Concerned that the trees would become extinct, Kriepob bought a piece of land in Phangnga's Thap Phut district in 2007 but finding saplings to plant was difficult. It was not until 2009 that his search led him to Thai Muang Temple in Phangnga's Thai Muang district, which had many trees planted by its abbot, Phra Ajarn Sa-Ngern.
"The abbot was kind enough to propagate hundreds of saplings for me to start my project," Kriepob wrote.
A few weeks ago, the abbot visited Kriepob's woodland for the first time and was impressed by what he saw. The trees planted six and a half years ago are now more than 15 metres tall and bearing fruit. The abbot advised Kriepob to extract essential oils from the theptaro seeds and roots, and dry the leaves as herbal tea.