SUPERNATURAL -Creater's Residency in Pai,Thailand-vol.1 Encounter with the Lahu Tribe

SUPERNATURAL – Creator’s Residency in Pai –

Vol.1 Encounter with the Lahu Tribe

Friday, May 22, 2026 – Tuesday, June 2, 2026 | 12 nights 13 days

Capacity: 10 people | Location: Pai, Thailand

1｜Project Overview and Concept

By SUPERNATURAL, we mean:

the more natural version of yourself that already exists within you.

As we grow older, certain senses, intuitions, and ways of being often fall asleep or become buried beneath the structures and rhythms of modern society.

 We believe that through people, food, land, and embodied experiences, these dormant parts can be gently uncovered again.

This is a journey to encounter a version of yourself you may not yet know. 

The purpose of this journey is not vacation, but creation.

2｜About the venue, Pai

Pai is a small district in Mae Hong Son Province, northern Thailand, with a population of around 2,000 people. It is located approximately three hours by road from Chiang Mai.

Surrounded by mountains and forests, Pai carries a quiet sense of mystery, while also being home to cafés, markets, music, and a lively presence of people.

With a motorbike, you can travel to hot springs or venture deep into the surrounding mountains. Returning to town, you encounter sound, movement, and moments of human connection.

It is this rhythm—

 between nature and town,

 local and international,

 stillness and activity—

 that led us to choose Pai

 as the setting for SUPERNATURAL.

3｜Home base: Paina Paita Home

Our base for this journey is "Paina Paita Home," a place with a cottage and café run by a Thai woman named Kero-chan .

Here, the boundary between indoors and outdoors is intentionally loose, allowing wind, light, and the texture of fabric to move naturally through the space.

One of the main reasons we chose this place is the food.

Kero-chan’s Thai cooking is gentle, carefully prepared, and deeply nourishing. Each day, participants are welcomed with thoughtfully made meals that support both body and creative process.

4｜What you will do in this residence

It is important that the creative process emerges naturally during this process.

The intention of these 12 days is to receive and to create.

Completion is not the goal. You may work on something familiar, or explore something entirely new.

Creation can take place in your own room or in shared public spaces, where the process itself becomes visible and communal.

Activities include:

• Yoga and meditation (guided by Kero-chan)

• Market and town research

• Moving the body, working with the hands, and resting

Through this rhythm— movement and stillness, attention and pause— the creative process is allowed to emerge naturally.

5 | Interacting with the Lahu People (2 nights, 3 days)

The Lahu are an ethnic group distributed across northern Thailand, Myanmar, southern China, and Laos.

During this residence, we will visit a Black Lahu (Lahu Chele) community, one of several ethnic groups living in Mae Hong Son Province.

We will stay in Ban Look Khao Lam Village, a mountain village of approximately 150 households and 600 people.

Life here is deeply connected to the surrounding ecosystem.

The main livelihood is subsistence agriculture, including rice, corn, red and black beans, taro, and other indigenous crops.

This exchange is not based on a “teaching and learning” hierarchy. We spend time together, with respect for each other’s ways of learning.

6｜Lahu culture, beliefs and clothing

Faith and Worldview:

In this community, Buddhism and belief in ancestral and village spirits coexist.

The coexistence of Buddhism and belief in ancestral spirits demonstrates the Southeast Asian worldview in which religions are not mutually exclusive but rather intertwined in layers. It reflects a worldview in which humans, nature, and spiritual beings live together in harmony.

Main traditional events:

• Gin Wah Festival (Lahu New Year)

• New rice festival

• Village purification and exorcism rituals

• Ritual for merit accumulation and soul recall

• Offerings to village spirits and ancestral spirits

Routine and rhythm:

• Men: gathering, bamboo crafts, blacksmithing, making agricultural tools

• Women: Sewing, housework, caring for livestock, caring for the family

Every 12 days there is one day of rest, a time for rituals and gatherings.

7. What to learn at Ban Look Khao Lam Village

Ban Look Khao Lam is a village of land and forests, where time flows gently, in harmony with the rhythms of relationships between people.

Here, making clothes, growing food, dancing, and resting are not separate activities, 

but expressions of the same “living knowledge,” quietly passed down from generation to generation.

When you enter the village, you are not expected to perform or to understand everything at once. Instead, you are invited to slow down, observe carefully, and reexamine your hands, your body, and your way of being.

Sewing a garment becomes an exercise in patience. 

The dance known as “Ja Keu,” performed in the village’s sacred courtyard, is an expression of unity— people moving together in harmony to the rhythm of the music, 

as one collective body.

During the stay, we live in a homestay setting, allowing close contact with the Lahu people and an intimate experience of their simple daily life.

Living here, even briefly,

 is an exercise in humility.

This exchange is not about learning from the community, 

but about learning with the community.

8｜Schedule Overview (12 days)

• Meeting in Chiang Mai and orientation: 2 days

• Pai stay and production: 7 days

• Lahu Homestay: 2 days

• Chiang Mai departure: 1 day

Day 1	Chiang Mai Meeting, Orientation, Accommodation
Day 2	Chiang Mai city research (market walk and ingredient search) / welcome dinner
Day 3	Travel from Chiang Mai to Pai (car/bus/minivan)/Check-in at accommodation
Day 4	Pai Free time
Day 5-6	Ban Look Khao Rum Village
Days 7-10	Pai Free Production Period/Market
Day 11	Farewell Party
Day 12	Transfer from Pai to Chiang Mai and disband

9｜Participation overview

• This program is organized by Paina Paita Home

• Implementation period: May 22th to June 2nd, 2026

• Capacity: 10 people (2 people x 4 rooms / 1 person x 2 rooms)

• Eligible: Artists, musicians, designers, photographers, chefs, craft artists, etc. (regardless of genre)

• Participation fee: 120,000 yen

10｜What is included in the participation fee?

• Accommodation (breakfast included) 12 days

• 3 dinner parties (2nd day in Chiang Mai, 1st day/last day in Pai)

• Meals for two days in Lam Village

• Workshop during stay in Lam Village

• Travel expenses (Chiang Mai ⇄ Pai / Pai ⇄ Lam Village)

Self-payment

• Travel expenses between Japan and Chiang Mai

• Lunch/dinner/free time expenses

• Production material cost

• Motorbike rental

• Overseas travel insurance

11｜How to apply

Please send the following via DM or email (ogawaryo2@gmail.com ).

• Name/Age/Address

• Occupation/activity genre

• A brief self-introduction (reason for participating)

• Documents that show your past activities (portfolio, social media, etc.)

*The format is free. We prioritize your current state over completeness.

• Application deadline: March 10, 2026

• Notification of results: Within one week after the deadline.

• Afterwards there will be individual online sessions and a group meeting.

12｜Request for participation

This program is a residential project that includes the natural environment, mountainous regions, and ethnic communities.

• Participation is at your own risk

• The organizer will not be held responsible for any accidents, injuries, theft, etc.

• We recommend that you take out overseas travel insurance.

• Please pay half of the participation fee as a deposit by April 20.

• Cancellation Policy: If you are unable to attend, we would appreciate it if you could find someone to replace you. Or, you will be responsible for the full cost after April 20th. Please contact us immediately!

  
  

Staying in the village

• Respect the village rules, culture, and beliefs

• Always get consent before taking photos

• Have an attitude of building relationships, not consumption