Kho Laen

Kho Laen is a tambon located in the northeastern region of Buntharik district, in Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand. In 2021, it had a population of 13,260 people. Neighbouring subdistricts are Phon Ngam, Nong Sano, Ban Maet, and Non Ko, as well as the Champassack district of Laos in the east.

History

The area was first settled in 1792 by a group of villagers evacuated from Pi Ler village in Sisaket province; the first settlement was called "Khua Mi", located on the west bank of the Lam Dom Noi River, which is Nong Bua village in the present day. Due to the outbreak, the original settlers resettled 4 kilometers eastwards to a new location, Kho Laen village, on the east side of the river. A new village was named after a tropical fruit tree known as "Korlan", which was found numerously in the area.
Kho Laen was one of the three oldest subdistricts of the Buntharik district, together with Phon Ngam and Huai Kha. In 1973, the tambon's half-western area became an independent subdistrict, Na Pho, by absorbing seven other villages in the surrounding area. The newly established subdistrict was also separated in 1987 to create the Ban Maet subdistrict.
In the early era, the tambon was governed by the Subdistrict Council of Kho Laen until it was promoted to the Subdistrict Administrative Organization in 1997, and to the subdistrict municipality in 2008.

Geography

The tambon covers 244.54 km² and is located in the northeastern region of the Buntharik district. The eastern part has undulating terrain and the highland of the Dângrêk Mountains, which form the border between Thailand and Laos, while the western is a lowland alternating with some parts of the upland and some are the Lam Dom Noi river basins.

Administration

The subdistrict of Kho Laen is divided into 15 villages, three of which, Kho Laen, Domg Moei, and Nong Bua, each was further divided into two community groups, Since 2008, the Kho Laen Subdistrict Municipality has been the local government responding to administer the area.
As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 13,260 people with 4,113 households. The following is a list of the subdistrict's mubans, which roughly correspond to the villages.