Bo Ploy Lek Petch Community Learning Center

Located in Amphoe Tha Mai, Bo Ploy Lek Petch Community Learning Center is a place where you can learn about gemstone mining in a traditional way.

Instead of using machines and backhoes which could destroy the area , the owner of this mine choose to use a traditional way of mining to keep this mine as a learning center for the community. Besides, as the ground surface is not being destroy, they can do a gemstone mining and a fruit farming in the same area.

Before beginning the gems hunting, you should change your dress to a ready to be dirty one. If you don’t have the dress for changing, you can borrow it from the learning center. The process begins with climbing down the ladder into a pit, 2m. deep for children and 4 m. deep for adults.

Then scoop up soil from the pit, sift the soil to find gemstones.

Wash dirts out of gemstones and selecting the gemstones.

At the end, you’ll get the gem that you found as a souvenir.

There’s a small coffee shop where you can get cold drinks after spending about one hour in the sun. You can take a short walk to see the fruit farming, a 100 year-old house, and buy gemstones and jewelry at a shop there. I would suggest you to come here in the morning because it won’t be too hot. Then you can go to have lunch at Toob Moh market which is only 3.4 km. from the Learning Center.