During the annual Buddhist Lent, or Rain Retreat, Buddhists usually undertake visits to temples to offer wax candles to monks. At the time, many make a personal wish to be blessed with intelligence and wisdom; like candlelight, a light from an aromatic substance that represents the light of Dhamma.

Known among Thais as Khao Phansa, the three-month Buddhist Lent starts on the first day of the waning moon of the eight lunar month (27th July 2010) and ends on the waxing-moon day of the eleventh month (in October).

During this rainy spell, Lord Buddha decreed that monks should remain overnight in their monasteries, a pronouncement intended to obviate unnecessary travel during a time when crops are in an early stage of growth for fer the monks might accidentally tread on the young plants. Buddhist monks and novices use this period to study within their monasteries. And since they must pray every morning and evening, they need candles to illuminate their religious studies.

For travelers, there are tales of unfamiliar and different locales to tell. Some may be non-existent at your arrival. Instead, they could have been hidden in every overlooked nook and cranny along the way. Baan Tha Rae in Sakon Nakon Province, a tiny Catholic village that is characterized by its steep devotion to Christ, is one such place.

The old residents of Tha Rae were said to be liberated from forced labor in Vietnam and those accused of being possessed by evil spirits. Moving to Sakon Nakhon, they came under the pastoral care of a French missionary called Father Xavier Guégo. But an increased population and progressive repression from the local authorities made it necessary to find a new settlement. Soon, in a bamboo raft large enough to take both passengers and their personal effects, they set sailed with the aid of blankets and fabrics as the sail in the mast, their future left to divine intervention to take them to the 'promised' land. Finally, they landed at the other side of Nong Harn where they found a settlement known as Baan Tha Rae Christian Community.

The landscape around Chonnabot is flat, dry and unspectacular. Deep into the dry season, the local cattle are as scrawny as the chickens, fields for crops are a muted brown and the soil crumbles in your hand like dry cake. In fact, the only thing green in any direction is a cluster of mulberry trees. Oddly enough, this setting is perfect starting point for that most Thai of industries, silk weaving. That some of the most vibrantly colored silk in the world could start life here is a mental leap of faith. Until, that is, you meet those involved at this, the grassroots level.

For the uninitiated, Chonnabot is more or less 60 kilometers southwest of Khon Kaen in Northeast Thailand. Due south of it is Hau Fai, a modest village where mulberry trees, on whose leaves silkworms feed, and a collection of silkworms farmers toil. The village has been raising silkworms and dyeing yarn for, well no one can actually remember. Hau Fai is a speck on the map, to say the least, including around 228 households, many of which have either weaving looms or bamboo racks of silkworms underneath their living quarters.