Waste not, want not: From corn husks to floating beauties in Korat

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 05, 2022
Waste not, want not: From corn husks to floating beauties in Korat

For a long time, Teflon and plastic floats clogged up waterways during Loy Krathong in Thailand until creative people came up with more eco-friendly versions made from bread and banana leaves.

Now a woman in Nakhon Ratchasima (aka Korat) has gone one step further and come up with krathongs made from a long-overlooked farm waste – corn husks.
Nonglak Inthamart, 30, said her village in the Northeast province’s Soeng Sang district grows maize and is left with huge amounts of husks after harvest. So, she decided that maybe this waste can be put to good use and turned into floats.
So she looked for DIY tutorials on the net and came up with her first set of corn-husk floats after some trial and error.

Waste not, want not: From corn husks to floating beauties in Korat Waste not, want not: From corn husks to floating beauties in Korat

For her floats, she cleans and dyes the husks with natural pigment before folding them to look like lotus petals and glueing them together to make krathongs.
Nonglak has put her ingenious krathongs on sale at her village shop for the upcoming Loy Krathong. Prices range from 30 baht to 200 baht, depending on the size and intricacy. However, she said, the medium-sized floats going for 100 baht are the most popular.
She said she received more than 200 orders for her colourful floats after she posted photos on Facebook. Inquiries can be made by calling Nonglak at (092) 541 4130.
This year’s Loy Krathong Festival, or “festival of floating lanterns”, falls on November 8 – the full-moon night of the Thai lunar calendar’s 12th month.

Waste not, want not: From corn husks to floating beauties in Korat Waste not, want not: From corn husks to floating beauties in Korat

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