Domestic items like this stool, made from rattan, are used by the highland communities of northern Thailand that include the Karen, Akha, Lisu, Lahu, Hmong and Yao. Furniture of this type are low in height as most daily life activities at home are done on the floor or at low tables.These minority groups migrated into northern Thailand from neighbouring regions during the 18th and 19th centuries. The terms 'highlanders', 'hilltribes' or chao khao ('mountain people') as they are referred to in Thai, are no longer very accurate as many also now live in lowland regions.
