We're a family-run farm in the hills of Chiang Rai, Thailand. What started as a simple rice farm has grown into a place where visitors experience life in a hill tribe community, learn organic rice farming, and remember what it feels like to slow down.
At the heart of it are Father Gun and Mother Tomei — two people who live the simple joys of countryside life, and who've built a home where guests genuinely feel like they belong.
The Watasittikul family belongs to the Karen Sg'aw hill tribe, originally from Myanmar, and has farmed this valley for four generations as rice farmers and hunters. By modern standards, they may be cash poor. By the standards that actually matter — land, river, forest, family — they are some of the richest people we know.
The seed was planted in December 2007, when the Yong family from Singapore unexpectedly arrived in Chiang Rai. Bound for India, a visa issue diverted them to Thailand instead — where they met Kitt, Father Gun's eldest son, who guided them through a hill tribe tour and shared his knowledge of rice farming with real passion.
As city dwellers, the Yongs were struck by how little they actually knew about rice — a food they'd eaten their whole lives without ever thinking about the sun, rain, and months of labour behind every grain. Alvin Yong began to imagine how transformative it would be for other urban families to live that process firsthand. The Yongs returned to Chiang Rai twice in 2008 — once for rice planting in June, once for harvesting in November.
Those two trips became a program. In 2009, TigerlandRiceFarm.com launched: a back-to-nature, experiential eco-vacation reconnecting people with the land, and with the farmers who quietly sustain us all.
We aim to give guests an authentic farmstay experience that reconnects them with nature while supporting the local community — fostering a deeper appreciation for the work of farmers and the importance of environmental sustainability.
Our resident rice farming dean. He never had a formal education, so he taught himself English using a dictionary and a cassette tape. Now he guides guests through planting and harvesting, sharing stories and a lifetime of quiet wisdom along the way.
The heart of the farm. Up before dawn every day, always with a smile and a song. She can't read or speak English, but her warmth needs no translation — and her firewood-stove cooking, using ingredients from "nature's supermarket," is a highlight of every stay.
Co-founder and social entrepreneur from Singapore. A diverted flight in 2007 led to a friendship with the Tiger family, and eventually to co-founding Tigerland Rice Farm — an experience that lets people from around the world live hill tribe rice farming firsthand.
A legendary tale from Father Gun on why we call our farm Tigerland — hear it in his own words.
“Thanks for taking such good care of the children. The boys have been talking about the trip. They as well as the adults really enjoyed the farming experience. We'll help to spread the words around.”
There's only so much a story can tell you. The rest is best felt with your own hands in the mud.