Consider this as a sequel of the previous post on Prachinburi. As you’ve read on Prachinburi and its efforts to create a sustainable area through food and ingredients, all of which were piloted by patients and medical personnel. Nonetheless, this place does not simply end with just having a hospital and being a patient to have the right to eat safe foods and organic ingredients.
We must admit that this small province was truly successful in bridging in the private sectors to food safety. During our trip to Abhaibhubejhr Hospital, which we arrived two hours prior to our appointment with the staffs, just so we can drive around and drop by a must-visit recommendation in Prachinburi, ‘Ban Lao Reung’.
After we've parked the car, we allowed our experiences to conclude that this old home once belonged to a wealthy family and was turned into a museum or some sort of storage house. But we didn't wait for long, the house that is not less than 80 years was endearing. It reminded us of the Wanida era in the dramas, with the giant trees and adorable grass field. We weren't wrong, this place played a role in the history of Prachinburi. We learned the history of immigration of ethnic minorities from the borders and neighboring countries since settlement and their expansion in developing a mixed culture in this area. But this is not as exciting as meeting P Pom- Amara Arkmanon, the manager of this location, and getting to dine the seasonal cuisines here..
No doubt about it, this is what brought us. Here, the back of the house, which is next to the river, is opened as a restaurant. Every menu here uses chemical-free ingredients, assured through co-checking with Abhaibhubejhr Hospital. P Pom was able to give us details on where the ingredients came from and its medicinal properties.. yes, food is medicine. Patients use herbs, drugs, and safe foods to treat, but Ban Lao Reung uses it as prevention. This place offers savory foods, desserts and drinks for local organic ingredients. This means that every menu available here will be seasonal, so don't expect to come back and order the same menu every time.
Another impressive point of Ban Lao Reung was that a recipe was available at the back of every menu! There's no hogging, because P Pom said that the safest foods come from our own cooking, so we can be sure about the cleanliness of the preparation. Ban Lao Reung emphasizes on health and cleanliness, but if the customer goes back and continues to eat improper food, or cannot cook, nor clean, then it's no use. At the end, cooking and eating is matter of awareness and personal responsibility. P Pom is also seriously responsible for the food wastes. Here, dishwashing liquid and floor cleaning solution is fermented from fruit scraps, where they are used throughout the household and sold through
the community. Basically, this place considers the entire cycle of usage, from harvesting the ingredients until turning returning them to earth as fertilizers.
'Ban Lao Reung, Prachinburi City of Herbs' may be a house of the Piemsomboon family, a noble family and old merchants of the city, that was rebuilt after the fire in the Prachinburi market. It was also the most modern in 1950, before Purachai Piemsomboon, Ph.D., the youngest of the clan donated the rights as public service provider to the Abhaibhubejhr Hospital Foundation. The one thing that we can sense is the love for the people and the community. This place is organized as a public space, with workshops, talks, and activities that benefits the citizens of Prachinburi and its visitors. P Pom continues to elaborate that in the evenings, this place will turn into a meeting point for the children that waits for their parents to finish work and was unable to pick them up from their schools. It's both a library and a homework yard for the children, where Ban Lao Reung provides fresh herbal drinks for the children or those that pass to drink and quench their thirst.
If this is part of being involved and creating value to the society, we are confident that Ban Lao Reung has done more than telling the stories of this small province. This House has a more important role in recording that humans have arrived at the point where we are able to choose where we place our values. We truly and continuously believe that the things that nourish the community does not need to wait, we'd just have to start and really, truly begin. Finally, in all the paths where we care for each other, both in terms of food and provision, we will never be lonely. Thank you Prachinburi once again for a heartwarming opportunity.
Author
Nattaporn Pinpech
Creative / Story teller