Kong gaan cao niaow

My resolution this year is somewhat unconventional.  I’ve decided that I should spend more money.  This might seem like an absurdly profligate thing to resolve in these times of austerity but it occurred to me towards the end of last year that I was spending too much time penny pinching and was consequently managing to place a self imposed restriction on my opportunities.  Given the fact that I’m living in an amazing country with huge potential for travel both internally and to the wider region it seemed insane that I should sit at home and read free books on my Kindle.  I’m not going to be in Laos forever and it definitely felt like I could be making better use of my time here.   

Farming chic

I’m doing really well with my resolution and I’m managing to steadily eat through my savings with lots of visits, trips and treats.  To put that into perspective, this week I’ve bought a KitKat every day after my lunch, when normally I wouldn’t eat any chocolate from month to month.  It’s not as if I’ve suddenly been plundering the gold and silver reserves.  The very fact that I’ve been able to amass any savings as a volunteer may surprise you but the allowance I receive is quite generous when compared to the cost of living, although it wouldn’t cover a monthly travel card if I was still living in London.  My plan was to use my savings to pay for flights home but really, what else are credit cards for?

The reason I bring up the rather vulgar topic of money is because I’m temporarily financing a dry season rice project.  That sounds genuinely extravagant and is even verging on the philanthropic but even if I was to foot the entire budget it would only account for around a month’s allowance.  I should add that I have no intention of covering the entire budget but nature waits for no man and I had no time to wait for the alternative funding to come through before sowing.  Fingers crossed, in a few weeks time I should be happily munching my way through a family pack of KitKats to make up for it.

20x20cm transplant spacing - ish

The project is the first real piece of long term agricultural advisory work I’ve been involved in since I started my placement and it feels fantastic to finally get stuck into some work.  In short, the idea is to compare three different systems of nutrition for the same glutinous rice variety, sown across small plots of land and managed by two different farming families on the same, single hectare area of irrigated land close to the Mekong.  Phew, doesn’t it sound exciting?  My main motivation for the project is to look at subtle options for trying to introduce some cropping variety into the almost relentless rice based monoculture which is prevalent in irrigated areas. 

Two of the six plots will be managed using azolla introduced as a companion crop into the paddy field and although in essence it's there to help supply a self renewing source of nitrogen, it can also be used to supplement livestock diets and if successfully cultivated, has the potential to be sold on to other farmers.

Last Friday we went to buy the azolla in preparation for broadcast through the target plots.  After some complex discussion of the arrangements the day before, I arrived by motorbike at the district agriculture office before riding with a colleague to the azolla supplier.  When we arrived, it was already packed up in old plastic sacks with no way of knowing how long it had been there.  It seemed quite cool and moist so I was happy to go ahead and follow the delivery to the trial farm.  When we arrived, I was somewhat surprised to be told that we wouldn’t be able to spread it in the field until 3pm that day, some 6 hours later.  Reluctantly, I agreed to ride back out there that afternoon and left instructions to open up the sacks and top up the water every so often.  

My biggest extravagance

Back out at the field later that afternoon and only half the bags had been opened.  As I opened the others, the gust of heat that rushed out was incredible but we soldiered on and spread the azolla in double quick time.  I only fell over in the paddy field once, so my average is improving and I’m a total convert to doing agricultural work in a skirt.   It’s definitely much more chic than my normal boiler suit and wellies combo.  The azolla broadcast well and the plots were pleasingly evenly covered when we finished but I couldn't help but be left with a sense of impending failure. 

Fingers crossed my concerns are unfounded but I suspect my first really extravagant expense of 2012 may well have been 143kg of dead, partially cooked, water fern!  And with that, I wish you all a Happy New Year!