KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT OF THE PHI BUNG TAO CULTURAL TRADITION IN BAN HAI TAK, PHU RUEA DISTRICT, LOEI PROVINCE

Abstract

This academic article aimed to manage the knowledge of the Phi Bung Tao cultural tradition in Phu Ruea District, Loei Province. The Loei provincial culture office and local communities joined the meeting to brainstorm regarding the community’s needs to identify the knowledge of Phi Bung Tao cultural tradition as information for planning area development and cultural tourism management, the concepts of knowledge management, community participation, creative folklore, and invented tradition using participatory process as the method of cultural knowledge management to provide all sectors opportunities to take part in identifying approaches for discovering knowledge, searching for local scholars, determining the qualifications of participants involved in knowledge management, and specifying the steps and procedures of the Phi Bung Tao cultural tradition knowledge management. The results revealed that Phi Bung Toal cultural tradition is an invented tradition created by the community to support tourism in Loei Province. The participants agreed that the Phi Bung Tao cultural tradition was within the scope of local wisdom and the specific culture of Phu Ruea District, reflecting the resolution of agricultural products that related to local livelihoods and traditions. Additionally, the participatory process employed for the knowledge management consisted of 5 steps: 1) Knowledge identification: participants took part in identifying sources of information, such as village heads, local scholars, and tourism management groups to share tacit knowledge embedded in their own experiences and attitudes; 2) Knowledge creation: participants took part  in creating knowledge and organized the knowledge into a systematic framework; 3) Knowledge storage and access: participants suggested recording the knowledge through printed materials, books, and the database created at the district and sub-district levels; 4) Knowledge dissemination: participants suggested guidelines for disseminating knowledge to educational institutions, communities, sub-district administrative organizations, and tourism agencies; and 5) Knowledge application: Participants utilized the knowledge for tourism communication, the development of cultural products, and the planning of tourism management.