The first step was not easy for him. He asked various artists who produced hoonkrabok to teach him the art, but they declined, so he made the decision to learn on his own.

"I was so sad that I was refused the chance to study how to produce hoonkrabok - a part of Thai art and culture - so I decided to make the puppets by myself," says Niwet.

Niwet spent three months researching and developing a Thai puppet. Three months later, he completed a Thai puppet troupe with seven hoonkrabok characters.

After that, he encountered difficulties distributing his Thai puppets to the market. He could not afford to open a shop or advertise. Finally, he decided to promote his puppets through the online market via www.tookkatoon.com, in order to reach a global market.

"I think Thai puppets are beautiful for home decoration and can attract international customers, both foreigners and Thais who live in other countries," Niwet said.

He said that at first, almost all were international orders via the website. Half are now from Thais. "E-commerce is a crucial tool for business," he says. "It allows a business to penetrate global markets."

Apart from producing hoonkrabok for commercial distribution, his company also acts as an art centre for the dissemination of knowledge of Thai puppets to a new generation. "I'm not only realising a return on business, but also giving back to society. I'm not just doing this as a business," said Niwet.

Niwet and his team have promoted Thai art and culture to other countries while acting as representatives of various government agencies. He also participated with the Culture Ministry in taking road shows to schools in Bangkok and upcountry, teaching students about Thai puppets.

"We've conducted road shows many times, providing a training course to teach students how to produce Thai puppets free of charge. We've been representatives of the Culture Ministry for purposes of demonstrating Thai puppet shows. It has made us happy and goes beyond monetary value," Niwet says.

Recently, Tookkatoon provided a Thai puppet course free of charge to students of Bangkok's Sara Withaya School. The course teaches students how to produce their own Thai puppets.

He said Bann Tookkatoon Hoonkrabok Thai was created out of love for Thai art, culture and music, inspiring creative works for Thais today while showing foreigners the beauty and charm of Thai puppets.

Jirapan Boonnoon

The Nation