Phop Phra ( th, พบพระ, ) is a district (''

amphoe An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', th, อำเภอ, )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the provinces, and are analogous to countie ...

'') in the southwestern part of

Tak province Tak ( th, ตาก, , Burmese: တာ့ခ် pronounced ak is one of Thailand's seventy-seven provinces (''changwat'') and lies in lower northern Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Lamphun, ...

, western

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

History

The area now Phop Phra was originally Tambon Chong Khaep of Mae Sot district. Due to the large size of Mae Sot and problems with communist insurgents, the government created a separate administration for the area. Effective 1 April 1977 the three ''tambon'' Phop Phra, Chong Khaep, and Khiri Rat formed a new minor district (''

king amphoe An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', th, อำเภอ, )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the provinces, and are analogous to countie ...

''). It was upgraded to a full district on 3 March 1987.

Etymology

The name "Phop Phra" means 'Lord Buddha image discovery'. Originally the area was named Pho Pha (เพอะพะ), which in the

Karen language The Karen () or Karenic languages are tonal languages spoken by some seven million Karen people. They are of unclear affiliation within the Sino-Tibetan languages. The Karen languages are written using the Karen script. The three main branches ...

means 'swamp area', so the name was changed to have a more elevated meaning.

Geography

Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise)

Mae Sot Mae Sot ( th, แม่สอด, ; my, မဲဆောက်, ; shn, , ) is a city in western Thailand that shares a border with Myanmar to the west. It is notable as a trade hub and for its substantial population of Burmese migrants and refug ...

, Mueang Tak, and Wang Chao of Tak Province, Ban Rai of

Uthai Thani province Uthai Thani ( th, อุทัยธานี, ), one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat'') lies in lower northern Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Nakhon Sawan, Chai Nat, Suphan Buri, Kanchanaburi and ...

, Umphang of Tak Province, and

Kayin State Kayin State ( my, ကရင်ပြည်နယ်, ; kjp, ဖၠုံခါန်ႋကၞင့်, italics=no; ksw, ကညီကီၢ်စဲၣ်, ), also known by the endonyms Kawthoolei and Karen State, is a state of Myanmar. The ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

Namtok Pha Charoen National Park Namtok Pha Charoen National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติน้ำตกพาเจริญ) is a national park in the Phop Phra District, Tak Province, Thailand. Most of its area is high complex mountains of 1,765 m ele ...

is in the district. The park is known for its Pha Charoen waterfall with 97 tiers. The important river of Phop Pra is the

Moei River The Moei River (, , , my, သောင်ရင်းမြစ်; ) is a tributary of the Salween River. Unlike most rivers in Thailand, the Moei River flows north in a northwest direction. It originates in Phop Phra District, Tak Province, flow ...

Language

The primary spoken language is central Thai.

Northern Thai Kam Mueang ( nod, , กำเมือง) or Northern Thai language ( th, ภาษาไทยถิ่นเหนือ) is the language of the Northern Thai people of Lanna, Thailand. It is a Southwestern Tai language that is closely relat ...

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic l ...

, Burmese, and

Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related ton ...

are also spoken.

Administration

The district is divided into five sub-districts (''

tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and province (''changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 ''khwaeng'' ...

s''), which are further subdivided into 52 villages (''

muban Muban ( th, หมู่บ้าน; , ) is the lowest administrative sub-division of Thailand. Usually translated as 'village' and sometimes as 'hamlet', they are a subdivision of a tambon (subdistrict). , there were 74,944 administrative mu ...

s''). Phop Phra is a township (''

thesaban tambon Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' system. The mu ...

''), which covers parts of ''tambon'' Phop Phra. Subdistrict (tambon) Phop Phra is the capital of the district, with nine distinct villages. The district office is here, as well as two offices responsible for administration of the sub-district: a thesaban, responsible for interior administration, primarily for villages 1, 2, and 3, while the sub-district administrative organization (SAO) is responsible primarily for the outer villages. The outer villages are referred to as Huynamnak (4), Moonruchai (5), Moker Yang (6), Moo Jet (7), Moo Bpad (8), and Pakager (9). The thesaban and SAO often work collaboratively to distribute services to all nine villages.

Refugee camp

Along Mae Sot-Umphang Highway is a refugee center, Ban Um Piam (บ้านอุ้มเปี่ยม). It houses

refugees from Myanmar. They were relocated from a camp in Mae Sot close to Thai-Myanmar border which risked being attacked by forces of the

Democratic Karen Buddhist Army The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA; my, တိုးတက်သော ဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ ကရင်အမျိုးသား တပ်ဖွဲ့) was originally an insurgent group of Buddhist soldiers and officers in Mya ...

from Myanmar.

Economy

The district is one of the few areas in Thailand where

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...

is still cultivated. The Hmong

hill people Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains. This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation. The climate is generally harsh, with s ...

harvest the plants and use the fibers to weave traditional cloth. Hemp is a high quality fiber: flexible, strong, and durable. According to villagers, the plant can be used to produce "...clothing, fertilisers, animal feed,

food supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...

s, drinks, cooking oil, flour, butter, beer, furniture, construction materials, packaging materials, auto parts, and bulletproof vests." On 6 January 2018, a ministerial regulation relaxing controls on the use of hemp took effect. Its use is overseen by the Office of the Narcotics Control Board's (ONCB) Institute for Narcotic Plant Survey and Monitoring. Hemp fabric has strong cultural importance as the Hmong people believe that anyone who dies without hemp fabric clothing wrapping their body will not be able to find his or her ancestors in the afterlife.

References

External links

amphoe.comNamtok Pha Charoen National Park
Phop Phra {{Tak-geo-stub