When The Cloud Told the Story of Paa Namsai: Forest + Water + Community Growing for More Than 35 Years
Updated: Sep 15
At one point, The Cloud visited Paa Namsai and told the story of this place through an article titled:
“Forest + Water + Community”
with the subtitle:
“A visit to a village in a man-made forest more than 35 years in the making, designed for people to occupy only 30 percent of the land, with the ambition of creating a real Living Community.”
The article was not simply about houses or land. It looked back at how Paa Namsai gradually came into being — from ideas about living, forest and water, to the people who would eventually become part of the community, and the effort to make the idea of a Living Community real.
From Questions About Life to “Physical and Emotional Comfort”
At the beginning of the article, The Cloud returns to a basic question: what kind of life do we actually want to live?
One of the important ideas that emerges is physical and emotional comfort.
Living in a place with fresh air, trees, water, room to move, and the freedom to live in one’s own way became an important starting point for the idea that would later become Paa Namsai.
The land did not begin as a mature forest. Trees had to be planted, water bodies created, and the landscape gradually cared for and allowed to grow over time.
What can be seen today is therefore the result of years of care and development, not something that could have been created within only a few years.
Continuing the Dream Through Forest and Water
The Cloud describes how Paa Namsai developed in a way that differed from the conventional idea of maximizing the amount of land available for sale.
At the time the article was written, Paa Namsai covered approximately 435 rai, with the concept that residential use should occupy only around 30 percent of the overall area, allowing forest, water, and open space to continue playing a central role in the landscape.
The figure of 30 percent therefore reflects more than a planning ratio.
It represents an important idea:
Nature is not what remains after development.
It should be part of the structure of development from the beginning.
Forest, water, soil, homes, roads, and everyday life are therefore seen as interconnected elements rather than separate zones.
“Finding People of the Same Tribe”
Another important section of The Cloud article is the phrase:
“Finding people of the same tribe.”
This does not mean finding people who are alike in every way.
Rather, it means looking for people who may differ in age, profession, ideas, or lifestyle, but who share certain underlying values.
These may include respect for nature, respect for the space of others, acceptance of differences, and an understanding that the way one person lives can affect the people around them.
The Cloud article also reflects the idea that creating a good community does not end with selling land or building houses. It also requires thinking carefully about who will become part of that place.
For Paa Namsai, this idea remains meaningful today.
The long-term quality of a place depends not only on trees, water, or landscape, but also on the people who live there.
Forest, Soil, Water — and 30 Percent for Living
The Cloud includes a section that addresses this idea directly:
“Forest, Soil, Water, and 30 Percent for Living.”
Forest, water, and open space at Paa Namsai were not conceived merely as scenery or decoration around a development.
They are part of the living system of the place.
Trees provide shade and shape the atmosphere. Water plays an important role in both landscape and experience. Open space helps prevent the community from becoming overly dense.
All of these elements require time.
Large trees cannot be created in only a few years, and the relationship between people and place also takes time to develop.
A Living Community Is Not Created by Buildings Alone
The term Living Community is another central idea used by The Cloud to describe the intention behind Paa Namsai.
It does not mean that everyone must constantly participate in activities together or live in the same way.
Rather, it means creating conditions in which homes, nature, people, and the systems of the community can genuinely coexist.
Each person still has private space and an individual way of life.
At the same time, living within the same environment requires an understanding that one person’s actions may affect others, the landscape, and the overall quality of the community.
This is one reason why the principles of coexistence and community agreements matter at Paa Namsai.
The purpose is not to make everyone the same, but to protect qualities that many members value together, including:
nature, tranquility, privacy, and mutual respect
“A Good Society Is Not for Sale — It Has to Be Built Together”
Another section near the end of The Cloud article carries the idea:
“A good society is not for sale. If you want it, you have to build it together.”
This phrase captures an important part of the Paa Namsai philosophy.
Roads can be built.Trees can be planted.Canals and water bodies can be developed.Physical structures can be created through investment.
But things such as:
trustrespectful neighbourstranquilitycommunity cultureand responsibility toward the place
cannot be purchased as finished products.
They emerge through people living together and gradually building them over time, through learning and participation.
This is why “people” have always mattered at Paa Namsai just as much as “place.”
From a Living Community to a “Well-being Community of the Future”
Toward the end of The Cloud article is another idea that becomes particularly interesting when viewed from today:
“A Well-being Community of the Future.”
The article refers to the intention for the place to serve purposes beyond residential living alone — including activities, learning, shared use of space, and ideas related to human well-being.
Over time, these ideas have begun to appear in a wider variety of forms.
They can be seen in learning activities, creative programmes, wellness experiences, conversations about business, and the use of natural settings as part of people’s experience.
What is particularly interesting is that the idea of well-being was not simply added to Paa Namsai in response to a recent wellness trend.
Its roots were already present in the vision of the place when The Cloud came to document the story.
When an Outside Perspective Helps Record the Identity of Paa Namsai
For Paa Namsai, The Cloud article means more than publicity.
It represents an outside perspective — someone coming to visit the place, speaking with the founder, and describing what they saw in their own language.
After the article was published, many more people came to know Paa Namsai, and interest in visiting the site increased.
But another important value of the article is that it became a record of Paa Namsai at a particular moment in time.
It allows us to look back and see what we were thinking about, what we were trying to build, and how far those ideas have travelled since then.
From Paa Namsai Then to Paa Namsai Today
Some details of Paa Namsai today have naturally changed since the time The Cloud visited.
The community has grown, management systems have developed, and ideas around residential living, learning, and well-being have become clearer through accumulated experience.
But several core ideas remain:
forestwatertranquilityprivacymutual respectand the belief that a good community must be built gradually over time
Nature needs time to grow.
And so does a community.
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