Thai government organisation, where she focused on events and exhibitions aimed at nurturing creativity in the younger generation and supporting Thai young designers. Mae also served as a business development director at a leading Thai social enterprise in the tourism sector for three years. This experience honed her entrepreneurial skills in areas like business development, service design, and community engagement. Her dedication and achievements led to her recognition as a Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) professional and a recipient of the UK Alumni Awards for social impact.
My own background, as Pansita (Rux), began with a degree in Public Relations from the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication. Throughout my university years, I actively participated in volunteer programs, which profoundly impacted me. I discovered a deep fascination with communicating with local communities and being immersed in their diverse ways of life and cultures, which were so different from my prior experiences. This led me to work for a leading Thai social enterprise focused on sustainable tourism. It was during my time there that I developed a strong aspiration to work with indigenous communities and celebrate the beauty of cultural diversity. After gaining significant experience in this field, I realised the power of my communication skills in sharing the often-untold stories of indigenous peoples through impactful mediums like music. This experience also led to her recognition as a Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) professional.
What inspired you to start Hear and Found? How many team members in total and what do they do?
Hear & Found was born in 2018 out of a deep concern for a significant issue: discrimination. There’s a word in Thai, ‘กระเหรี่ยง’ (Karaiang), which is actually the name of a tribal group in Thailand. However, unfortunately, many people use this term to label others as outcasts. Furthermore, there’s a long-standing negative stereotype in news and media that unfairly associates tribal people with illegal activities like drug dealing, causing forest fires, and creating smoke in northern Thailand. I myself used to believe some of these misconceptions.
This issue of discrimination has profound consequences, eroding the pride of these communities. Children face bullying in schools, and individuals feel pressured to alter their way of life and appearance simply to be accepted by wider society. I believe this feeling of being judged or ostracised for who you are or your traditions is a universal human experience, and it’s deeply hurtful.
These challenges affect a significant portion of Thailand’s population – over 7 million people, or approximately 10%. Even more concerning is the potential loss of Thailand’s rich cultural heritage as a result of this social stigma.
Therefore, we established Hear & Found in 2018 with a clear mission: to champion cultural diversity by fostering understanding and providing access to the traditions and lives of Thailand’s ethnic communities through the powerful mediums of sound, music, and storytelling. We aim to connect new generations with Thailand’s vibrant cultural tapestry through both in-person experiences and online platforms.
Our core mission directly addresses the social stigma faced by these ethnic groups. This lack of social acceptance not only threatens Thailand’s cultural heritage but also contributes to economic hardship within these communities. Hear & Found works to amplify their voices through their music and rich culture, raising awareness and promoting greater social acceptance.
Our team shares a unified vision and consists of four individuals. We’ve structured ourselves into two complementary parts. The first is the Sound & Creative team, which focuses on the creative aspects of our projects, such as music recording in collaboration with communities and generating innovative ideas for each initiative. The other half is the Storyteller and Community Engagement team, dedicated to managing our social media presence and publishing content that fosters a deeper understanding of indigenous peoples in Thailand.
Was it difficult to convince people of your idea? How do you sustain this social enterprise?
The initial challenge was really about fostering a deeper understanding of indigenous peoples. We found that sound and music, being universally relatable, offered a powerful bridge between the wider public and these communities. It also served to broaden the perception of indigenous music and culture for urban audiences.
In our early stages, we organised indigenous music events as a platform to connect these two groups. However, the COVID-19 pandemic presented a significant hurdle, making live events impossible. Adapting to this challenge, we leveraged our core skills and resources – sound and music – to create a digital platform where people could access the voices of indigenous communities through online or digital creations. Since then, we’ve continuously evolved our services based on our learnings. By applying our expertise to address the needs of both the communities and various businesses or organizations, we’ve become what we call a Creative Cultural Agency. This encompasses three main areas:
- Sound & Music Creation: We provide field recording services, conduct cultural sound research, and produce bespoke sound and music for creative projects like installations and exhibitions, with a focus on social communication and fostering mutual understanding.
- Cultural Exchange Program Curation: We design and implement impactful cultural exchange programs, including workshops, tourism initiatives, and creative collaborations. Our process is grounded in thorough research and community engagement, ensuring local voices are central to the experience.
- Sonic Festivals & Events: We craft immersive sound experiences and events that celebrate diversity and encourage intercultural dialogue. Our music festivals go beyond entertainment, aiming to create spaces for genuine exchange, mutual respect, and active listening among diverse audiences.
We sustain our social enterprise through revenue from our sound and experience design, cultural exchange programs, and sound and music creation services, enabling us to continue bridging understanding and promoting indigenous cultural heritage.
Is preserving culture and heritage important to you? Why?
Yes, absolutely, preserving culture and heritage is profoundly important to Hear & Found because it represents a deep understanding of the diverse ways of life and the unique life lessons learned by people in different regions. Knowing and understanding these philosophies of living and cultural nuances expands our capacity for learning and cultivates a profound respect for the rich diversity within our society, encompassing both our fellow human beings and the natural world. It involves grasping the inherent purpose and interconnectedness of all things. Ultimately, cultures develop for specific reasons, often rooted in a fundamental respect between people and nature, making the transmission of this understanding crucial for fostering harmonious coexistence between individuals, their environment, the natural world, and animals.
Do you spend some time in different villages collaborating with the local community to understand what they do and incorporate their culture in your programmes? What’s that experience like for you?
Absolutely, when I approach different communities, my aim isn’t to simply work in them, but rather to connect as a friend. My initial step is always to listen and truly understand the nuances of their lives, including the challenges they face. For instance, in Ban Huai Hin Dam in Suphan Buri, a key issue revolves around the overlapping claims and societal misunderstandings surrounding their rotational farming practices. Outsiders often incorrectly label this as environmentally destructive, when in reality, it’s a deeply knowledgeable way of coexisting with nature, interwoven with profound beliefs that honor the natural world – a perspective quite different from a place like Ban Nong Tao. There, the pressing concern is waste management, coupled with a desire to create spaces for children to learn about their fading culture and express themselves.
My process involves going where the community wants to take me, actively listening to their needs, and understanding what they want to communicate. Only then do we explore collaborative projects, with the community actively involved in the decision-making process, determining what aligns with their values and what doesn’t. The resulting work is never solely my vision; the communities I partner with are integral to every stage, from activity design to communication. A recent example is our collaboration for Wonderfruit 2024. We invited the people of Huai Hin Dam to share their stories within the ‘Embrace’ space, envisioned as a hub for Thai indigenous wisdom. They were incredibly enthusiastic, and working with younger generations, we co-created activities tailored to the Wonderfruit audience. This resulted in workshops showcasing natural dyeing techniques and the wisdom of interacting with natural colors, demonstrating their deep connection and understanding of their forest home.
Beyond specific projects, I’ve learned that individuals within these communities possess incredible cultural knowledge and a profound understanding of living in harmony with nature. This collaborative approach not only allows us to incorporate their culture into our programs but also helps to unlock their potential, fostering self-confidence and a sense of pride in their heritage.
Could you share what every community does differently?
The beauty of our work lies in the distinctiveness of each community we partner with. Here are a couple of examples that highlight this:
Firstly, we collaborate with Khaya Loe-a, also known as Ae, a gifted Karen musician from Ban Nong Tao in Chiang Mai province, Northern part of Thailand. His passion centers around creating a learning space for children in his village to connect with their Karen heritage and develop environmental consciousness. This includes practical skills like upcycling waste and minimising their environmental footprint. Initially, Ae’s music was primarily for local village events. He envisioned a larger platform to share his stories, so we worked together to design a musical performance that communicated his environmental values. This provided an opportunity for the children in his community to share their perspectives at festivals like Wonderfruit in 2023 and The Rotate Festival in 2024. This experience inspired Ae to create musical instruments from recycled materials within his village and adapt our collaborative teaching methods for the Tae Na Gu, a traditional Karen instrument, to share his knowledge with visitors and at various events.
Another impactful example involves a Karen musician who performed on our stage in Bangkok. He shared deeply moving traditional songs passed down through generations alongside his own compositions on the revered Tae Na Gu. His performance transcended mere music; it became a powerful address to the discrimination his community faces, specifically the unfair accusation of being forest burners. He poignantly contrasted this with a song embodying the core ancestral philosophy of the Karen people: living in profound harmony with nature, emphasizing their role as caretakers of the forest and rivers. The effect on the audience was remarkable. Post-event feedback indicated that 80% of attendees experienced a significant positive shift in their understanding, recognizing the Karen people not as destroyers, but as the environmental guardians they truly are. This single event beautifully illustrates the transformative power of ethnic music in fostering understanding and visibility.
What’s the best thing about doing what you do?
The most rewarding aspect of what we do is undoubtedly the opportunity to witness such incredible diversity and connect with a wide array of people and cultures, often forging genuine friendships.
Working directly with communities involves deeply understanding the lives of individuals and groups – how they live and the reasons behind their way of life. This constantly opens our minds and makes us receptive to new perspectives. It creates a space for mutual listening, where we connect on a human level and become friends. Ultimately, it fosters a mindset of being open to learning from and befriending everyone we encounter.
Furthermore, this work underscores the interconnectedness of life. Connecting with indigenous communities who possess such profound knowledge of coexisting with nature in their specific environments, along with their deep respect for all things in the world, has been truly eye-opening. It reinforces the understanding that humanity is an integral part of nature, guiding us to live with a greater awareness of the role and purpose of every living thing.
Where can we find Sirasar and Pansita when she’s not working?
When we’re not immersed in our work with Hear & Found, you’ll often find us seeking solace and inspiration in natural environments. Given our frequent travels between bustling urban settings and serene rural villages, we’ve developed a deep appreciation for moments of tranquility surrounded by nature. Whether it’s finding a peaceful spot with lush greenery, enjoying a scenic vista, or simply being outdoors, these moments allow us to reconnect and recharge. Perhaps our close collaboration with communities who live in harmony with nature has deepened our own innate connection to the natural world, making it our preferred escape when we step away from our work.
To support Hear & Found’s work, you can listen and buy songs from their sites; Facebook or Instagram.
Photos by: Hear & Found; Reta Lee
