Tag Archives: agriculture

Baby Culinaire

3 Oct

This is by far one of my more domesticated blogs but egh it is related to one of my favorite topics to write about – FOOD.  And cooking, because I do love to cook.  Over the past month we have started our little guy (at 6 months) on solids and it has been an adventure for us as much as it is for him.  I read a lot about different ways to introduce solids and researched all our options in terms of baby foods.  I really like the concept of “Baby Led Weaning“.  This is where there are no puree or spoon feeding, you simply give the baby a piece of food and let them feed themselves.  Also, I’m not entirely thinking of this whole food adventure as about “weaning” in the first place.  We have a perfectly happy and healthy breastfeeding relationship and I do not see it ending anytime soon.  I should mention that I do work outside the home and pump milk for my little guy every day.  The other thing with starting solids is that I really don’t like the whole baby cereal (mostly rice) bull shit that industrial food companies market so heavily.  Why?  It’s very simple – babies can’t digest grains until they are around 1-year-old when their bodies start to produce an enzyme called amylase which is responsible for splitting starches.  Furthermore, most of the baby rice cereal is found to contain the toxin Arsenic.  I could write a manifesto about why to ditch baby cereal (and formula) but I won’t bore you.  For more on ditching baby cereal check out the Food Renegade – as for the benefits of breastfeeding (and perils of formula) just google it.

Back to the good stuff – so while I like the concept of baby led weaning, I also like to give my little guy the opportunity to try more foods that aren’t conducive to giving him in pieces (e.g, roasted pumpkin, peas, and kale) which is why we are going the “hybrid” route with baby led weaning.  I also stay far away from pre-packaged and processed (shelf-stable) foods for myself and my family.  Pretty much the only things I buy that are pre-packaged are canned beans, pasta, tuna, and bread.  I won’t even buy a package of pre-made tortillas if they have preservatives.  We get most of our food through a Community Support Agriculture (Earth Spring Farm), the local Farmers Market, and the rest comes from a local grocery store (yes, we are one of THOSE families that shops at Whole Foods).  Now, this made it tricky to find baby food since nearly all of it sold in the stores is heavily processed and pre-packaged.   There appears to be one decent line of organic and “safe” baby food – Plum Organics.  But it still seems as though the food is too far removed from the source for me to be entirely comfortable with it, though we will likely give it a try one of these days.  And that is where my adventure began in cooking for baby.

Now, I am a working mom with very little time on my hands so I have had to come-up with some creative ways to cook for baby without consuming the little bit of time I do have with my little guy.  That is exactly what I am sharing with you today.  While making baby food, may seem like an easy and obvious thing to do – it is – there are some neat tricks interspersed here that may give you the edge to give it a try for your baby (present or future).

The other night I was cooking herb roasted sweet potatoes and sautéed garlic green beans for my husband and I for dinner.  While baby is not quite ready to indulge in the deliciousness of my herb sweet potatoes or garlicky beans, I was able to cook him a bit on the side.  This helped reduce my time spent making “special” food for the baby.

First, start by peeling one extra small sweet potato and rinsed it well.

Partially peeled sweet potato

Washing Sweet Potato

Next, I cut the sweet potato into small chunks and then I leave a few pieces in matchstick or wedge shape.  These larger pieces are for my little guy to be able to easily grab with his hands.  Then I take a small handful of green beans (I used 8 green beans to make 4 baby servings) and cut them into medium-sized pieces.

Cutting up sweet potato and green beans

Once they are all properly cut-up, arrange them nicely into a basic steamer basket in a small pot with some water (filtered if living in the city) in the bottom.  Put a cover on the pot and let steam for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes and beans are tender (test with a fork) but not just falling to pieces.  In fact I like my beans still slightly crisp.

Cooking potatoes and beans

Next up is prepping them for baby. Be sure to set aside the larger pieces of cooked sweet potato and green bean so that you can give them to your baby to play with during meal time.

Take some of the sweet potato and begin to mash it up.  I use one of these mash and serve bowls, which I find really easy to use and they are inexpensive.  Add drops of breastmilk (or formula or water if you don’t have breastmilk) to the bowl as you mash so that it gets to a nice consistency like you see below.

Mashing Sweet Potato

Mashed Puree of Sweet Potato

And voila!  Mashed sweet potato is ready for baby!  Now, if you are making extra to freeze some of it, I don’t recommend adding the breastmilk while mashing.  Instead, just mash it up adding just a few drops of water and freezing it as is.  Then, you’d want to add the breastmilk once its de-thawed, just before serving.

Now for the green beans.  Place the green bean pieces into a blender, hand blender, food processor, or mini-prep – whatever you already have – with just a little bit of the cooking water and blend it for a few seconds until it reaches a nice consistency (see below).  Moral of the story is that you do not need to go out to buy anything fancy to make baby food.  I personally use a Cuisinart Mini Prep, which I’ve had for years and I love it.  I use it to make pesto, homemade pasta sauce, enchilada sauce, almond cream for quinoa porridge, and now lots of baby food!

GB_Prep

Once you are done with your green bean puree and mashed sweet potato, you can freeze them in portion size servings.  This is an easy way to make multiple meals in advance.  Regular ice cube trays work great to freeze baby food but I personally love the Beaba Multiportion Freezer Trays, which I only have because I got them as a shower gift from my mom.

Baby Food ready for freezer

And that is really all there is to making baby food.  As I mentioned, I always do this at the same time I am cooking for my husband and I to make life easier and to save time.  I have done similar things with pumpkin, carrots, apple, butternut squash, and sweet peas.  All of which he loves.  I sometimes combine foods too, to make it more fun.  Some of his favorite combos so far (at 7 months) – Pumpkin & Banana, Carrot & Apple, and Sweet Peas with Banana.  Those foods aside, we also give him raw foods, which he loves.  Avocado was his first food (and is still his favorite), which we do daily in both chunks for him to feed himself and mashed-up with a little breastmilk.  He also likes eating hunks of watermelon and banana.  Just today I was snacking on a sliced-up honey crisp apple and he helped himself to a slice while we were playing, which he also loved.

Have fun cooking for your baby (ies)!  And when you do, please share your recipes and stories.  🙂

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Conundrums of a Modern Woman

8 Sep

I could not be happier – at so many levels and in so many aspects of my life.  Does it mean that my life is easy?  Absolutely not.  Just the opposite in fact.  But in reality the challenge of my everyday life is something I find deeply fulfilling.  I’ve been thinking a lot about where I am today – actually, where we are are today – and where we will be 1, 3, 5 years from now.  The answer is that I just don’t know.

We are very happy in our urban DC life.  It’s a rat race of sorts with a career tangled-up in posturing, politics, and power – in no particular order.  But a career, a mission, that I am very passionate about.  Did I mention that I am passionate about my career?  Oh yes I am passionate about my career.  I am very grateful for my career, and it also something I have worked incredibly hard for.  Throwing my entire self – heart, head, and soul – for a good part of the time.  I guess you could say, I’ve been “leaning in” for the past 10 years.  I’m afraid to write down the list of “things I’ve done”  in the past ten years because it is far more than I ever dreamed.  I’ve broken down stereotypes and broken through the taboos and glass ceiling of women in leadership. Most importantly, I know that what I do every day helps to make life better for millions of people.  Being a part of that kind of positive change is what makes me tick.

I think back on the stories that my grandmother shared with me about how she attempted to work outside of the home after her children were all in school.  Her work was a “secret” kept from the family, since it was unheard of and considered unacceptable.  A married woman with children, having a few hours of independence at a job.  I just can’t imagine.  When my grandfather found out, that was the end of that job.  Though he did offer for her to work with him in his business.  Not quite the same, but still considered acceptable.  Now for the record, I am not negative towards my grandfather regarding this in any way.  He was a very loving and involved father and husband, and he and my grandmother lived a great life together.   But in the 1950s and 1960s, it simply was not status quo for a wife and mother from the upper middle class to work outside the home.  I must say, I am forever grateful for my mother, grandmother, and all the generations of women that came before me.  They paved the way for modern women.  From voting rights to equal pay to women in leadership and politics.  We have come a long way, and we still have a much farther to go!

Here I am in 2013 – a passionately loving mother and wife – and a passionate and successful professional woman. And I am torn.  After 10 years of building a successful and satisfying career in the epicenter of World Politics I am questioning how much longer I want to continue down this road.  Six months ago I started writing the next (of many) chapters in our life with Kai, and this has brought forth in my mind so many other things I’d like to do in my life with Kai and Keylor.  But most importantly I’ve come to realize I am passionate about being a mom.  Oh yes I am very passionate about being a mom.  While I am so very grateful that I have the opportunity to do both – be a mom and pursue my career – I’ve come to realize that I really want to spend more time being a mom and less time in my professional career.  It’s a hard reality, especially when you are satisfied in the present moment.  But I dream about all of the other aspects of life – as a mom – that I have yet to fully uncover my passions for…

  • Living Closer to the Earth
    I love gardening and farming.  And for me part of being a mom is also about living close to the earth.  Guiding my children in seeing nature through the birds, bees, worms, and spiders.  Harvesting squash and fresh herbs – and with my children in the kitchen transforming them into dinner’s delight.  Living closer to the earth is at the core of my being – and in my being a mom.
  • Singing & Laughing More
    I spend more time singing now than I have in my whole life.  I sign nursery rhymes and make-up new songs everyday.  But I still need to sing and laugh more.  One thing I learned at Moon Garden that has stayed with me is about the importance of daily rhythms and singing to your babies.  Babies (and children) benefit greatly from the establishment of daily rhythms and through living gentle household rhythms.  Rhythms should not be confused with a schedule.  And further, by passing through those rhythms with song.  I yearn to establish more gentle rhythms and create more song.
  • Nurturing Life
    Our home is filled with life.  Between three cats, 1 dog, and a beautiful baby Kai – there is so much life and love to go around.  And we take in others when the stars align as so.  We are passionate about nurturing life.  And I want to dedicate more hours in my day to nurturing my child(ren) and every aspect of our life together.  This is not new for me and this one comes back to #1 – Living Closer to the Earth.  For me nurturing life also means growing healthy organic vegetables on the farm, raising egg laying ducks, and milk producing goats.  For me it is about teaching our child(ren) how to nurture life by living closer to the earth.
  • Strengthening a Community
    We’ve built a strong sense of community here in the DC area.  I love our friends here and they are like family.  Still I yearn for our child(ren) to grow up in a more tight knit community, one that they feel a sense of responsibility and that the community feels equally responsible for them.  The type of community where young people are empowered to be a part of leadership, where traditional culture coexists with modern, and where everyone is a part of making each others lives fuller.

There you have it, my dream list of some of the “things I still want to do” as a mom to sweet Kai. So much more in life has yet to come. I don’t know exactly when or exactly where this journey will take us but I can tell that it’s likely to take us on a new adventure sometime in the foreseeable future.  And with that – Goodnight.

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Vietnam Vicareously

17 Jun

Vietnam is another place I’ve had many many daydreams about since I was a child.  There is something I find awe inspiring about the gracious grittiness of countries (their people and environment) that have rebuilt themselves, with relative grace, after enduring major deadly conflict.  And in some unknown way, retain purity.  There is also something special about a land that is a melting pot of religious philosophies – Buddhism, Confuscionism, Taoism, and (of course) Animism.

Streets of Vietnam with bikes and motos

Over the years I have painted a landscape of Vietnam in the figments of my imagination.  I envision a country with rich fertile land, where strong sharp mountains, meet rolling hills and then marry the land with the warm waters of the South China Sea.  I’ve dreamt about the people (lots of people) of this marvelous land, the oldest civilization of Southeastern Asia, and their passion for living from the land.  Hillsides dotted with little villages (or langs) dedicated to rice farming, and subsistence agriculture.  Warm people, with brilliant smiles underneath the cobwebs of war and dust of daily life on a farm.

Fresh fruits and vegetables in a Vietnamese market

And then there are the cities.  Oh how I love cities as much as I love rural farming villages.  Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City… I have yet to explore them.  I have fleeting images of them in mind…. streets filled with bycicles and motorcycles.  A thousand pungent aromas intermixed into one.  The thrashing of pots and pans and raspy grating sound from fresh coconut.  Bartering in the open air market as beads of sweat pour down a man’s face.  Young babies carefully wrapped in fabric and tied to their mothers as they walk to the market.  Young men walking around with stubbed legs from land mines and missing limbs from leprosy.  Dog barking and roosters crowing.  Endearing smiles and honest eyes.  Crisp and delicious bean sprouts, basil, mint, and happiness.  This is how I envision the people of Vietnam and its landscape.

Traditional cooking stoves in VietnamSo lets go back to why I titled this blog… Vietnam Vicareously…  At this very moment two of my good friends are en route to Southeast Asia where they will meet-up in Singapore with one of my lifelong best friends and travel to Vietnam.  I must admit, I am slightly envious and very excited for them.  It will be an incredible trip.  It has inspired me to share my Vietnamese daydreams that will someday be fulfilled.  Vietnam has a special place in my heart.  Most of these daydreams came from the stories my father told me growing-up from his years in Vietnam during the war.  Most of the stories he shared were not about bombshells, grenades, or land mines.  Rather they were about the people, the culture, the food, and his fond memories.  I appreciate that amidst the violence, he was able to garner a sense of place of the fine ancient land and all it encumbers.  There are stories he would share with me at bedtime as a young girl that I’ll cherish forever.  Its the little things.  The Vietnamese teaching him how to eat with chopsticks using hot oily peanuts.  The rice fields and terraces, lush and green.  Authentic Vietnamese dinners on floating rivers in the Saigon river.  Devine Vietnamese coffees.  Little anecdotes of daily life in Vietnam.  Its through these stories growing-up, the travels of my best friend Dani, and many years and many daydreams that I’ve “traveled” vicareously to Vietnam.  I am forever grateful to both of them and hope that someday I may know this gracious land and all its people.

Life on the Mekong river delta

A sage lets go of

extremism

lets go of luxury

lets go of

apathy.

– Lao Tzu

Photos courtesy of Dani Carrier, 2012.

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Simple Earthly Pleasures in a Concrete Jungle

6 May

For those of you that have been reading this blog since it started may remember some of the posts about my little urban oasis – simply known as the garden in my postage stamp size front yard. A year later its a miniature garden of Eden, producing all sorts of tasty treats.

This morning we picked a whole bunch of fresh organic truly ripe strawberries…

Fresh organic ripe strawberries

And made strawberry pancakes for breakfast…

Sunday strawberry pancake breakfast


“Agriculture is our wisest purist, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness” – Letter from Thomas Jefferson to George Washington (1787)

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Exploring the Golden Triangle

13 Aug

color photo at the golden temple reflection in a window

In less than 5 minutes I crossed the transient waterway of the Mekong River and entered into an entirely new land, and delved into an entirely different culture and way of life.  Welcome to Thailand and the heart of the Golden Triangle!

As soon as I stepped out of the wooden canoe and onto land, I could feel the difference.  You could feel progress & motivation in the air.  In just a couple of minutes we found an air conditioned truck serving as a taxi to take us to Chiang Rai – and to top it off the taxi driver (and owner) was a woman.  I could hardly believe it a female taxi driver, who speaks English, in a comfortable air conditioned truck – wow!  This is Thailand alright.  We are still at the Thai-Lao border and we try to buy some provisions using our left over Lao Kipp (the Lao currency) and they don’t accept it.  We tried for days to use our Kipp all over Northern Thailand, and no one would take it.  That is communisim for you! it was the same way with the Cuban Peso.

The scenery on our two hour drive from the Lao-Thai border to Chiang Rai was spectacular – an expansive fertile river valley dotted with humble homes and farms.  I noticed that here the average rice farmer uses some mechanical agricultural equipment whereas in rural Laos everything was done by hand.  We passed by a few dozen children dressed in their school uniforms, their hair neatly cared for, bright white socks & polished shoes, all riding their bikes home from school.  Northern Thailand is lovely.

Color photo of rice paddy and farmer in Thailand

We arrive in Chiang Rai, a fairly industrious city in the heart of the revered Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia.  I’m exhausted.  By this time I’ve spent several days and sleepless nights in the tree houses in Laos, long days on a long slow boat, several nights in hostels.  And to top it off, today alone, I’ve hiked about 10 kilometers with a heavy pack, zipped through the tree tops, and dealt with a couple of border crossings on water & foot.  Just when I’m ready to take a deep breadth, I’ve found we’ve arrived at a much needed destination – Laluna Hotel – the urban oasis – in Chiang Rai.  It is the prefect time and place to decompress & chill out.  Freshly prepared passion fruit juice and a shrimp & papaya salad – yes please!  Freshly shredded & pounded green papaya, tossed in a broth of fish sauce, lime & chili, topped with some fresh veggies, peanuts, & jumbo shrimp.  Fresh, clean, and delicious…  One of Thailand’s special treats!     –  Try this recipe  –

color photo of a papaya and shrimp salad

This kind of ultimate relaxation lasted a couple of days.  Enjoying the garden oasis swimming pool.  Meandering through the streets of Chiang Rai.  And like the icing on a cake – a full day at the spa – aromatherapy cleansing sauna, ayurvedic massage, and some reflexology.  There is no better way to rejuvenate at the tail end of a long & arduous adventure through Laos.  This is exactly what my body needed.  It brought my body and soul back into alignment, balancing my chakras.

After a couple of nights of good sleep and days filled with warm sunshine & refreshing dunks in the pool we were ready for another challenge.  This time mountain biking throughout the greater Chiang Rai area – 50 kilometer bike trip with the best tour service I’ve ever used Chiangrai Cycling Tours.  And I do mean it was the best tour – and day overall – in my life.  Everything about it was amazing.  Bee (one of the tour company owners) picked us up from our hotel and we headed out a couple of kilometer to where the got fitted with mountain bikes and helmets.  Off we went… biking through small neighborhoods then onto dirt road through the Northern Thailand country side.  Complete serenity.

Color photo biking through the country side in Chiang Rai Thailand

We stopped every several kilometers to check out some of the wonderous little intricacies along the way.  Our guides, Bee and his brothers, gave us the “inside scoop” on life in the Golden Triangle.  We stopped at a neighborhood crematorium – every neighborhood (even in rural areas) has their own crematorium, which is a central part of their Buddhist ways ( referred to in Thai as Lankavamsa.  We continued on stopping at a nearby temple.  There were many temples, one in each of the little towns we passed through, much like you have a church.  Except “going” to temple is different than “going” to church.  The temple is a sacred place and people come to visit when they choose to come to visit, no particular time.  There aren’t daily mass services like in Christianity.  Like all spiritual “houses”, these temples are equally ornate and cherished by the people.  Many of the temples also have pagodas surrounding them that serve as Wats for all the monks.  It is very typical for young men to spend anywhere from 1 to 20 years studying monkhood in a Wat.  Our guide and his brothers were all Monks for several years.  I appreciate all the special little factoids they bestowed on me about Therevada Buddhism and their cultural practices.

color photo of a local temple in Northern Thailand

As we biked through rural areas, forests, and farms we’d also stop along the way to check out neat little “treasures” in the Golden Triangle.  At one stop Bee stopped to show us the birds nests that hang from the trees like woven sacks.  Its so facinating how something so unique also exists in Costa Rica, some 17,000 kilometers away.  Nature impresses me at every turn – here in the “utopia” of Northern Thailand and in the humble tranquility of Laos.

Color photo of guide holding-up the birds nests

I know what some of you are probably thinking… our guide “stole” the nests from the birds, how horrible!  Well actually the birds abandon the nests after a season and the old nests eventually fall to the ground.  Bee was showing us the structure of fallen birds nests.  So no sad birds without homes on our trip!  This is just one of those little things about this bike trip that made is just awesome.

We biked onwards, another 15 kilometers or so, until we reached the revered White Temple – known as Wat Rong Khun.  It is modernly majestic & totally unconventional – its a Buddhist AND Hindu temple – how cool!  It is all white, representing the Lord Buddha’s purity and the use of glass in it’s design represents Buddha’s wisdom.  It is a piece of modern spiritual history and is still a work in progress today, much like La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.   Its design is both dark and enlightening, each reflecting a facet of life on Earth.  Ornate sculpture of all sorts of dreams and mysteries surrounds the temple.

photo of the white temple in Thailand

Sculpture at the White Temple in Thailand

We spent several hours walking through the White Temple.  Its interior is floor to ceiling mural artwork all over the walls with some of the most intricate and socially & politically profound messages.  The interior painting glows, and brigs forth issues of nuclear security, resource wars, and ideological wars between Islam and the Western world.  It also ties-in the spiritual aspects of Buddhism.  There are paintings of fish (water), elephants (earth), swans (wind), lions (fire), and simply nature.  We continued through the temple and even had a chance to walk through the “workshop” where the artist and his teams continue to build sculptures for the continued development of the temple.  It is an incredible feat for humanity.

color photo of the workshop at the White Temple in Thailand

Then, the best part of all, we were walking through the village surrounding the temple and we go to stop by a small museum, and standing right there is the artist responsible for this living masterpiece – Chalermchai Kositpipat.  Our guide, Bee, introduced us and we were able to talk with him for a few moments.  He is a very spiritual person, also formerly a monk, and was born & raised in Chiang Rai.  He is a renowned artist in Southeast Asia and much of the world for his painting and sculpture.  Much of his work is “not for sale”… even several million dollars can not buy you one of his paintings for he prefers them to stay in Chiang Rai where visitors from around the world can come and enjoy them in the museum.  I feel so blessed for having had the opportunity to be here, to see, feel and live this remarkable treasure in rural Northern Thailand.

Our bicycle trip didn’t stop here… we stopped to enjoy a traditional Northern Thai lunch.  I enjoyed a bowl of delicious chicken soup cooked in coconut milk broth with lemon grass, veggies, hot peppers, and rice noodles.  It really was divine, and it cost just $1 – that is not a typo!  Life is Good here in more ways than one!

color photo of Thai soup

Another 15 or so kilometers to go, most of which were uphill into the mountains outside of Chiang Rai – we were headed for Doi Luang National Park.  Just a few kilometers into the final uphill stretch and the heavens decided to open up, like they never had before.  It was pouring cats and dogs – like a brief monsoon rain.  The roads will filled with water.  That didn’t stop us.  We kept peddling away.  Its almost like the thai special soup and the white temple had also given us an extra dose of energy.  A feeling of rejuvenation came over me as I peddled up into the mountains with the rain pouring down.  I couldn’t stop smiling.  About an hour later, and totally sopping wet, we entered the boundary of the park… just 5 more kilometers to climb.  It was enduring.  I was tired but determined and strangely energized at the same time.  Then we reached the place where we stop and hike into the park.  Yes… after biking nearly 50 kilometers, we are now heading out for a 1.5 hour long hike into the mountain.  The cherry on top of the day, was a visit to one of the grandest waterfalls in the world.

color photo of waterfall

It was beautiful and so worth the hike.  Oh… and there were NO leeches.  This did make is it so much more enjoyable.  Hiking back out from the waterfall, I realized how deprived of energy I was feeling.  And then we arrived at our Guide’s truck and there was a spread of delicious Thai snacks for us… tempura sweet potatos, banana bread, and my new favorite thing – mangosteen!

Color photo of Thai snacks from our great guides!

After enjoying these delicious Thai treats it was time to hop on the truck and head back to Chiang Rai.

All I can say, is WOW!  This was one of the best days of my life.  I feel so blessed.

color photo of white buddha statue in Thailand

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Deep into the Heart of the Mekong

23 Jun

Monks walking through the streets of Luang Prabang

Low hanging clouds drape themselves over brilliant green mountains that build up from the sandy shores of the Mekong River.  Large swaths of bamboo transcend into thick tropical rainforests.  Dried bamboo thatched roof huts built on stilts dot the shore line and in the foreground small herds of water buffalo graze on the grassy hills, completing this incredible landscape.  I find myself swept away by the beauty and peace deep in the heart of the Mekong River basin in Northern Laos.

This is probably one of the most laid back places in the world.  The days go by so slow and I’ve taken a step back in time.  I started my journey here in Luang Prabang, a little river town bursting with color and flavor.  It is also a modern-day spiritual center in the Buddhist world.  Several Wats with their golden temples and intricately painted pagodas blossom out of the bright green flora.  Hundreds of monks of all ages dressed in their saffron-colored robes meander the streets and their dwellings.  Before dawn, they walk throughout the community with large containers (called Almsbowls) reciting prayers as they visit each home, most are no more than small one room shelters made of wood and bamboo.  At each stop a fellow Lao places a spoonful of sticky rice in each Monk’s almsbowl.   This is the traditional Buddhist practice of giving alms and serves as a daily reminder for how important it is to give, no matter how much or how little you have.  There is so much that we, Americans and others of more wealthy backgrounds, have to learn from the simple art of giving – and trusting – that the people of Lao have so gracefully mastered.  Giving is certainly an intrinsic value from the Buddhist roots but it is further institutionalized in daily life through the current Communist political environment.

Landscape of the Mekong river at sunrise

The spirit of Northern Laos has already given me so many gifts in this short time.  Probably the most significant is a glimpse into Lao family structures and the place of women in society.  Like in most of Asia, and the world (unfortunately), women are expected to be subservient to the men.  But in Laos it feels a bit different.  Men here, it appears at least, assume much more hands-on roles as father’s to their children, fully sharing the parenting duties alongside the mother.  Women are also very entrepreneurial – producing crafts, farming the land, weaving silk into the most beautiful scarves, and setting-up stalls in the local street markets to sell their goods.  This movement in local micro-economic development, driven by Lao women, is a more recent development that has been aided by the growth of the tourism industry.  Most of the products that are produced include fine fabrics with ornate tribal designs, cloths children’s books, silk decor galore, brightly colored quilts with intricately cross-stitched scenes of the Mekong, animals and daily Lao life, and stunning gold-leafed paintings on rice paper.  A myriad of handmade crafts perfectly suited to fulfill any tourist passing through this rich land.  The growth of tourism in Laos (similar to Cambodia) has fueled the local economy, and in the process given rise to a heightened position for women in society.  Dabbled about in the street markets are women selling their art and their young babies sleep and eat and play right on top of the silk scarves and quilts we are shopping for.

Women weaving a silk scarf in her street stall

Like women in all parts of the world, women in Lao also face the challenge of balancing the need to provide for and at the same time care for the children.  I find this inspiring and a reminder for how much more we still have to do to further advance the position of women in society.  The road to true gender equality is still a distant vision on the horizon, and as I travel and as the years pass I find myself increasingly passionate about women’s rights and gender equality.  My heart breaks when I read about the reality many young girls face in Yemen being forced to marry at 8 years old and repeatedly raped and beaten by their “husbands” – and worse yet, they aren’t allowed to get divorced.  Tears stream down my face when I learn about young girls, who haven’t even reached puberty – sold as sex slaves – beaten by their owners and forced to eat dog feces to banish any hint of self-confidence and self-worth.  It’s probably hard for many you to read those words but it is the raw truth and we can’t hide behind rose-colored glasses any longer.  And while these are examples of the “worst of it”, at the same time women who have to work to put bread on the table and care for the children day-in and day out while (for many, not all) their “husbands” spend days at the bar or gambling their money away is also gravely unjust.  And this is why in Laos, families often prefer to marry their daughters to men who have spent at least several years as monks living at the wat, for they are considered closer to God and better suited to be a respectable & hard-working spouses.  Southeast Asia has brought forward the perilous challenges we face as humanity in achieving gender equality, and quite frankly I find it my responsibility to raise awareness so that we can bridge this gap in our lifetime.  Back to Laos… I also heard that more young Lao women everyday are receiving higher education in local colleges than their male counterparts.  And that this is in large part due to the fact that they are able to begin making money producing & selling their crafts at a young age, save the earnings, and invest it in their own education – their future.  This alone gives me a reason for hope – that it is possible to achieve gender equality in our lifetime.  So I guess that in itself is a good excuse to visit Laos and buy the beautiful silk scarves woven by these determined young women.  Women do hold up half the sky.

Man fishing in the Mekong River

I also appreciate the feeling of traditional daily life in Laos.  The pace is so slow and seemingly deliberate.  Watching young kids play naked along the rocks of the Mekong, jumping like little cannon balls into the sediment-filled water.  Meanwhile men tinker from rock to rock checking their fishing nets for the next meal.  The young girls who help their mothers make crepes for sale at the little street side stalls.  And the farmers that tend to their goats, rice paddies, and sugar cane plots that dot the lush green hillsides.  These are all glimpses into daily Lao life.  it is a good life.  Though it’s not always easy, it is wholesome life.

Girls playing in the field

Reading Suggestions –

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Savoring Cambodia

9 Jun

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Bright pink and ruffled dragon fruits are poised gracefully in a large pile on a wooden table. Deep bowls filled with yellow turmeric, green kaffir lime leaves, and scarlet red hot chilies complete this illusionary sunset. To the left a woman sits indian style trimming meat in preparation for drying, her golden silk veil eluding to the expansion of Islam in traditionally Buddhist Cambodia. A woman walks through the tight market alley ways with a long pole stretched across her shoulder. From each end of the pole, two baskets hang down perfectly balanced. One is filled with a heaping mound of shredded green mango mixed with shredded carrots. On the other side there are a series of smaller bowls filled with fresh lime slices, dried fish pieces, ground peanuts, and a jug of fish sauce. These are makings of the Khmer version of mango salad. She carefully opens a plastic baggy and places a fistful of mango slaw inside, then she tops it with a bit of peanut, dried fish, squeeze of lime and a dash of fish sauce. She hands it over to her customer, lunch is served, and the she is paid 1,000 riles (25 cents). These are just some of Cambodia’s simple everyday culinary wonders.

Bright pink dragon fruit in the market
Fresh produce of all sorts is abound. I walk around the market with the tuk tuk driver I befriended, Pan, and we contemplate which place would best for lunch. At another stall a young man mixes turmeric, rice flour, water and egg into a thin batter for Khmer pancakes. This seems like an ideal stop. He laddels some batter onto a hot flat cooking surface, with a spoon he distributes the batter evenly and forms a large bright yellow circle. There it sizzles for several minutes before we carefully turns it over with a long flat wooden cooking tool. He then places mixture of cooked ground chicken, fresh crisp bean sprouts, spring onions, and a sprinkle of chiles into the middle of the cooking pancake. The pancake is then carefully turned over, closing in on the savoury filling and forming a bright yellow half moon. After just a few moments he slides the pancake onto an oblong plastic dish, its browned & crispy edges hang over the side of the dish. It comes out served with a small bowl of sauce – a concoction of ground peanuts fused with freshly squeezed lime juice and fish sauce – a handful of bright green lettuce leaves and slices of fresh cucumber. Mr. Pan shows me how to ea this delectable ensamble. Using your hands, you place a piece of the stuffed turmeric pancake on top of a leaf of lettuce and drizzle a spoonful of the sauce on top, allowing the sauce to run through the pancake & crevices of the lettuce. One bite and the blending of the fresh and bright ingredients is refreshing and satisfying. It’s the Cambodian version of the Turkish gozleme, the Costa Rican chorreada, or a savoury French crepe. And this is just one of a multitude of divine Khmer delights Cambodia has to offer.

I spent the afternoon afternoon taking with Pan. It gave me the opportunity to listen and learn about Khmer culture and daily life in this fine country. He is one of the older Cambodians I have seen and met, and he is just 41 years old. Cambodia has a very young population because the genocide in the 1970s left so many young children without parents or elders. Pan remembers well but he has made peace with it in his heart. He is also deeply motivated to strengthen Cambodia at all different levels. He has a vision to start an eco-tourism cooperative by getting together a diverse group of local Cambodian owned businesses (tuk tuk drivers, small hotels, family run restaurants, artists, photographers, local farms, etc.) and organizing unique cultural & nature oriented tours for foreign visitors. For now he is a very successful tuk tuk driver enjoying life with his wife and two children. Our conversation carries on into family, education, and the like. His son is 18 years old and just finished high school, the first in the family to go through school. His daughter will be turning just 3 years old in a couple of months. He later shares that he and his wife adopted their daughter, Myste which means ‘among the flowers’, from the local hospital in town. In Cambodia there are many orphaned children and its obvious that most do not have the means to provide for large families and at the same time birth control is also a commodity for the privledged. Pan and his wife told the Doctor at the hospital that they wanted to adopt a baby, the hospital did due diligence checking on their home, and bank account. Several months later Myste, at less than 4 weeks old, came into their lives. Chills came over me as he told me the story and showed me pictures of his wife & daughter, so much pride for his family. And even more beautiful is to see Cambodia’s effort to place orphaned children in average income-level local communities, where they can be loved by their communities and stay close to their roots. Ten years ago this was not as prevalent, as the tourism industry hadn’t grown enough to fuel the local economy to a scale that could foster this type of community development. This is just another way I see how deeply Cambodia is restored in peace and stability.

We continued to talk about life – and all things related to food. Like in all cultures, food is an important part of daily life here in the Kingdom of Wonder. Food is prepared and sold everywhere you look. On a little dirt road on the outskirts of town an older woman sits in the street. He has prepared a little fire, no more than 4 by 5 inches using just a couple of wooden sticks. To her right side is a small red plastic bucket. She takes a spoonful of batter and places it inside a small hand held waffle iron that rests on the hot coals. A slight sizzle sound is heard. After a minute or so she turned the piping hot iron, ensuring both sides are cooked to a perfect golden brown. Children on their way to school line-up at her street kitchen to savour a Khmer waffle.

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Lets talk about where the food here comes from. About the Land. And the people that work the land to make this bounty available. Siem Reap and its surrounding area is as flat as that turmeric pancake I had for lunch. There are also several natural and man made lakes here that provide water for irrigation, especially in the dry season. This land has been heavily famed for several thousand years. Over 1 million people survived by the ground I walk on during the Ancient Khmer Empire. Cultivating the land has always been a way of life for Cambodians yesterday and today. Like most “lost” civilizations, there is no exact proven fact as to why the ancient Khmer civilization here collapsed. Like the ancient Mayans and Incas, it is believed that the ancient Khmer civilization fell due to famine caused by desertification of the land after over a thousand years of over farming, leaving the land stripped of vital nutrients & minerals required to sustain productive soils. Much of the land was given a rest from these intensive agricultural practices for at least a few hundred years, allowing the Earth to rest and regain its strength through natural succession. Siem Reap has grown significantly in the last 35 years, and along with this is an increasing demand for greater food production. Many small villages survived by subsistence agriculture (producing only the food needed for their local community) but with the pressures of a globalized and tourism-driven Siem Reap, many have converted their land into larger mono-cultures producing a single variety of rice, cattle, crocodile, bananas, or pineapple. Ultimately provoking the same problems that led to the theorized fall of their ancestors. Worse yet is the rise of aristocrats from China and the Middle East (namely Saudi Arabia) that are buying up whole farms – and even entire villages – to produce rice & other agricultural commodities for export. Whole villages, and their people, are getting the land pulled right out from under them as it is being sold to these foreigners by the Cambodian government. These once sustainable and subsistent farmers loose all their autonomy – dignity & pride. Their land, once again being stripped of life. This is a grave injustice. And, I can’t help but ask why? After the Cambodian civil way in to 1970s, all existing records of land ownership and titles were burned. Leaving the villages and people without any evidence of their ownership of the land they survived by for hundreds of years. Without these records, the government is able to sell the land to foreigners at great profits, while destroying the livelihood for many at the same time. Cambodia is not alone in this nasty land-use transition. The same phenomenon is a growing problem in Laos and throughout much of Africa.

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Despite this sobering picture of Khmer agriculture, and its globalized demise, there are also a growing movement of small scale home grown organic agriculture. Several NGOs have sprung up that are dedicated to facilitating women’s empowerment through micro-economic development vis-a-vis home-based gardens. One of the major activities fostered by this movement is supporting women to use their existing land resources around their homes for small organic gardens. First they feed their family with the bounty they produce and whatever is left over is sold to one of a few socially & environmentally conscious restaurants in town. While this movement is one a much smaller scale than the foreign-owned mono-culture movement, it is still a powerful example for Cambodians. And with Pan’s vision and the home-based organic farming movement, Cambodia has a good chance at much brighter & peaceful future where future generations can flourish in the Kingdom of Wonder.

 

Recommendations in Siem Reap, Cambodia –

Restaurants

Hotels

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