Buriram Province

Cabbages & Condoms

After a 6 hour van ride, we made it to Buriram Province, northeast of Bangkok. While traveling here, I encountered my first squatty potties. I’m not sure how I feel about them; the floor is always wet with who knows what, causing me to almost slip into the porcelain hole every time, I’m unsure about the cleanliness, there is never any soap, and absolutely no toilet paper to be found anywhere. On the bright side, it is good little exercise for your legs, and also supposedly good for your bowels because of the curvature of your back.

As we arrived to the hotel we would stay at for one night, everyone was amused by the name “Cabbages and Condoms Resort and Restaurant”, but it wasn’t until later that we would understand the true significance of it. Using a quirky name to highlight a serious issue, all proceeds of Cabbages and Condoms goes to the Population & Community Development Association, a sex education/AIDS prevention organization.

 

 

Mechai Viravaidya is a man ahead of his time. Since the 1970’s, he has been promoting condoms, family planning, and AIDS awareness in Thailand. He recognized that Thailand would not be able to grow economically if the birth rate continued to soar. Since beginning his work, the average number of children in Thai families has decreased from 7-13 children to 1.5 children. He encouraged the use of condoms through funny, non-controversial ways, passing out condoms at places like grocery stores and tolls, making condoms available to anyone for free. He also begged the question of why a doctor’s prescription was needed for birth control when it is so low risk.  Soon thereafter, anyone from hairdressers to store clerks were “prescribing” oral contraceptives, as long as the woman met the criteria. Mechai didn’t stop there, and began a campaign on vasectomies. Mechai himself got a vasectomy to decrease the stigma around the procedure. Busses with people trained to perform vasectomies began traveling around Thai cities. The busses had large windows so other men could watch to see how simple and quick the process was.

The Pattana School

Imagine a place where there is no tuition to attend a good private school, but students must participate in community service to give back. Imagine a place where even community members can come to learn. Imagine a place where students don’t only learn subjects like math and language, but also agriculture, water conservation, and humanitarian studies. Mechai recognized that the children are the future of the country, so he opened Mechai’s Pattana (Bamboo) School. The school is made up entirely of bamboo and caters to students 13-18 years old. Two graduates of the school gave us a tour of the grounds, practicing their English. They explained to us that enrolled students conduct interviews and admit new students based on the parallel goals of the current student body with the new students as the school is always innovating. They showed us some of the produce they grow like mushrooms and limes, and how they are always experimenting to find a better, more efficient, and more sustainable ways to farm. The two girls also showed us the chicken coop and explained how they found the chickens lay many more eggs when they are close together and music is playing for them to relax. There was even an area where students must farm in wheelchairs to develop empathy for those who are physically bound. It’s a beautiful school fueled by a beautiful idea that I wish would be adopted by the rest of the world.

 

Seeing a village for the first time!

The leader of the village gave us a presentation about his village, which is one of the poorest in the country.  I loved seeing how proud he was of his small farming community. He informed us on the village’s water conservation project, which included building a bigger/wider canal with smaller canals branching off to run to the crops, planting trees around the canals to keep the water in (the roots act as barriers), and building concrete waterways that catch rainfall and let out into a backup reservoir. Listening to this man was the first time I really realized how much water is wasted in America. I wish every American could listen to this man’s passionate plan to keep enough water in the village for the village to survive. Sure, we throw around terms like drought and dry spell, but honestly we have no idea what those terms really mean. Every last drop of water in Thailand, especially during the dry season, serves a purpose. There is no wasting water, because it’s the difference between life and death. The water is not used to fill their pools and keep their grass green, but to actually provide needed food and water.

Silk Village

The whole process of creating a handmade silk piece is as follows: farm mulberry bushes > silkworms eat mulberry leaves and mulberries are used for jam > silkworms form cocoons > cocoons are boiled and begin to unravel > silk thread is pulled from cocoons and boiled silk worms can be eaten > silk thread is weaved to create scarves, tapestries, etc. It was amazing to see the entire village working systematically to get a final product. One woman making silk thread allowed a few of us to try, and it was an utter disaster. The thread was not pulled from the cocoon evenly creating large fuzzy patches on the thread. It was not nearly as easy as the practiced hands of the woman made it look. She laughed at us, and tried to guide our hands to properly retrieve the thread, but we still weren’t up to par.  She then began fishing out some boiled silk worms from the pot, and began handing them out like candy. I was a little nervous to try the engorged yellow worm, but when I finally did, I was pleasantly surprised. The silkworm popped as I bit down on it, and my mouth immediately recognized the taste as corn. It really was quite tasty! Later, we watched as another woman went through several steps to weave the thread, using a giant contraption that resembled a medieval torture device. We watched in awe as she meticulously followed each step to continue creating the intricate pattern on the material. I was so happy when I found the village sold some of their hand made silk pieces, cutting out the middle man, and completely reaping the profit. I ended up buying a beautiful green scarf, happy to directly contribute to the village.  

 

Phanom Rong Historical Site

I was in awe at the site of the first ruins. The architecture is a complex combination of Hindu and Buddhist styles. The sandstone temple was built in the 10^th to 13^th centuries, and was inhabited by Khmer people. Today, monks reside and work at the temple. Many children also reside and work there because families who can’t afford education for their children send them to receive an education from the monks.