Feb. 14: We organized and demonstrated
Feb. 21: We re-located and celebrated!
Check out the video above for a visual of the Green Market's move to our new location. As we recently wrote on our decision to relocate, this past Saturday marked both our first day at the new spot and AAN-Surin's annual indigenous seeds event. The space is roomy and set back from a busy intersection, which brought in a lot of new consumers. People can walk more easily from vendor to vendor and vendors are able to spread out over the space. Though the crowd had thinned out by the afternoon seminar, the day's events were definitely a success: we moved the market and the consumers followed us, and new consumers got to learn about what our movement for sustainable agriculture is all about.
The event was co-hosted with the AAN, with representatives from Kalasin, Mahasarakam and Yasothon provinces coming with information, herbal and handmade products, and importantly, seed samples to display and distribute. There were more than 40 different indigenous varieites on display!
Beyond the distribution of dangerous and ineffective chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the Green Revolution's promotion of Jasmine 105 (which has made Thailand's rice exports famous) effectively wiped out a number of local rice breeds. Middlemen and large-scale mills, established to process only a few "market-able" rice breeds, would not accept the small grains of locally-bred varieties. Our network has worked to reclaim a number of varieties, both through local conservation efforts and regional seed exchanges, as well as demands for the return of seeds from government research centers to the farmers themselves.
The goal of last Saturday's event was to provide more information for consumers about the diversity of local rice seeds we have here in Surin and the Isaan region. The popularity of Hom Nin rice, a black Jasmine variety, has also proved the viability of a market for local varieties. We presented six different varieties for consumers (photo below) to sample and compare - this input will help farmers decide what varieties to expand for local market sale, direct to Green Market consumers.
After a lunch served with a local red Jasmine rice variety, we hosted a bai see ceremony for all the fruits, vegetables, seeds and seedlings presented to make merit for the coming rice planting season. Once the ceremony was over, producers and consumers came to pick out the seeds they wanted to plant.
The afternoon also featured a seminar hosted by P' Ubon Yuwa (photo below, far right), with Rice Fund members P' Bresong, P' Jansee, Paw Ota, P' Batipat and P' Pakphum (photo below, left to right). All of these farmers are what we consider "farmer-researchers" as they work independently to preserve and breed local varieties for increased production (last month's exchange with the Southern AAN members and researchers from the Patalung is an example of how their village research center works). Their work with SRI techniques is the basis for their seed saving efforts - preserving the highest quality plants season after season and distributing to other farmers in their communities to plant.
Given the dominating presence of Jasmine 105 here in Surin, the seminar focused on different issues and ideas relating local varieties to the conventional system. Their discussion also touched on climate change and the future of consumerism.
A diversity of indigenous seeds forms the basis of a farmer’s sustainable practice - they are central in making farm plans. When a farmer can plant a range of light and heavy varieties, they will ripen at different times of the harvest season, enabling family labor to manage the crop (Jasmine 105, however, will ripen all at once, requiring hired labor or harvesters). For example, some low yielding, light varieties can also be fed to cattle, as they are harvested early in the season and thus enable cattle to be raised in the paddies. Green manure crops can also be planted following the harvest, capitalizing on the moisture contained in the early cold season soil. In this way, local seeds represent the culture and way of life of small-scale farmers.
There is no perfect seed – farmers need a range of indigenous seeds that can withstand environmental change and when they plant them, they are prepared for unexpected weather events like drought or flooding. P’ Batipat, who has been involved with community-based climate change research, emphasized that global environmental change was something we need to learn a lot more about, he mentioned “This year’s winter was a long one. In April, we’ll need to be ready for the rains, but the months following in the rainy season have become increasingly irregular.” He also pointed out, “We need to change how we think about farming, and be prepared for environmental change with biodiversity.” By creating in-depth plans for each season, we can engage and inform ourselves with the ecology around us. The research network he is a part of is predicting a lot of rain over a short period of time at the start of the rainy season, then a long drought, and then more rain and potential flooding (much similar to the past year’s rainy season).
Given the various uses and community-based value of local varieties, these farmers got to thinking about how to get them back and planted again. P Jansee himself plants 19 varieties. A number of local varieties have greater nutritional and health benefits than Jasmine 105. It’s also commonly said that eating local varieties “makes people’s stomachs full,” providing more energy for work in the fields. Sticky rice is used in making treats and snacks, while heavy varieties like Nieung Guong are better for making noodles. A type of black sticky rice, called Kao Gam, has medicinal properties that help improve vision. Red Jasmine is known to be very low in sugar, which would be suitable rice for people concerned about diabetes (a growing crisis here in Isaan).
In concluding, P’ Pakphum referred to a new commercial in which a young woman in line at a cafeteria approaches a vendor, looks at the food and begins to ask:
Vendor: What would you like?
Consumer: How many times have these vegetables been washed?
Vendor: 2 times
Consumer: Where do they come from? Is there any industry in that area? What kind of fertilizer is used? Stable manure or fermented compost? Where do the seeds come from? Are they GMO?
Vendor: (silence – wai in respect)
For a Thai commercial, its cleverness is pretty standard. But the content speaks to the possibility for a big shift in consumption. Obviously most consumers don’t ask these questions when getting their lunch, but we need to start. In the future, we may be able to promote different indigenous rice varieties for the health concerns of different consumers. As P’ Pakphum pointed out, “It’s time that people should consume information about what they eat – for their own health and for change in our society.” Awareness is increasing and interest in local foods and local varieties of rice can only be supported further by producers’ diversity in production.
One of our new packages: a photo of the producer
and a simple message - "From Farmers to Consumers"
The event was co-hosted with the AAN, with representatives from Kalasin, Mahasarakam and Yasothon provinces coming with information, herbal and handmade products, and importantly, seed samples to display and distribute. There were more than 40 different indigenous varieites on display!
Beyond the distribution of dangerous and ineffective chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the Green Revolution's promotion of Jasmine 105 (which has made Thailand's rice exports famous) effectively wiped out a number of local rice breeds. Middlemen and large-scale mills, established to process only a few "market-able" rice breeds, would not accept the small grains of locally-bred varieties. Our network has worked to reclaim a number of varieties, both through local conservation efforts and regional seed exchanges, as well as demands for the return of seeds from government research centers to the farmers themselves.
The goal of last Saturday's event was to provide more information for consumers about the diversity of local rice seeds we have here in Surin and the Isaan region. The popularity of Hom Nin rice, a black Jasmine variety, has also proved the viability of a market for local varieties. We presented six different varieties for consumers (photo below) to sample and compare - this input will help farmers decide what varieties to expand for local market sale, direct to Green Market consumers.
After a lunch served with a local red Jasmine rice variety, we hosted a bai see ceremony for all the fruits, vegetables, seeds and seedlings presented to make merit for the coming rice planting season. Once the ceremony was over, producers and consumers came to pick out the seeds they wanted to plant.
The afternoon also featured a seminar hosted by P' Ubon Yuwa (photo below, far right), with Rice Fund members P' Bresong, P' Jansee, Paw Ota, P' Batipat and P' Pakphum (photo below, left to right). All of these farmers are what we consider "farmer-researchers" as they work independently to preserve and breed local varieties for increased production (last month's exchange with the Southern AAN members and researchers from the Patalung is an example of how their village research center works). Their work with SRI techniques is the basis for their seed saving efforts - preserving the highest quality plants season after season and distributing to other farmers in their communities to plant.
Given the dominating presence of Jasmine 105 here in Surin, the seminar focused on different issues and ideas relating local varieties to the conventional system. Their discussion also touched on climate change and the future of consumerism.
A diversity of indigenous seeds forms the basis of a farmer’s sustainable practice - they are central in making farm plans. When a farmer can plant a range of light and heavy varieties, they will ripen at different times of the harvest season, enabling family labor to manage the crop (Jasmine 105, however, will ripen all at once, requiring hired labor or harvesters). For example, some low yielding, light varieties can also be fed to cattle, as they are harvested early in the season and thus enable cattle to be raised in the paddies. Green manure crops can also be planted following the harvest, capitalizing on the moisture contained in the early cold season soil. In this way, local seeds represent the culture and way of life of small-scale farmers.
There is no perfect seed – farmers need a range of indigenous seeds that can withstand environmental change and when they plant them, they are prepared for unexpected weather events like drought or flooding. P’ Batipat, who has been involved with community-based climate change research, emphasized that global environmental change was something we need to learn a lot more about, he mentioned “This year’s winter was a long one. In April, we’ll need to be ready for the rains, but the months following in the rainy season have become increasingly irregular.” He also pointed out, “We need to change how we think about farming, and be prepared for environmental change with biodiversity.” By creating in-depth plans for each season, we can engage and inform ourselves with the ecology around us. The research network he is a part of is predicting a lot of rain over a short period of time at the start of the rainy season, then a long drought, and then more rain and potential flooding (much similar to the past year’s rainy season).
Given the various uses and community-based value of local varieties, these farmers got to thinking about how to get them back and planted again. P Jansee himself plants 19 varieties. A number of local varieties have greater nutritional and health benefits than Jasmine 105. It’s also commonly said that eating local varieties “makes people’s stomachs full,” providing more energy for work in the fields. Sticky rice is used in making treats and snacks, while heavy varieties like Nieung Guong are better for making noodles. A type of black sticky rice, called Kao Gam, has medicinal properties that help improve vision. Red Jasmine is known to be very low in sugar, which would be suitable rice for people concerned about diabetes (a growing crisis here in Isaan).
In concluding, P’ Pakphum referred to a new commercial in which a young woman in line at a cafeteria approaches a vendor, looks at the food and begins to ask:
Vendor: What would you like?
Consumer: How many times have these vegetables been washed?
Vendor: 2 times
Consumer: Where do they come from? Is there any industry in that area? What kind of fertilizer is used? Stable manure or fermented compost? Where do the seeds come from? Are they GMO?
Vendor: (silence – wai in respect)
For a Thai commercial, its cleverness is pretty standard. But the content speaks to the possibility for a big shift in consumption. Obviously most consumers don’t ask these questions when getting their lunch, but we need to start. In the future, we may be able to promote different indigenous rice varieties for the health concerns of different consumers. As P’ Pakphum pointed out, “It’s time that people should consume information about what they eat – for their own health and for change in our society.” Awareness is increasing and interest in local foods and local varieties of rice can only be supported further by producers’ diversity in production.
One of our new packages: a photo of the producer
and a simple message - "From Farmers to Consumers"
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