Monkey Training Camp

"The Asia-Pacific region has more than a billion coconut palm trees, yielding something like 65 billion nuts per year. And although coconut-derived oils are used in everything from food and fuels to soap and cosmetics, you’ve probably never paid much attention to the fact that coconuts grow on trees.

But now that I’ve mentioned it, you’re maybe thinking of that idyllic tropical scene, with tall palm trees swaying over the beach. That’s where you’ll find coconuts. Right at the top. And if you’re lucky enough to be lazing on just such a beach, you’d be wise not to sit under the trees – no matter how tempting the shade might seem. Falling coconuts and skulls are not a good match. The latter will break first."

So now that you are visualizing those shady trees, how do you imagine the nuts are harvested? Yes, eventually the overripe nuts will fall off, and if you own the tree, maybe you’ll be lucky enough to be standing around when they do. But that’s not a very efficient method of harvesting.

So, you send your professionally-trained monkey up there to harvest the nuts for you. And that’s where Surat Thani’s monkey school comes in.

The school is operated by Khun Somjai Saekhow, and she’s being doing this for almost fifteen years. It was founded by her father, Khun Somporn Saekhow, who passed away some years ago, and she has kept the school running ever since.

It is operated very much on the principle of being kind to the monkeys, rather than beating them when they don’t work to expectations.

In fact, Khun Somjai spends the first month, of the five or six needed to complete the training, making friends with a monkey.

That way, they are much more receptive to the rest of the training."

The monkeys are taught to choose only the ripe coconuts. They also become part of the family of their handlers, often eating and sleeping together. The coconut buyer contracts with the handlers to go to the farms with him and send the monkeys to pick the coconuts.