To catch up from our blogging negligence here is a quick slide show of our time spent in Cambodia over New Years. We traveled to visit the historic ruins of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap. It was certainly a wonder to see the massive stones of a long lost civilization embraced by jungle. If it weren't for the crowds of other tourists it wasn't hard to imagine that we were exploring a lost world in some story book adventure. The following is a sampling of the expedition.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Sandy Fingers and Toes
Moriah enjoys walking around the yard holding on to mommy and daddy's hands. She also loves to sit down at any point and play in the dirt or with anything else that might happen to be on the ground. Our yard is certainly not like a typical North American yard and thus is not grass covered, manicured or even remotely clean. The grass in our yard is patchy...mostly weeds, readily manured by passing flocks of chickens, ducks, cows, pigs and numerous other animals; garbage also frequently accumulates in various locations. These are some undesirable joys of close communal living. Needless to say, the places Moriah chooses to sit are neither clean or appropriate for little hands and feet.
Over the weekend we decided that it was time to create an out-door play area for Moriah. After some thought we came up with a simple solution. This took the form of a fenced-in sandbox under our home. It is the perfect location as it is shaded, has lots of sand and will be a cool place to hang out in the hot season. Soon after daddy constructed the sandbox frame and rigged up a simple fence, Moriah and our landlords two daughters were happily playing together in an animal-free paradise.
The neighborhood kids have enjoyed the sandbox more than Moriah so far! We frequently come home from work to a small crowd under our home. Sand has always been under our home...it is strange that simply sectioning off an area and calling it special makes it an oasis for play.
Over the weekend we decided that it was time to create an out-door play area for Moriah. After some thought we came up with a simple solution. This took the form of a fenced-in sandbox under our home. It is the perfect location as it is shaded, has lots of sand and will be a cool place to hang out in the hot season. Soon after daddy constructed the sandbox frame and rigged up a simple fence, Moriah and our landlords two daughters were happily playing together in an animal-free paradise.
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| Fairly Cleanish Sand |
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| "Come and Play with Me!" |
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Bridge is Finished!
At long last the final bridge to Tha Thom is completed! It is now possible to drive all the way to Vientiane. Of course now there is much, much more traffic buzzing through our little town, but we are happy with the increased produce available. Driving through rivers may be a thing of the past, but journeys are still an adventure. The last time we drove to Vientiane the narrow road was blocked by a electric repair truck unloading electric poles. We sat for over an hour with lines of other cars waiting for the truck to empty. Needless to say we are looking forward to smoother and quicker travels in and out of Tha Thom regardless of river levels. Below is a 360 pan of the new bridge. A year ago we posted a pan at the same location. Click here to see what this area was like in 2011.
Click here for the full screen experience.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Bio Char
Black Gold, some call it…and it is black, very black! No I’m not talking about crude oil, this a black gold that can be produced from someone else’s refuse!
We first heard about bio char at last year’s ECHO Asia Conference. Initially we were skeptical, but after learning the theory behind it, bio char really makes sense. What is bio char…it is basically charcoal; it is in fact one-in-the-same, carbon. So what is the difference? Bio char is simply the term to use for carbon that is used as a soil amendment or conditioner and charcoal is used to cook steak.
The theory behind bio char is that it works much like a sponge. It will hold on to nutrients and release them to plants as they need it. It also provides homes for microorganisms because of its porous structure. In this tropical climate bio char helps the soil retain its nutrients as it prevents nitrogen and other elements from washing from soils during torrential monsoon storms. It also helps mitigate soil compaction.
Bio char is very simple to produce. Take junk wood, bamboo, twigs, leaves, coconut husks, rice hulls; (anything that is waste, has carbon and burns) burn it in the presence of very little oxygen and bio char results. In Laos, rice hulls are simply thrown away or burnt into ashes. This free resource can easily be used to improve the soil for free.
The following pictures show the process of creating bio char.
(NOTICE: The stylish face mask isn't just to look awesome, it is to prevent breathing silica dust which is contained in rice hulls. This can cause silicosis, which can lead to a lung transplant if enough is breathed over time.)
These batches of bio char will go into making potting mix for the moringa seedlings we are growing for the office. We made the mistake of making bio char and applying it the next day. Remember that bio char is like a sponge? It will suck up nutrients in the surrounding soil depriving the plant of much needed nutrition. Once the bio char is full it will then release this to the plant. It is best to ‘charge’ the bio char before mixing with the soil. It can be mixed with compost and aged or soaked in a strong manure tea. Even as little as 72 hours of soaking can be enough to charge the bio char.
Does your soil need some char?
We first heard about bio char at last year’s ECHO Asia Conference. Initially we were skeptical, but after learning the theory behind it, bio char really makes sense. What is bio char…it is basically charcoal; it is in fact one-in-the-same, carbon. So what is the difference? Bio char is simply the term to use for carbon that is used as a soil amendment or conditioner and charcoal is used to cook steak.
The theory behind bio char is that it works much like a sponge. It will hold on to nutrients and release them to plants as they need it. It also provides homes for microorganisms because of its porous structure. In this tropical climate bio char helps the soil retain its nutrients as it prevents nitrogen and other elements from washing from soils during torrential monsoon storms. It also helps mitigate soil compaction.
Bio char is very simple to produce. Take junk wood, bamboo, twigs, leaves, coconut husks, rice hulls; (anything that is waste, has carbon and burns) burn it in the presence of very little oxygen and bio char results. In Laos, rice hulls are simply thrown away or burnt into ashes. This free resource can easily be used to improve the soil for free.
The following pictures show the process of creating bio char.
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| First Start a Fire |
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| Cover the Fire With a Sweet Metal Tube |
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| Once Drafting Well...Add Rice Hulls |
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| Stand Back and Admire Work |
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| Looking down the Stack |
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| Make Sure the Wind is Blowing the Right Way |
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| Once Black...Remove Stack |
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| Water to Cool |
These batches of bio char will go into making potting mix for the moringa seedlings we are growing for the office. We made the mistake of making bio char and applying it the next day. Remember that bio char is like a sponge? It will suck up nutrients in the surrounding soil depriving the plant of much needed nutrition. Once the bio char is full it will then release this to the plant. It is best to ‘charge’ the bio char before mixing with the soil. It can be mixed with compost and aged or soaked in a strong manure tea. Even as little as 72 hours of soaking can be enough to charge the bio char.
Does your soil need some char?
Monday, November 26, 2012
Harvest Video
The last post displayed some photos of a rice harvesting activity that the office conducted. The following is a video that we recently made documenting the same event. It was mostly filmed by MCC staff, Jeffrey just helped put the videos together. Enjoy!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Harvest Time
Way back in July we posted about rice planting. Now in November, rice harvesting is in full swing. No...harvesting is not done with combines or tractors here, although we have seen rice harvesters closer to Thailand. These look exactly like a mini combine on tracks. Rather cute pieces of machinery.
Harvesting is all done by hand. The worst part is the heat. Planting time is usually wet and cloudy...but harvest time is brightened by the hot tropical sun beating down. On an up-side harvesting doesn't involve bending over to the degree of planting.
Rice stalks are cut with a sickle and left in the field in bunches to sun dry. After a day they are then either threshed by hand or by a machine that is usually rented. Resulting rice straw is fed to animals, burned or left in the field. This year MCC will teach farmers how to make compost using rice straw as dry matter.
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| MCC Staff (Vone and Phounguen) Harvesting |
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| Jeffrey and Khamsay Harvesting |
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Baby's Got Beat!
A musical expo of a few of Moriah's sounds. She sure had a lot to say after dinner!
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