However, for one part, the Khampun family uses the proceeds of the silk fabric sales to keep their place tidy. The beautiful old mansion, located along the highway leading from Ubon Ratchathani to Srisaket,with its old-style Thai wooden structures, is a particular rarity in the northeastern Isaan region, together with its meticulously manicured gardens, and highly deserves preservation.
But a sizeable part of the income is also used for training locals in weaving techniques and to operate a small private handicraft school, in addition to the private folk museum the family is running. Money collected from visitors during the Candle Festival is being donated to provide scholarship and food for needy students as well as to the further preservation of a local cultural heritage museum in Ubon Ratchathani’s temple of Wat Sri Ubon Rattanaram. The Khampun family, which points out to get no support from the provincial or federal government whatsoever to preserve Thai traditional silk handicraft, now also looks into the possibility to open a small museum in Ubon Ratchathani on their own.