To a rubber planter rain is money or lack of it. Like most farmers there are only 2 types of rain, too little or too much. To an Australian, even from the wetter state of Victoria, there is not enough rain. Here it is a different story.
Thai new year, Song Kran, around mid April saw the first of the seasons rain. It was a good sign, the trees sprang to life and the rubber flowed. It rained most days for a few hours, not heavy, but good soaking rain, the trees loved it and out put rose. Rubber tappers bought new motorbikes and paid back money borrowed in the dry season. We paid back our fertilizer bill and started some more house improvements. A new front veranda and air conditioning for the kids bedroom. There was even hope of a new Chinese copy Harley for me. Alas this was not to happen.
By August the rains became longer and tapping dropped off. You can not tap rubber in the rain. More and more tapping days were lost and less and less money was made, but tapping continued. The tappers would tap and at the first sign of rain would run around collecting the latex.
The start of September brought the monsoon rains. These are not wet days, but a down pour that stops you driving a car, the sound of thunder and the driving rain on the roof is constant. We have not tapped a tree in 11 days. You can not go out or you may not get back, as bridges and roads turn into rivers.
Last years a tapper and his family ventured out to the plantation, in the hope they could do some tapping. Luckily for them , his mobile phone worked. We received a call. they were stuck in the workers stilt hut, surounded by water. They had no food or drinking water and a rescue mission had to be mounted. they had a one year old baby with them.
To the Thais out here, this is a yearly occurrence, they know no other way. In our house the Mother, Father in-law, 2 brothers, their wives and children and 3 of the tappers whose family are not local, settle in. We are lucky as the house is a fair size and we have ducks, chickens and fish. Much food will be prepared and everyone will eat, talk and sleep. The men will drink some. Eating and talking will fill 10 hours of the day, sleeping the rest. That is not to say they eat and talk for 10 hours, no they will eat talk for a few hours, go to sleep for a few hours, then start again.
For a soft white man this is a time that can drive you from a few beers at night into the bottle of whiskey a day. As I write this, I am sipping whiskey and drinking beer. You are stuck, for much of the time with nothing to do and no where to go, often without electricity. No matter how good your Thai or Lao is, you can not have a conversation about world events etc and mine is not good. There you are listening to the rain and thunder, day in day out, lost in your own thoughts.
The brother in-law said one day. You are like a Buddha monk with beer, you can just sit and watch the rain fall on the jungle. Little did he know, that if it wasn't for the mind numbing effect of the booze, I would probably be standing out side screaming at the sky, STOP THE RAIN.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
There's good and bad and lots of things to drive you mad
My nearest English speaking neighbor once said to me, it takes a special type of person to live out here. I would not be so kind and would say you need to be a little crazy. If you are not a bit soft in the head when you come, chances are you will end up mad.
The entire concept of western logic is alien here. Aesop's fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper comes to mind, except that in rural Issan it is the Grasshopper that is the role model.
Several years earlier I had tried setting up a small fish farm. Without much success, I must say. The factory had a long trench along the back. This was dug for soil to raise the factory, office etc. In no time at all the rains had filled the trench and we put some cat fish fingerlings in. These fish grow at an incredible rate. Before long everyone is sick of fish and we began to sell them in the village.
When the big monsoon rains came the ponds became deep holes in a small lake and the fish set off down stream. A few lessons were learned. Too many fish in a small area, they just grow so fast and they needed food, which cost. Plus the fact they all made good their escape. Another problem was that the ponds dried out in the dry season.
This year I was to try fish again, armed with what I had learned. A big deep dam was dug. The dam was below some old rice paddy, which acted as a catchment for water run off. In no time at all it was full. Shade cloth was string on poles around the dam, no fish could make a swim for freedom. 500 catfish fingerlings were put in. I had picked 500 as a test number, the dam was big and if I strung some solar lights to attract bugs, there would be little need for extra food.
The fish had hardly settled in to their new home when the Father in-law rolls up with a 1,000 fingerlings and puts them in one of the same ponds we had originally used. Up to him, not my money or problem. Now his fish are doing fine and eating bags of food, just not enough water for them to keep growing.
Mother in-law seeing the fish, comes up with a brilliant plan and without asking anyone goes and buys 5,000 fish. Into another of the old ponds they go. How could you lose, fish grow and you sell them and make lots of money.
Her fish had not been in the pond 24 hours when the big monson rains hit. Bye bye all the fish, just as last time, to the Mekong. My fish in their enclosed big pond are still happily growing fat. I will bet money that the same will happen again next year.
Everyday this lack of forward planing and consequential though, comes up. Last week they filled the 2 wheel tractor with petrol, not diesel. These iron water buffalo are every where, but petrol was handy that would do. Off course it would not start and the tank had to be drained. The Brother in-law has crashed his motor bike twice this month, no brakes. He didn't want to spend 100 Baht to have them fixed, but is happy to fill up his big new Isuzu 7 seat and go for a drive to town. The aunt build a duck farm out back of our house, by the river. 2 doors for the ducks, 600 of them to just walk into the river, but no doors at the back for people to get in. Bills are placed in the car glove box and forgotten about, until the bank or tax man comes a calling. Then it's panic. There have been 3 or 4 young children drown in the area in the last few months, but as I write, the rivers are in flood and you will see small kids playing in raging water. It's all up to fate and Buddha, if you crash your car into a tree, it was meant to happen, not because you were blind drunk.
You really do have to be a touch crazy to live here.
Just as I was about to post this a big bull elephant turns up out front. All the women with young babies are now doing the baby walk under the elephant stomach. think the only luck is if he doesn't fall on you.
The entire concept of western logic is alien here. Aesop's fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper comes to mind, except that in rural Issan it is the Grasshopper that is the role model.
Several years earlier I had tried setting up a small fish farm. Without much success, I must say. The factory had a long trench along the back. This was dug for soil to raise the factory, office etc. In no time at all the rains had filled the trench and we put some cat fish fingerlings in. These fish grow at an incredible rate. Before long everyone is sick of fish and we began to sell them in the village.
When the big monsoon rains came the ponds became deep holes in a small lake and the fish set off down stream. A few lessons were learned. Too many fish in a small area, they just grow so fast and they needed food, which cost. Plus the fact they all made good their escape. Another problem was that the ponds dried out in the dry season.
This year I was to try fish again, armed with what I had learned. A big deep dam was dug. The dam was below some old rice paddy, which acted as a catchment for water run off. In no time at all it was full. Shade cloth was string on poles around the dam, no fish could make a swim for freedom. 500 catfish fingerlings were put in. I had picked 500 as a test number, the dam was big and if I strung some solar lights to attract bugs, there would be little need for extra food.
The fish had hardly settled in to their new home when the Father in-law rolls up with a 1,000 fingerlings and puts them in one of the same ponds we had originally used. Up to him, not my money or problem. Now his fish are doing fine and eating bags of food, just not enough water for them to keep growing.
Mother in-law seeing the fish, comes up with a brilliant plan and without asking anyone goes and buys 5,000 fish. Into another of the old ponds they go. How could you lose, fish grow and you sell them and make lots of money.
Her fish had not been in the pond 24 hours when the big monson rains hit. Bye bye all the fish, just as last time, to the Mekong. My fish in their enclosed big pond are still happily growing fat. I will bet money that the same will happen again next year.
Everyday this lack of forward planing and consequential though, comes up. Last week they filled the 2 wheel tractor with petrol, not diesel. These iron water buffalo are every where, but petrol was handy that would do. Off course it would not start and the tank had to be drained. The Brother in-law has crashed his motor bike twice this month, no brakes. He didn't want to spend 100 Baht to have them fixed, but is happy to fill up his big new Isuzu 7 seat and go for a drive to town. The aunt build a duck farm out back of our house, by the river. 2 doors for the ducks, 600 of them to just walk into the river, but no doors at the back for people to get in. Bills are placed in the car glove box and forgotten about, until the bank or tax man comes a calling. Then it's panic. There have been 3 or 4 young children drown in the area in the last few months, but as I write, the rivers are in flood and you will see small kids playing in raging water. It's all up to fate and Buddha, if you crash your car into a tree, it was meant to happen, not because you were blind drunk.
You really do have to be a touch crazy to live here.
Just as I was about to post this a big bull elephant turns up out front. All the women with young babies are now doing the baby walk under the elephant stomach. think the only luck is if he doesn't fall on you.
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