utmost value to the identity of the highland people. The rice can represent
who they are to the lowland people, and emphasize the truth that “nothing
is more precious than what you really have.”
[1] Earthen House, Siam Prana
[2] Kuemodo, a local plant used for making sweets
[3] Boiled Buesakoe (Red Brown Rice)
[4] Local youngster joins in on the activities
Intrigued by this farming community,
I travelled with 16 others – a mix of
age ranges – to this unique hideaway
destination in order to experience
natural living; breathing in clean
air and eating pure food, for a total
of 3 days and 2 nights. We started
fresh, and early, on our first morning
morning with a delicious farm-fresh
breakfast that included sugar-free
green bean soup, boiled organic brown
rice, and more. For each meal, we
would cook up what we gathered from
the farm and the neighborhood. All
these easy-to-prepare, and delicious,
menus consisted of such everyday
items as grilled-chili paste, Thai-style
omelets, Som Tam, grilled potatoes,
grilled pork, and the like.
We also didn’t have to look for any
special foot spa, as the sand and
mud here is super fine, as we found
out walking through the nature trails.
During these hikes we discovered
that a lot of strange but amazing
produce can be found in the forests,
and we were finding mushrooms,
picking fresh Rattan fruits, collecting
pinecones, tasting young wasp larvae,
direct from the nest – a favourite of the forest people – and looking for
Kuemodo, a local plant used for making some sweets.
[4]
In addition, we learned how to plough and transplant in the rice paddy
fields, how to mix mud, sand, and rice-husks into to earth blocks, which
can then be used to construct the earthen houses, once they’ve been left
under the sun for 3-5 days to harden. In the evenings the light sof many
little fireflies were visible while we were hanging around the bonfire; talking
and getting to know each other before heading off to sleep tight inside one
of the well-ventilated earth houses.
[2]
[3]
The memory of being at this farm, and the experience we all shared, will
be cherished for a lifetime, but who knows the bigger impact that a small
group of people – like the 16 of us, who supported the brown rice and organ