Brass & silk village

Some two hundred years ago, Baan Pa Ao was settled by Lao immigrants from Vientiane who brought with them their unique skills at crafting silk and brass. Unlike other craft centres, the villagers at Baan Pa Lo custom their products from raw materials, which in the case of silk, is also sourced from their own bred silkworms. First off you can visit the Community Silk Centre, where local craftspeople demonstrate the various steps of silk making. A museum/shop displays some of the exquisite garments created here. After this, you can walk through the narrow lanes and visit genuine, family-run silk workshops, located in humble homes on stilts. Mulberry bushes growing in the front yards provide the food for the tiny silkworms. Continue northeast past Wat Burapha Pa Ao Nuea and you will come to a large brass workshop near the forest. Here the workers use centuries-old methods to produce works of art from molten brass. Everything from huge Buddha Images to bowls and keychains are fashioned in these shops, and many products are on sale. Getting here: The village is located 35kms north-west of Ubon city, 9kms north of Highway 23. You will see an archway on the north side of the highway with a sign above saying: "OTOP Champion Ban Pa Ao." By public transport, catch a Yasothon or Khueang Nai bus at Ubon bus terminal and ask to be dropped at Baan Nong Kho. Then you can take a motorbike taxi to Baan Pa Ao for 20B. A round trip taxi or tuk-tuk from Ubon City will cost 300-500B.