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Category: Asia
From War to Water and How to Make a Water Tank in the Mountains of Laos
Laos was never supposed to be involved in the Vietnam War. It was supposed to be off limits to all outside countries, including the USA and the Soviet Union, and have its neutrality respected. But, the “Ho Chi Minh Trail” that the North Vietnam military used to supply its troops fighting in South Vietnam ran…
Thai Silk: The Wondrous Little Silkworms and the Artful Human Beings Who Work With Them
Thai people and Thai culture show an amazing curiosity and relationship between human beings and nature. While living in Thailand for nearly 3 years we enjoyed many facets of this richness in the Thai culture. For example, we could enjoy more than 60 kinds of tropical fruits from carefully selected and often, grafted varieties, and…
The Killing Fields Memories of Cambodia
I hope my readers won’t weary of this series of blogs on Cambodia just yet. I’d like to share a few pictures about the memory of the “killing fields”: memories Cambodians live with. From the time the US armed forces pulled out of Vietnam in 1975, to about 1979, there was a great turmoil in…
Cambodia—Boom Economy in 2013, But What Comes Next?
Feb 2013 One of the contrasts between working in Kenya in the late 1990s and working with several Asian countries in the 2000s, is the rapid rate of change happening in Asia. To be in Dhaka, Bangladesh or Phnom Penh, Cambodia—for example—is to be surrounded by construction and traffic. Within eye site of the hotel…
Mr. Mao—A Great Teacher and a Great Farmer
Mr Mao has been an inspiration to me and literally thousands of farmers in Cambodia and other countries because he leads by example.
Finding Water in a Dry Place: Witching/Divining
In eastern Sumba, Indonesia finding water for life can be an unimaginable challenge. A few weeks ago we met villagers whose daily struggle for water included a 3 mile walk and an incredible “rock climb.” To reach water in a sheer-cliff ravine they had to walk at least an hour and then descend about 100…
A Development Dynamo: Rahkmat—Changing the Hearts of People
A few weeks ago I met Rahkmat on the island of Sumba in eastern Indonesia. Sumba can be sad Sumba. It was always a fragile island ecosystem, but now the warmer waters of the Pacific Ocean currents have made the rains even more erratic than before. Two years ago they had another of their recurring…
A Dream of What Is Possible: Grafting Trees in Laos
I’m blessed to meet lots of good human beings. Alan is one. Alan has worked in China, Thailand and Laos for 35 years. He has genuine love for the people and a vision for what could be. In his mind’s eye he sees the potential that one day the hills may be verdant with fruit…
Educating Girls In Northern Laos
Reading opens up the gates to learning, to the internet, to health, to self-esteem, and even to a degree of power over our own destiny. Try to imagine your world without reading. Northern Laos still has lots of communities where there have never been any schools at all, for neither boys nor girls. And, then…