Student Videos of Akha Culture
Cultural Crossroads Asia has chosen to use its voice to advocate for cultural preservation and to champion ethnic parity through cultural diversity. With this in mind, CCA established the Akha Oral Tradition School in 2023, a collaborative outreach project in Ban Saen Suk, Chiang Rai, Thailand, which strives to protect ancestral Akha wisdom before it disappears. By engaging Master Akha Musicians and Cultural Specialists to pass on their knowledge to Akha youth, we hope to create a story of renewal and understanding that will inspire generations to come.
These six short films – rooted in age-old Akha culture: Akha Broom-making, Martial Arts, Medicinal Plants, Textiles, Red-Egg Rite, and Cooking – were filmed, storyboarded, and edited by Akha youth, aged 12 – 16, most of whom had never before experienced a mobile phone.
This series is the remarkable outcome of the Digital Storytelling Course that Clare Lyons, a former senior producer for BBC World News and a specialized trainer, led in February 2025. Over five days, Akha students were trained in mobile phone techniques, photo and video documentation, visual story-telling, and interviewing skills, before independently going 'on location' to collect footage and edit their stories.
With this experience in digital storytelling, students of the Akha Oral Tradition School entered a new world of technology while helping to preserve the old world of their ancestors.
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Akha Medicinal Herbs
Akha youth Busu, Akor, and Meetee, students of the Akha Oral Tradition School in Ban Saen Suk, Chiang Rai, Thailand, were treated to a lesson in Akha ethnobotany by Athu Pochear, an esteemed custodian of Akha culture, when they made their film, 'Akha Medicinal Herbs.'
Over the course of the childrens' first video, Athu led Meetee on the jungle path, identifying the plants, roots, and bark he needs to make an infusion that soothes an ailing body.
Meetee – and you, the viewer – learn how to identify and prepare the plants that Athu and Meetee enjoy drinking at the finale.
Akha Martial Arts
In February 2025, Bunynii, Piba, Apo, and Arte, young Akha students from the Akha Oral Tradition School in Ban Saen Suk, Chiang Rai, Thailand, used their new skills in videography to create 'Akha Martial Arts,' a short video that highlights the long-established tradition of training body, mind, and heart through sword and staff movements.
These Akha youth interviewed Mawleu Jupoh, a gifted Martial Arts Master, as he demonstrated the form and described its place in Akha culture.
Akha Textiles
Akha students Atuga, Bupo, and Abeu, who attend the Akha Oral Tradition School in Ban Saen Suk, Chiang Rai, Thailand, focused their filmmaking skills on 'Akha Textiles,' their video documenting the unparalleled artistry of Akha women who adorn every garment of their family, from head to toe.
Using an array of bright, bold colors, Bulae Chemeu uses embroidery and appliqué techniques to create a linear matrix of geometric motifs set on deep indigo hemp that uniquely identifies every Akha.
Bulae's interview and embroidery demonstration were beautifully accompanied by Miju Manpo, a skilled Pawmee Akha vocalist, who recounted in song the exquisite articles of clothing worn by a young courting Akha girl.
Akha Red Egg Tradition
Having learned to film diverse perspectives (wide shots, mid-shots, and close-ups) and varied angles (over the shoulder, from above, from below), Artur, Amae, and Mee Ma, students of the Akha Oral Tradition School in Ban Saen Suk, Chiang Rai, Thailand, turned to Akha elder Apa Ayii to learn the age-old 'Akha Red Egg Tradition,' performed during festivals.
As a respected source of Akha culture, Apa guided students through the entire process of this pastime: picking and preparing plants for red dye; coloring the eggs; crafting the basket holding them; and engaging in 'battle' while not cracking the egg.
Akha Broom-Making
Akha Broom-Making is the first effort of Buga, Amae, and Simo, young Akha students from the Akha Oral Tradition School in Ban Saen Suk, Chiang Rai, Thailand, who used their new understanding of film techniques to document Jamlong, a guardian of Akha culture, as he demonstrated all phases of fabricating a traditional Akha broom—from gathering the grasses in the jungle with his machete, sizing and aligning the grasses, binding them together with cord, to sweeping the trail.
Akha Cooking
In their first ever film, 'Akha Cooking.' Akha youth Abiya, Buta, and Asue, students of the Akha Oral Tradition School in Ban Saen Suk, Chiang Rai, Thailand, interviewed Ulo Akha matriarch Meedo Chemue to learn about Akha cuisine.
Set at the hearth of a traditional Akha home, Meedo prepared a typical Akha vegetable dish, step-by-step collecting the vegetables, lighting the fire, pounding herbs and spices, and creating a savory sauce.
All that was left was for Meedo and the Akha children to savor her delicious meal!
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