Muslim women are being taught how to better prepare
local Muslim dishes to help them earn more money for their families.
Jetsada Homklin
Pattaya-area Muslims are getting free cooking lessons to help prepare
them for the coming ASEAN Economic Community.
Nongprue Deputy Mayor Anek Pattanagnam opened the Sept. 19-29 course with
executives from the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration,
Vocational Training Center, Thai-ITOH Technical College and Nernplabwan School
for about 40 students.
Taught by Vocational Training School instructors at Nernplabwan School, the
10-hour course is teaching students to create 10 foreign and local dishes. All
the dishes have a Muslim accent, however, such as chicken kebabs, dim sum,
Chinese steamed buns, kuicheai, chicken steamed rice and more with Muslim spices
and curry.
The program is one of several being offered free to Muslims to help them boost
their incomes when the AEC opens.
Two seamstress courses to create the taqiyah, hijab and other garments ran Sept.
8-19 which each course running 60 hours over six days for 20 students per class
at the Vocational Training Center.
Thai-ITOH also ran English-language classes, again in two courses that started
at the end of August. Each course runs 40 hours and offers beginner and basic
levels. Students were placed in classes based on an English-proficiency test.
