Letters from Vietnam: The Hmong People - Reclaiming Lost Skills
Aid Projects, Community Projects, People Systems, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh
The Future of the Hmong People
Photos: Craig Mackintosh
It took a few moments for my eyes to adapt to the light. There was a single, clear incandescent bulb hanging just millimetres above my head - hanging from somewhere high in the blackness of the ceiling, from a cable so weathered it looked more like a vine than an electrical cord. But it wasn’t turned on. After all, it was daytime. Below my muddied boots was the hard, earth floor; cool to the touch, with just a hint of dampness. The lady of the house swept dirt outside, which, while necessary, almost seemed nonsensical, since the floor was dirt. The walls were thick, and windowless - also made with packed earth. And unlike most other minority tribes in Vietnam, who normally build their houses on poles, this one was built directly onto the ground.
This home was about as ‘earthy’ as they get.
Comments (6)Posted on: November 6, 2008
Letters from Vietnam - Ke Village
Aid Projects, Building, Community Projects, Project Positions, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh
The trip to meet the Ma Lieng people at Ke Village, Vietnam, was a bit like a chapter out of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. For starters, to reach the village I had to get ferried across a chocolate river in something resembling a dugout canoe. And, when I got there, I was met with a tribe of villagers who were almost supernaturally tiny.
The river’s chocolate hue was due to heavy rains flushing the nation’s soil to the sea - also making the river abnormally swollen and swift. Carrying expensive camera equipment in a very suspect-looking vessel, with a freeboard of only a few inches, was disconcerting to say the least - every person’s slightest movement rang alarm bells, and I had to work hard not to overcompensate in our bid to keep the canoe upright.
We made it to the other side, though, our gear dry, albeit with our nerves a little jangled.
Entryway to the Ke Village, home to the Ma Lieng people
So, whew, welcome to the Ke Village. This visit was in stark contrast to our trip to see the Black Thai, at Na Sai, only a few days earlier, as you shall see.
Comments (6)Posted on: October 21, 2008
A Refrigerator that Runs Without Electricity
Community Projects, Processing & Food Preservation — by Craig Mackintosh
Sometimes there are simple solutions to universal needs that don’t require coal fired electricity, fossil fuels, or even solar panels or wind turbines.
Around a third of the world’s population have no access to electricity. If you’re like me, you’ve spent your entire life being able to plug in. Do we ever give a thought to what life would be like if the various appliances we’ve come to rely on were to suddenly stop working? One of the most energy guzzling appliances in our carbon footprint portfolio is the refrigerator. But, unplug it, and the quality of your life will suddenly deteriorate. Take that thought, and imagine living in a hot dry country in Africa, without electricity, where food quickly wilts and rots in the sun, aided by onslaughts of flies.
One modern day genius, mindful of this basic need to preserve food, has solved the problem for many. Mohammed Bah Abba, a Nigerian teacher, invented the ‘device’ — a refrigerator that doesn’t require electricity!
Comments (17)Posted on: August 11, 2008
The Permaculture Master Plan - Permaculture Centres Worldwide
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Courses/Workshops, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres — by Craig Mackintosh
Imagine a world of peace, health and low-carbon prosperity. Well, we’re going beyond imagination, and are working on full implementation. It’s our aim. Watch (and share) the clip below to get an idea of what we mean.
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Posted on: June 26, 2008
Claiming the Common Ground
Community Projects, General — by Lena Jarlov
Swedish architect and researcher Lena Jarlov looks at the history and value of creating gardens in the grounds of apartment buildings. She says that these forgotten areas can be transformed into places of rich human exchange. Also, by cultivating food gardens, the tenants reconnect with the earth and can harvest chemical-free vegetables, fruit and berries.
Our towns and cities are full of unrealised gardens and it is important and urgent that we bring them to life. Everywhere in the towns and cities of the industrialised world there are areas with asphalt, unused lawns, thorny, ugly shrubberies or nothing at all; areas which seem to be calling out for somebody to occupy them and make gardens.
Many of these areas are situated on grounds belonging to blocks of flats. The official garden culture in such sites is aimed at making management of these areas as ‘rational’ and effective as possible. The tenants are supposed to use the grounds for play and recreation but not for their own gardening. The result is barren and monotonous environments, which adults only pass on their way to and from home, or in which they stay to look after their children.
It seems that either a famine or a garden cultural revolution is necessary to make the inhabitants in these areas get out, occupy the grounds, and cultivate them. Perhaps we can avoid the famine if we can start the cultural revolution!
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