Plastic shopping bags turned into giant bear doll in Chiang Mai

A well-known flower garden in Chiang Mai’s Mae Ai district is featuring a giant bear doll made from 296,444 used plastic shopping bags.

The bear is called Nong (Baby) Kob Kaeb. “Kob Kaeb” is a term used to refer to plastic shopping bags.

The bear is a highlight of the Roi Jai Rak (United Hearts for Conservation) garden, which is part of the Roi Jai Rak project carried out by the Mae Fah Lung Foundation in Tambon Tha Ton of Mae Ai.

The project, which began in November 2017, covers 37,119 rai of land in four villages with 1,132 families and some 4,700 residents with a goal of developing careers for the people so that they would stop growing opium or trading drugs.

The flower garden was opened on December 1, 2020, as a new tourist attraction for Chiang Mai to draw tourists to the hilltribe villages and generate revenue for them.

The flower garden was initially on land used for growing corn, but corn could only be planted once a year, and thus was unable to raise enough income for the villagers.

The villagers then agreed to turn it into a coffee ranch. That project failed, so the Mae Fah Lung Foundation helped them turn it into a flower garden over a 75-rai plot with plenty of multi-colour flowers to draw tourists to visit it throughout the year.

This winter, the bear doll is the highlight of the garden. Hilltribe children and villagers joined to weave used plastic bags into the doll. After the winter season ends, the doll will be dismantled and the plastic bags will be recycled into biodiesel for use at the project.

Several species of winter flowers have been planted on small hills and a walking path built in the middle of the field with two giant sculptures of peacocks at the end of the path.

The project also provides a viewpoint on the highest hilltop for tourists to look down to enjoy the flower field below. More than 50 points for taking photos, coffee shops, and souvenir shops are also provided.