PORTFOLIO
Following the Footsteps of the Nyahkur
operational
When the Forest Is Not a Place — But a Home
*“We do not walk into the forest to conquer nature. We walk in to learn how human beings may once again live alongside nature with reverence.”*
This is one of the vital questions driving this journey.
The project *“Tracing the Nyagru Way”* does not merely invite us to trek through the woods. It invites us to walk in and listen to the forest’s story — through the people who have lived in harmony with it for generations.
This time, our path leads us into the lands of the **Nyagru**: an ancient Mon ethnic group with a history stretching over 1,500 years, linked to the people of the Dvaravati era, who have preserved their language, beliefs, and ways of life to this day.
What makes the Nyagru story so compelling is the bond between its people and the forest. To them, the woods are far more than a place to gather food — they are home, a library of knowledge, a sacred space, and something to be entered always with respect. Perhaps this is why their way of life endures amid the tides of change beyond the treeline.
From Ancient Civilization to Nyagru Lands
The village we visit lies roughly 30 kilometres from the ancient city of Si Thep. On a map, that distance may seem small — but between them rise mountains, valleys, and forests that once teemed with life.
Naturally, we wonder: **How deeply are the people of these woods connected to that ancient civilization?** The answer awaits further historical and anthropological study. Yet what we see before us is a living relationship — a people still deeply woven into the land.
We travelled with forest rangers and local partners, along routes long used by the Nyagru: paths to gather forest produce, to travel between hamlets, and to tend to their world. We did not walk alone — two Nyagru elders guided us, both raised in these woods, knowing every turn since childhood, having seen the forest in its fuller, grander days. One was once a hunter — yet what shines brightest is not their skill at navigation, but their gentle awareness of *how to behave within the forest*. For those who grew up here, entering the woods is never just a journey — it is stepping into the home of other living beings.
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The trail winds through valleys — where winds sometimes sweep open like invisible avenues, and at other times the air hangs still, warm and thick within the deep woods. The landscape shifts constantly: from mixed deciduous forest to dipterocarp woodland, open glades, and waist-high **Arrow Bamboo** meadows.