In celebration of winning the 2012 Thailand Green Excellence Awards, luxury boutique resort, The Sarojin, has launched a brand new experience for guests to enjoy an authentic street food tour and cookery class followed by the chance to prepare a meal for over 20 disabled children in Khao Lak, Thailand.

The Sarojin’s new “Street Food, Cook for Kids” package is designed to bring guests into contact with the ‘real’ Thailand, its people and its local food. Recognising the growing desire to understand more and more about local ways of life, The Sarojin will take guests on a local street food tour in the old town of nearby Takuapa where they can sample some of Thailand’s best street food delicacies, from fried noodles to sticky rice and tropical fruit desserts, accompanied by a local and highly-knowledgeable guide from The Sarojin.

The tour will then progress to the Camillian Social Centre, a day-care centre for disabled children aged 4-16 years old whose disabilities include Down’s syndrome, physical ailments and autism. Guests can spend free time with the children, perhaps playing games or drawing pictures, before enjoying a very special opportunity to cook an authentic “street food” lunch for the children, staff workers and themselves during a street food cooking class led by The Sarojin chef. It is a truly heartwarming experience and one that is bound to leave lasting memories.*

The Camillian Social Centre is the only centre providing care for Down’s syndrome in the Phang Nga Province. It offers invaluable support for the children while allowing their parents and guardians to go to work and attend to other daily activities. The centre is a 15-minute drive from The Sarojin and one of the projects supported by The Sarojin Khao Lak Community Fund, which helps a wide range of community projects and makes a real difference to local lives.

This new experience perfectly complements The Sarojin’s already-established and very popular “Glimpse of Local Life” tours, which provide a sensitive and educational interaction between guests and the local community. These include local excursions to visit rural villages, such as Baan Nam Khem, a small coastal fishing village on the Takuapa River which is acclaimed for having the largest mangrove ecosystem in Thailand. Other options include a traditional pleat boat journey through the hidden waterways of this vast mangrove forest, allowing guests to observe rural fishing farms and the local way of life.

In recognition of The Sarojin’s approach to sustainability and community tourism, the resort was declared the recent winner of the 2012 Thailand Green Excellence Awards, in the category of Community Based Tourism. The award was presented to The Sarojin by Her Royal Highness the Princess of Thailand during a prestigious event at World Travel Market in London on 6th November 2012. This esteemed award follows a hugely successful year for The Sarojin in which it was honoured in an additional 13 award ceremonies**.

“Working with the community and being a part of it gives The Sarojin team a wonderful ability to share local insights and experiences with our guests,” comments Kate Kemp, co-owner of The Sarojin. “We are proud to make a significant difference to the area while benefiting guests’ holidays by ensuring they return home having experienced authentic Thailand, together with the local people.”