Hunting Swallows

Today is humid! It seemed like everything was dripping wet after last night’s rain! Welcome to the rainy season. I sat with Bounpheng at a nutrition training exercise in Phonchaluern Village. It felt like we were on an island since the meeting house is partially surrounded by verdant rice paddies stretching off into the distance. Mist shrouded the mountains lining the valley.

Rice Paddies

Today the district health partners and village health workers are practicing how to give a presentation and monitor the growth of village children. When the training wraps up we walk out into the meeting house yard and head to the road. I follow Bounpheng, who begins to stare at some electric lines running parallel to the road. Some boys line a fence underneath the lines holding long bamboo poles at the ready. Little black swallows sit perched on the lines, some fluttering into the sky returning seconds later to rejoin the other lined birds. As soon as a bird lands one of the boys stealthily raises his bamboo pole and taps the newly perched bird with a blade of grass attached to the pole’s tip. The swallow then attempts to take flight only to fall to the ground milliseconds later. The boy then drops the pole, catches the fallen bird and places it in a small woven basked holding a congregation of other birds already captive.

Intrigued by these proceedings Bounpheng calls to one of the boys, “How do you do that? Are you using electricity?”
A boy responds, “No, we use glue to stick the birds.”

Birds on the Line

Confused further we ask more questions. One boy shows us a can of sticky rat glue and explains that you have to start with a few decoy swallows. These swallows have had their eyelids glued shut and then are placed on the electric line. Since they can’t see they simply sit on the line and attract other wild birds. The boys take a blade of grass, soak it in the rat glue and attach the grass to the end of a bamboo pole. When the wild bird lands the goal is to touch the bird’s feathers with the grass covered with glue. This temporarily disables the bird’s flight and it falls to the ground.

Personal Demonstration

So why would someone want to catch swallows? If you have followed this blog at all or know much about Lao culture, I’m sure you know the answer. To eat them! Swallows are a delicacy and sell for a good price…at least in the city. Bounpheng is so impressed with the village price that he buys 10 of the birds, costing just over a dollar for the lot! I am simply impressed by the method of catching the birds and wonder who came up with such an idea?!

Buying Birds

Back at the office Bounpheng proudly displays his purchase to the other staff. Kaarina and I wonder how he will cook the morsels and so decide to help prepare the fire. After a lot of tedious plucking Bounpheng deep fries the birds whole. We swallow the swallows for lunch…they are crunchy and tasty, like anything fried. Just watch out for the innards since they make for a bitter bite.

A Single Spark

Sitting on a small wooden stool, holding a traditional Lao rice basket in her lap, Mrs. Van glows with happiness as she enthusiastically shares the importance these baskets have in Lao homes. Through the MCC Global Family supported project, she had the opportunity to share her talents and interest in bamboo weaving with the next generation. Local wisdom teachers, like Mrs. Van, are helping enrich young students’ learning by teaching practical handicrafts and kindling interest in traditional arts.

Mrs. Van Holding a Rice Basket

In a culture where sticky rice is eaten every day, rice baskets are central to family life and meals. Sticky rice, or gluttonous rice, is different from common white rice because after it is steamed it sticks together and is easily eaten by hand. In Lao homes, sticky rice is steamed several times a day and then stored in and eaten out of woven bamboo baskets.

Mrs. Van learned how to weave rice baskets from her grandmother about eight years prior to joining the local wisdom project. She first brought her expertise in local wisdom to the November 2010 Traditional Wisdom Training held in the district capital. She, along with other farmers and teachers, discussed local wisdom topics and how to include them in the school curriculum.

The next step was to return to their village and start implementing those activities in the schools, but at this point Mrs. Van felt apprehensive. ‘I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to teach the students how to weave… [and] was not sure of [teaching in the schools] at the beginning, but I knew we had a good plan and followed it.’

Mrs. Van may have been nervous and worried, but she was willing. She and two other villagers brought their expertise to the Khonsana Primary School, where they spent a day teaching students to whittle bamboo into thin strips and then weave those strips into rice baskets.

‘We worked in three groups.’ Mrs. Van shared, ‘Some students had difficulty figuring out how to [hold the knife and smooth the strips of bamboo].’ Because of these difficulties, students that knew how to whittle were paired with students that had difficulty. All the students worked together to create the final products, and their positive attitudes removed any fear Mrs. Van may have had in her inabilities to teach.

“Every student was interested! Some children had trouble finishing the rice basket at school, so they came to my home afterward, asking for my help… It makes me so happy to know that students are excited to learn. …I urge everyone in our village to make rice baskets so they can use them, or they can make them to sell. Though this is a very small activity in itself, when we do it together it can become a great success.”

Yum! Sticky Rice!

Now Mrs. Van, through the local wisdom program, has taken rice basket weaving full circle, transferring her knowledge to the next generation. Her involvement in activities, like integrating local wisdom into the school, keeps the spark of tradition and culture alive and spreading to the next generation.

A story written by Kaarina and submitted as part of a Global Family report.

Bats by the Bunch

The hot breeze wafts through the open double doors of the MCC Tha Thom office. The heat of the afternoon sun bakes the yard outside and has made all the cement walls of the office very warm. The ceiling mounted fan above the desk is sure a blessing! From our desk I can look out the front door facing the main road of Tha Thom.

Down the driveway come a group of women carrying a basket between them. They usually drop by at this time of day. “Su kurang, der,” they call (buy things, please.) It is always a surprise as to what they will be selling. Often times I am hesitant since many items are strange forest vegetables. Kaarina and I generally end up asking, “What is this and how do you cook it?”

Today is no exception. The ladies set down their load. It is full of wriggling black things. I double take as I stare at the basket, but no it really is what it looks like. The basket is full of bats! The bats are tied together with a piece of bamboo fiber, about ten per bunch. One bunch sells for just over a dollar. I ask one woman where they found them. She points to the mountain. “Over there, in a cave.” she replies, “It took us three nights to catch the bats.”

Bat Bartering

 The rest of the MCC staff are now inspecting the wares. They are excited and you can tell that various bat-dishes are on their minds. Soon neighbors arrive. News of bats for sale sure travels fast! One of the sellers asks if I will buy any. “My wife doesn’t know how to cook bat,” I answer. They laugh. We are really foreign indeed! Before I head back inside to work I notice the office cook making some purchases.

I pull out my cell phone to call Kaarina at home, “Can you guess what is on the menu for lunch tomorrow?”

Critters, Critters Everywhere!

Every place in the world has its own critters and Laos is no exception! Ever since arriving we have been mesmerized by the diversity and exotic elegance exhibited by the wildlife that surrounds us even in our own home! Words alone do very little to share the exotic-ness of these creatures...so in come the pictures. (Please note: This blog entry is in no way meant to be scientific or complete in the vast array of animals that frequent our home/yard/village/etc.)

 This isn't our chicken, but we thought that this 'butt-less' hen was worth a picture.

 Again not our pigs. Just some cute piglets being raising in a village near here.

 Here are some butterflies that frequent Kaarina's flower garden. They just wouldn't share the flowers...there really is plenty for all!

 You probably wouldn't consider this a critter. This is our landlord's dog 'Edam.' She loves to come by our house looking for scraps, loves her belly scratched, is very playful and thankfully we now have her trained to stay outside or on our porch and not to join us inside.

Guinea Fowl

 These funny looking birds sure are noisy! Louder than the turkeys next door, two of these strange creatures wander throughout the neighborhood. They are mean to the other birds, but very skittish when it comes to humans.

 Here is some camo for you!

 This is an alien.

 No wait, the sun blinded the camera. Just a leaf bug in the office kitchen.

 Here are some red ants on our clothes line. They constantly work to remove the bugs that die around our yard light. All their collaboration prompted me to make a poster!

 This creature is sometimes known as a 'rain spider.' They often come indoors during rain storms and at night. They are also known as huntsman spiders and can grow quite large. The largest ones grow to just under 12 inches from leg to leg! Thankfully the ones that are found in our house are only around 6 inches and frequently are reduced to 1 inch after some work with a flip flop. They enjoy eating cockroaches so they aren't that bad, but are an unpleasant shock to see in the middle of the night.

 The moths, butterflies and dragonflies here are stunning. This is one exquisite moth Kaarina found outside the office.

 Of course a house is not complete without geckos. They eat lots of small bugs. The only downside is the little presents they leave behind. How many geckos can you count?

And in a parting wave here is one of our favorites. We love seeing Preying Mantises around... especially in our garden!

Wet and more wet

On June 25th, 2011, Tha Thom district experienced leftovers of a typhoon coming over Vietnam. It dumped rain on Xieng Khuang province – and lots of it!

Early in the morning, I walked to the market in the falling rain. When I returned to our house, I looked down to the river and was surprised to see it had risen over night and was almost up to the bottom of our terraces. This is almost a meter (three feet) higher than normal!

The Swollen River

As the morning progressed, the rain continued and the river rose still more. At about noon Jeffrey was called to the MCC office because water was beginning to flood the bottom floor and staff had to quickly move all the electronics to the second story. When he came back, Jeffrey said, ‘You have to see this! Half of town is flooded!’

MCC Tha Thom Office Under Water

A walk around town later that afternoon proved this was definitely a flood. The lower area of Tha Thom, where the market, hospital and several district offices are, was under water (anywhere from a meter to six inches) The MCC office included!

The Office Pond

In all Tha Thom District was dumped with five days of steady rain. Here in the capital, we experienced major erosion, washing away the butcher shop and moving large amounts of sand and rock. Other areas of the district were also hit hard. A bridge on the way to one of our target villages was destroyed. Farmers are also suffering as seeds beds were washed away and whole fields are now covered with sand. We have heard reports that in other areas of the province, whole villages have been washed away!

Our Lake behind the Office

Preparing for the Second Flood

To make things worse the next weekend we had several days of heavy rain and the river rose again. This time people were more prepared, or at least we were at the MCC office. The staff joined together, filling bags with sand and building a dike in front of each door. The water rose, but thankfully stayed out of the office this time.

Filling Sand Bags

Wet and Happy

Teamwork

District Offices Flooded

The government has responded as well as a number of INGO’s, providing rice and supplies, recording damage and planning for rebuilding.

Since the rains have stopped, the rivers have receded back to their normal monsoon level. We are thankful to be dry again, and besides losing a large portion of our terraces, experienced little damage to our garden and home.

Cooking Bread Without an Oven

‘How can you live by eating only bread for meals?’ is a question that a Lao person would certainly ask a North American. It is commonly said here that bread cannot fill a person up; sticky rice must be part of every meal! In fact when you ask a person what they have eaten everyone assumes rice and thus questions of this nature are phrased, ‘What did you eat with your rice? (Kin khao kup nyang?). ’ Conversely, a North American would surely ask, ‘How can you live by eating only rice for every meal?’

Squash Bread

So how, (you might be wondering) are we fairing? Do you have bread to eat in addition to all the rice that is locally available? Since you don’t have an oven can you even make your own bread? These are all good questions, and we are now proud to say that bread has come to at least one kitchen in Tha Thom!

On our last visit to the capital, Vientiane, we managed to purchase flour in bulk (22kilos) and split it four ways with the other North American MCC’ers. We then found a large 20 liter pot with a lid at the market. Both of these supplies we lugged back to Tha Thom with high hopes of mouthwatering fresh baked bread!

The Setup

Since our only heat source for cooking is wood the first step was to build an oven. After getting a nice bed of coals we set the upside- down pot lid on top of the fire and placed two bricks on it. We then placed the bread pan full of dough on top of the bricks and then put the inverted pot over the entire pile! Our first loaf of sweet monkey bread turned out pretty well, other than raising a mile or so. Since this first attempt we have baked three more loaves with relative success!

A Small Loaf and English Muffins

Egg Sandwiches for Lunch

Having bread sure gives us more diversity in meals. We are very excited to have French toast and sandwiches back on the menu!

The Backyard

My horticulturist heart has wanted to write a blog about plants since I first stepped out of the airport and smelled the heavenly plumeria-perfumed air. This desire was only strengthened when we first cruised down the Nam San River to Tha Thom, and I spent six hours watching the jungle covered mountains glide past.Laos has a huge wealth of flora and most of them are completely new to this inexperienced Northwestern Minnesotan. I have found that the new and cool plants aren’t all in the jungle though; some are right in our back yard, even growing in the garden!

Here is a collection of some of the things growing in our yard. Some are strange new plants and some are just the same ‘ol good standby’s that grow anywhere!

With June comes rain… so we are preparing for the garden to get drenched, and are trying some things in pots! On the left of the picture are some ornamentals we brought from Vientiane and are trying to root. On the right is a pot of sweet basil (not a common Lao herb, but we found it in Vientiane) and spring onions.

Sunning on the Porch

We also have lots of flowers! Every time I walk from the house to our outdoor kitchen, I pass a little bed of zinnias, cleome and marigolds we made. It makes me smile, and I hope you, too!

A Zinnia in our Little Flower Garden

Roselle (or locally known as Som Po De, translated ‘the perfect sour’) is one plant we are really excited for! Jeffrey is already dreaming of making juices and jams with the fruit. Roselle is also eaten locally as a green. Thrown into fish soup it adds a delicious sour flavor, or should I say, ‘the perfect sour!’

Roselle

Jeffrey of the Jungle

 Here is Jeffrey hiding in our little jungle. On the left are the papaya trees. They have shot up 6-7 feet in three months! May 31st marked the first flower opening, and we are looking forward to some yummy fruit. Ripe papayas are sometimes eaten, but usually Lao people like to pick the fruit green and make it into their favorite snack, Dam Mak Hoong (‘Papaya Salad’). Green papaya is finely sliced and then lightly pounded together with fermented fish sauce, sugar, lemon juice, chili peppers, and maybe some tomatoes or local forest fruits. It’s scooped up and eaten with any green leafy vegetable available. It’s a good Lao snack, but we anticipate eating our papaya when it is sweet and ripe!

Papaya Canopy

On the right, we have cherry tomatoes growing on the trellis. We haven’t gotten much fruit from it, but enjoy the small handful of sweet-bursts-of-goodness we get every now and then. Since they were all volunteers anything we get is a bonus!

In the foreground of the picture are eggplants. We have two varieties in our garden, one white and another mottled green, though I’ve seen about five or more varieties for sale just here in the small Tha Thom market. Most eggplants are eaten young and quite hard. One delicious way to eat these otherwise bland fruit is the traditional Lao dish ‘Bone’ (Not sure how to translate the word, but it’s not at all related to the English word). Eggplants are boiled and pounded together with spices and ground meat. It’s wonderful to eat with sticky rice, and easy enough that I’ve been able to make it on my own.

White-Eggplant

Speckled Green Eggplant

We buy our potatoes from the large ‘city’ market in Paxan (two hours south of Tha Thom). We would love to grow our own, but most villagers I’ve asked shake their head and say you can’t grow them here. This little potato must not have heard them, because Jeffrey found him struggling in our compost pile and transplanted him into the garden. He is still struggling and we aren’t sure if he’ll produce much, but then again maybe he will!

Little Potato

One of our defensive players in the garden is the Mighty Marigold. They are growing like crazy (now pushing 5 feet tall!), and help keep away many of the pests that would like to munch on our plants. They are peppered throughout the garden, and because we had so much seed, also the whole yard!

"Stay out Bad Bugs!"

I always love seeing new, strange plants in the market, and a few we’ve tried to start in our own garden.

This plant is locally known as Pak Wan, ‘sweet vegetable,’ because it does have a sweet flavor. It’s a local favorite in soup.

Pak Wan - One sweet vegetable!

Pak Goh (sorry, no translation, and I’m not sure of an English name yet) is actually a weed and villagers will collect it in the rice paddy and on the edge of the forest. Our landlord laughed when he saw it in our garden. It has a really bitter taste, which most Lao people love, though Jeffrey isn’t too wild about it.

Vegetable Weed

This next plant isn’t edible, but is used as a pesticide and fertilizer. Khera Khao Ho (tianospora stem or quinine liana) is a great vine, and the villagers ferment it with sugar and green waste from their gardens to make a pesticide/fertilizer liquid they spray on the garden. I was excited to get a cutting to root, though sadly it takes three to five years to be large enough to harvest.

Local Medicine Vine

Pigeon pea actually has an edible fruit, but right now we have it in the garden as a cover crop. It is wonderful at adding nitrogen to the soil, something that is continually being washed away with our torrential rains.

Pigeon Pea

Some of the newest additions to our garden are:
Water chestnut is one of Jeffrey’s experiments. We bought a large bag while visiting Phonsavan. They should be grown in a wetter environment, but we don’t have anywhere better, so we will see if they do anything in the garden.

Water Chestnut

 It’s pineapple season in Tha Thom right now, so we saved a top to grow one of our own.

Baby Pineapple

Moringa. It seems that this plant is actually a new introduction to the area as none of the villagers we have asked know what it is. We received two pieces of trunk from CRWRC in Phonsavan and they both have rooted and are growing well! We were introduced to Moringa when we attended HEART Institute in Florida. It’s famed for its ‘miracle’ properties and is a great plant to promote in areas that suffer from malnutrition.

The Amazing Moringa

Behind our garden on the bank of the river is a beautiful trellis and terraces (terraces thanks to Jeffrey, trellis thanks to our Landlord’s younger brother). Some squash seeds we threw on the terraces and then forgot about, sprouted and are growing wildly! They offer a lovely shade in the hot sun and there are papaya, eggplants and pigeon peas happily growing in the cool shade underneath.

Terraces in the Shade

We were disheartened to return home after a week in Vientiane to ‘mowed’ sugar cane. Due to a recent law passed which requires all farmers to keep their livestock penned, we felt it was safe to move our sugar cane out of the garden to make room for other plants. Sadly, one cow who didn’t hear of the law, got out of her pen and had a nice snack before our landlord’s family chased it away. Despite the hard trimming, the sugar cane is coming back strong, and actually sending up even more shoots! So maybe we should also thank that silly old cow…

Sugar Cane with a Haircut

We also just received seed from ECHO Asia and have plans to add a variety of new plant to the garden including, okra, winged bean, pole bean, amaranth, mustard, luffa, corn and a variety of leguminous cover crops. If we have success we may even suggest that the MCC project use some varieties in the work in Tha Thom.