A Cleaner, More Connected Cherngtalay: Khunpon's Community Weekend

From a beach clean-up at Layan to the Run for Tomorrow 5K, our Khunpon crew joined neighbours and local partners for two days of caring for Phuket and building a stronger community.

There are weekends that remind us how fortunate we are to call Phuket home. On Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September, our Khunpon Martial Arts crew joined the Cherngtalay community for two events with a shared ambition: to look after our surroundings and bring people closer together.

Presented by Porto de Phuket and The Bangkok-Phuket Club, the Porto de Phuket x Cherngtalay Beach Clean Up and Run for Tomorrow connected practical environmental action with movement, generosity and local pride.

Together, volunteers collected more than 500 kilograms of waste and recyclable material in one hour at the beach clean-up. The following day's charity run attracted more than 300 registrations, each contributing THB 50, with all registration fees going to the Phuket Environmental Foundation.

Behind those figures were people choosing to give their time to the place they live, work and enjoy. We were pleased and privileged to be among them, taking part as a community partner under a message that captured the spirit of both days:

Move Together. Build Belonging.

Caring for Layan Beach, together

Friday afternoon brought the community to Layan Beach for a clean-up from 4.30 to 6.00 pm. Our crew joined fellow volunteers in collecting rubbish and supporting an event centred on a cleaner coastline, responsible waste sorting, and recycling and upcycling.

For people living around Cherngtalay, Bang Tao and Layan, the coast is part of everyday life. It is somewhere to walk, exercise, meet friends or take a quiet moment outdoors. Making time to care for it is one way of giving something back to a place that gives us so much.

The collective result was remarkable. Within just one hour, everyone's efforts added up to more than 500 kilograms of waste and recyclable material removed from the beach. Our team contributed alongside the wider group, and we were proud to share in an achievement that belonged to the whole event.

The attention to sorting mattered, too. A beach clean-up is a chance to think about what happens after rubbish is collected: which materials can be recovered, how waste is handled and how everyday habits affect the places we share. The organisers' focus on recycling and upcycling gave the afternoon a purpose beyond the collection itself.

We thoroughly enjoyed being involved. Spending time together outdoors, working on a shared task and supporting our neighbours made this a meaningful start to the weekend. It was a reminder that caring for Phuket can begin with something as straightforward as turning up and lending a hand.

Run for Tomorrow: a Cherngtalay charity run with purpose

On Saturday 26 September, our crew joined the Porto de Phuket x Cherngtalay Run for Tomorrow.

The route of about five kilometres started at Porto de Phuket, headed towards RAVA Beach Club, Laguna Phuket and returned to Porto. It brought the community together around getting outside, moving, and supporting Phuket's environment.

More than 300 people signed up, each contributing THB 50. The organisers committed 100% of registration fees to the Phuket Environmental Foundation, giving everyone who registered a direct way to support the event's cause.

After Friday's hands-on effort at Layan Beach, the run offered another way to take part. Some community activities call for a few hours of practical work; others bring people together through a shared interest. Across these two days, there was room for both.

For our Khunpon crew, moving together and encouraging one another felt familiar. Those connections grow through time spent training alongside each other. Joining this Phuket charity run let us carry that same spirit into the wider neighbourhood and enjoy being part of something shared.

Porto de Phuket's recap also recognised the involvement of the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation and the Cherngtalay Subdistrict Administrative Organisation. Their participation, alongside local organisations, volunteers and businesses, showed the breadth of the community behind the events.

Building belonging in Cherngtalay and Bang Tao

Cherngtalay, also known as Choeng Thale, is home to people with many different connections to Phuket. Some have grown up here; others have made their home here more recently. Shared activities create opportunities for those lives to meet.

That is part of what makes community events in Cherngtalay valuable. A beach clean-up or charity run gives neighbours a reason to spend time together, contribute something useful and get to know the people behind familiar local names.

Across the wider Bang Tao and Layan neighbourhoods, businesses and community groups are part of that everyday connection. Bringing them together around environmental care makes a common ambition tangible: a cleaner place to live, healthier routines and a stronger sense of responsibility for our surroundings.

As a martial arts community in Cherngtalay, we value the relationships that grow through regular participation. People arrive at the gym with different experiences and goals, then build trust by showing up, learning and supporting one another. These two events gave us another setting in which to practise that same commitment.

We are grateful to every Khunpon crew member who joined in. Giving your time helped connect our gym with the neighbourhood around it, and sharing these experiences together is something we want to keep building on.

The community partners who came together

Our thanks go to Porto de Phuket and The Bangkok-Phuket Club for presenting both events and creating these opportunities for the community to take part. We also thank the local authorities, volunteer groups and teams whose work brought the two days together.

Khunpon Martial Arts was proud to be named among a broad line-up of community partners, reflecting the many organisations connected to life in Phuket.

• Retail and neighbourhood: Supersports, Central Patong, Tops Food Hall and Boat Avenue.
• Hospitality and dining: Banyan Tree Phuket, KORA Beach Resort Phuket, RAVA Beach Club, Laguna Phuket, Taco Loco Phuket and Wine Connection.
• Health, wellbeing, sport and recreation: Life Balance Phuket, ME CARE, BREATHE Phuket, CTL Hospital, RENEW Sauna & Ice Bath Club, Thanyapura, Formula Fun Karting Phuket, Bangtao Youth Run Club, SLICE Wellbeing and AYANA circle.
• The wider partner community: PED (Planning Engineering Development), PEYLAA Phuket, FazWaz, SEA Property Group, Siamese Stone Developments, Siamese Village Club, PUNYISA, AYANA, Quick Shine, Lay Turn, Blue Zone and the Local Administration Volunteer to Save the Planet group.

Seeing this range of partners recognised together was encouraging. Each has its own role in local life, and the events gave us a common reason to connect around the wellbeing of our community and its environment.

Our appreciation extends equally to every individual who collected rubbish, registered for the run, helped coordinate the activities or gave their time behind the scenes. The shared effort is what made the weekend matter.

Looking forward to a cleaner, more connected Phuket

We came away from both events grateful for the invitation and looking forward to doing more.

A cleaner beach is a worthwhile result in itself. So is support for an environmental cause. Alongside those practical outcomes, these days gave us time with our crew, a chance to connect with neighbours and a renewed appreciation for the people helping care for Cherngtalay.

We hope this spirit continues through more beach clean-ups, charity runs and community activities in Phuket, and we would be delighted to join future opportunities that bring people together and make everyday life here better.

We are proud to be a community partner, and we look forward to supporting the people and places that make Phuket and Choeng Thale home.

To follow the organisers, visit Porto de Phuket's website, Instagram or Facebook, and follow The Bangkok-Phuket Club on Instagram.

Follow Khunpon Martial Arts on Instagram, explore our class schedule or get in touch with our team. Whether we meet at the gym or at the next community event, we look forward to welcoming you.

Move Together. Build Belonging.