science

Tambon

Tambon is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tambon rather than just read about it. In short: Tambon (Thai: ตำบล, pronounced [tām.bōn]) is a local governmental unit in the country of Thailand. Below district (amphoe) and province (changwat), they form the third administrative subdivision level.

Key takeaways

Tambon belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tambon to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tambon from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Tambon (Thai: ตำบล, pronounced [tām.bōn]) is a local governmental unit in the country of Thailand. Below district (amphoe) and province (changwat), they form the third administrative subdivision level. As of 2016 there were 7,255 tambon, not including the 180 khwaeng of Bangkok, which are set at the same administrative level, thus every district contains eight to ten tambon. Tambon is usually translated as "township" or "subdistrict" in English – the latter is the recommended translation, though also often used for king amphoe, the designation for a subdistrict acting as a branch (Thai: king) of the parent district. Tambon are further subdivided into 74,944 villages (muban) as of 2008. Tambon within cities or towns are not subdivided into villages, but may have less formal communities called chumchon (ชุมชน) that may be formed into community associations. The average area of a subdistrict in Thailand is about 70.72 km2 (27.31 sq mi), while its average population of a subdistrict in Thailand is about 9,637 people.

History The tambon as a subdivision has a long history. It was the second-level subdivision of the area administered by a provincial town in the 19th century. The governor of the province was supposed to appoint a communal elder, kamnan or phan. In the administrative reforms started in 1892 under Prince Damrong Rajanubhab, the first Thai Minister of the Interior, the three levels of subdivision of provinces were continued, i.e., starting from district to tambon to the lowest level called muban.

Muban

The subdistricts are subdivided into administrative villages (muban, หมู่บ้าน) as the lowest administrative subdivision. Usually these are referred to much more often by the village number than the actual name, especially as an administrative village may contain more than one settlement, or a large settlement may be split into more than one administrative village. One of the elected village headmen is elected as the subdistrict headman (Kamnan).

Subdistrict (Tambon) administrative organization (SAO/TAO) With the Tambon Council and Tambon Administrative Authority Act BE 2537 (1994) and later by the constitution of 1997, tambon were decentralized into local government units with an elected tambon council. Depending on its size and tax income a tambon may either be administered by a Subdistrict (Tambon) Administrative Organization (SAO or TAO, Thai: องค์การบริหารส่วนตำบล) or a Tambon Council (TC, Thai: สภาตำบล). However, since 2001 all of the Tambon Councils have been upgraded to Tambon Administrative Organizations. The TAO council consist of two representatives from each administrative village in the subdistrict, and one directly elected president. The subdistrict area which belongs to a municipality (thesaban) is administered by the municipal council. In the event only part of the subdistrict is within a municipality, the remaining part is administered by a TAO. Adjoining subdistricts of a single district can also have a joint TAO.

One Tambon One Product

In 2001, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra started a project in which every tambon would select a typical, distinctive local product. The project then aids in promoting the product, as well as assisting in modernizing production. Shops selling OTOP products are located in each provincial capital.

See also List of tambon in Thailand Organization of the government of Thailand

References

External links ThaiTambon.com – One Tambon One Product Archived 19 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tambon

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tambon claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tambon before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tambon ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tambon

In research: Tambon appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tambon in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tambon is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Administrative divisions in Asia, Subdivisions of Thailand, Tambon, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tambon outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tambon in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tambon means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tambon out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tambon in simple terms?

Why does Tambon matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tambon?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tambon.