About Thai Karen Hill Tribe people
The Karen Tribe is the largest group of Hill Tribe people in Thailand. Most of them reside in Northern Thailand, due west of the Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son provinces. They are subsistence farmers who live at peace with nature and the forest in the more remote mountainous areas.
The Karen Hill Tribe people were semi-nomadic people using slash and burn methods, moving approximately every 7 years The villagers have few possessions and a little furniture, sleeping on the floor mats, and cooking on an open fire.
In 1980, the Hill tribe people got some assistance by the Jewelry Occupation Association , the Lamphun Hill Tribes Development Center, Community Development Center, and UNICEF. Presently this assistance project has completed. Today, the Karen people have established the silver skill group and run a self-sufficient silver business. Each group contains 5-10 families and each offer unique designs. The groups will never copy another's group’s style.
Being between 99.5% and 99.9% pure silver, their silver product has a higher silver content than 92.5% sterling silver. It's merely the solder used to fuse the silver components together that makes up the last fractions of a percent. Consequently, it has a weight, bright satin color, and feel, all of its own.
Every piece is handmade and unique. The hand-hammered and chased details are wonderful and you can actually see evidence of each piece having been formed by the hands of a silversmith. Although these pieces are not usually hallmarked in any way, we can guarantee their origins.
