Surin Islands - Moken Village

As part of the commitment Wicked Diving has made to being ethically operated, we have long had a very tenuous relationship with the Surin Islands - and in particular the way the Moken residents are treated. But that is all changing!  Our new Surin Islands Snorkeling Tour:

The Surin Islands are one of the tradtional homes of the Sea Gypsies (Moken). They have lived nomadically in the Indian Ocean for thousands of years and only with the invention of modern borders has their lifestyle been forced into a more permanent location. As people without land or country, they have ended up at the bottom rung of Thai culture - often without even the most basic of rights. With a vast history in the area and traditional knowledge that helped them survive through the millennia - they are naturally the people visitors would turn to. However, circumstance and prejudice has placed them more in the role of tourist object. In the tourist industry these are called "monkey shows" where the tourists watch and take photos of "culturally significant" persons - like the Masai in Kenya, The Kayan women in Burma (the long necked women) and many others.  Wicked Diving stopped offering or being involved in these tours two years ago for moral reasons. We felt that the Moken were being purely exploited, with no benefit from the the tourism to their village. They were the objectified and exploited. As this was (and still is) part of every daytrip - we stopped working with those companies and stopped offering day tours...
In cooperation with the Moken villagers, KGV travel and Wicked Diving we are very, very proud to announce a new pilot program that empowers and supports the local community on the Surin Islands.
The goal of this project is to allow visitors to interact with and learn from the Moken people without exploiting or disturbing their way of life.
This is done in two parts - one is a walking tour of the surrounding forest where a guide from the village shows us the local botany and wildlife and how it is used in their daily life. This walk ends in the village where we are given the opportunity to experience the ebb and flow of village life. This may take the form of a visit to the community center, helping one of the women weave baskets or even brief lesson in how to paddle the traditional Moken canoes. 
For the second part of this project we board a Moken Longtail and go for a snorkeling tour of the nearby bays. This journey takes us to bays and sites not on typical tours and your Moken guides will share insights about the marine life and cycles of the sea.
Through the fees for the guide and the hire of the long tail we are putting money directly into the community. In addition an additional 10% fee is given it a community fund to be spent by the village. As there is very little opportunity for income in this remote place and many of the young men and women head to the mainland to work as laborers, this program offers an opportunity to supply a livelihood as well as bring attention and support to their traditional lifestyle in a way that preserves their heritage. Due to the location of the village and tidal changes - the walking tour may happen in the morning or afternoon.

It is our sincere goal to participate in this program in a manner that does not exploit or negatively affect the culture of the Moken people. We recognize that all tourism has an impact on the communities and people that we visit. In the past the Moken people have been exploited and shown to visitors as objects and oddities and this runs counter to the philosophy of Wicked Diving. The Moken community recognizes that some of their ways are changing and more worrying, many of the young men and women and leaving to work as poorly paid laborers on the mainland and losing their identity.

Together, we hope that this pilot project will help the residents earn a viable wage in their own community, while helping preserve more of their traditional knowledge. In addition we hope to act as role models to other tour operators in the region about ethical tourism as well as appropriate contact with local communities.

Our guests will participate and interact with the guides and community. For this reason we ask that all guest understand and respect the communities aversion to invasive behavior - as they have been exploited in the past (and still are). Our guests (and staff) are to ask for permission to take photographs, to only enter buildings upon invitation and if giving gifts -t have this directly through the guides. Donations of pencils, school books in English or Thai at basic levels and old eye-glasses are greatly appreciated - candy, plastic items and the like are NOT. During our visit we may see the exploitive tours that visit the village - please take this as an opportunity to see how damaging this is from the residents eyes. 
After this season ends, it is the hope of the Moken villagers expand this program and offer these tours to other tour operators in an ethical fashion. 
We are very proud to offer these tours beginning immediately.

As additional cost are incurred in this program, we will be charging a slightly higher rate. We feel that our guests appreciate and respect our choice in this and will join us in celebrating the opportunity to visit a unique culture. All guests currently booked will be offered the opportunity to upgrade their tours to include this new tour. We feel that this tour is too good an opportunity to be passed up and gives a great deal back to the local community, so we will only offer tours that include this in the future. 
When you join wicked Diving - you make a difference.

Ethical Dive Center

To lear more about the Surin Islands