The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Dragons Add Mythical Twist to Search for Dhammazedi Bell
• Teachers’ Federation Decries Lack of Consultation on Burma’s Education Bill
• ‘They Can Stand on Their Own’
• Petition Launched Against Proportional Representation for Burma
• Students Get High on Cough Medicine in Burma
• Remote, Gas-Rich Islands on Indonesia’s South China Sea Frontline
• Vietnam Envoy to Visit China to Seek Thaw in Testy Ties
• Edible Insects a Boon to Thailand’s Farmers
• Mandalay’s Handmade Gold Leaf Industry Under Threat

Dragons Add Mythical Twist to Search for Dhammazedi Bell Posted: 26 Aug 2014 06:11 AM PDT A salvage team works at the Rangoon and Pegu rivers' confluence on Tuesday. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Finally, they appear to have struck a deal with the dragons—guardians of a sunken bell in Burma that, if found, is believed to be the world's largest. After more than two weeks probing watery depths southeast of Rangoon, a salvage team in search of Burma's fabled Dhammazedi Bell on Tuesday claimed to have found the long-sought treasure. But the team said it was not the difficult diving conditions or 400 years of accumulated silt that had delayed announcement of the find: It was dragons. In a statement circulated online on Tuesday, team leader San Lin said the team had spotted the sunken bell that is believed to have fallen into the murky waters of the Rangoon and Pegu rivers' confluence more than four centuries ago. In revealing the discovery, the statement hearkened back to a press conference held last month, in which the leader of the salvage team told media that the bell was under the protection of "dragons." "We have to compete with them [dragons] to salvage the bell. They won't give it to us eagerly," he said in July. The statement on Tuesday, which went viral among Burma's nascent web community, said the team was delayed in announcing the good news for fear of interrupting the bell's guardians. "We are late in releasing the statement because dragons were paying homage to the bell with light on a grand scale. There are some secrets in Burmese ways to salvage the bell, so we haven't disclosed them. Now we have got permission from some holy persons to reveal the information that we have found the bell," the statement said. The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the authenticity of the statement, which went on to thank those who had supported the search for the bell, and apologized for the belated announcement. "We will restore the bell at the Shwedagon Pagoda soon," the statement added, referring to the site where the bell was originally installed. San Lin said in July that he expected the project would last 45 days at a cost of 200 million kyats (US$250,000), with most of the funding coming from donations. It was not immediately clear whether the dragons' purported acquiescence would shorten the timeframe or reduce the cost allotted for the bell's retrieval. The post Dragons Add Mythical Twist to Search for Dhammazedi Bell appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Teachers’ Federation Decries Lack of Consultation on Burma’s Education Bill Posted: 26 Aug 2014 05:35 AM PDT Freshmen students attend a chemistry class in Yangon University in Yangon Dec. 5, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Burma's main group representing teachers has said it cannot endorse the National Education Bill because the government failed to conduct proper consultation and heed advice on the law. The piece of legislation—intended to revive Burma's education system after years of underfunding and overbearing government control—was approved by Parliament on July 30, but has not yet been signed into law by President Thein Sein. The Myanmar Teachers' Federation—which comprises associations representing teachers in all levels of the education system—said in a statement Saturday that the current draft of the bill did not reflect the opinions of students, teachers and parents. "The bill just includes the opinions from some teachers and students who share the views of education authorities," the statement said. Public consultation meetings were held during the bill's drafting, but teachers' groups and civil society organizations—who have argued that the bill fails to remove central control from schools and universities—say their views were not properly listened to or taken into account. "To develop university academia, students, teachers, and businessman—those who invest in education, should be included," said Arkar Moe Thu, secretary of the Myanmar Teachers' Federation. "Yet, the law was drafted by those in education who are corrupt." The federation also highlighted the bill's lack of a guarantee of academic independence. The National Network for Education Reform, a collection of civil society and political groups, last week also criticized the bill for not releasing schools and university's from central control, and for preserving the risk of political influence in education. Arkar Moe Thu said that rather than entrusting educators with more power, some parts of the bill were "insulting" to teachers. "There is a clause about using a decentralized system, but only based on the educational staff's taking responsibility and making decision with 'good morals,' he said. "This means the democratic education system will be used only when teachers have good morality." He said the use of "morality" in the bill showed that the drafters "do not understand teachers' integrity." The Myanmar Teachers' Federation also said in its statement that the bill cannot be said to be ushering in a democratic education system in Burma since it does not guarantee students' and teachers' rights to form associations. The post Teachers' Federation Decries Lack of Consultation on Burma's Education Bill appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

‘They Can Stand on Their Own’ Posted: 26 Aug 2014 05:31 AM PDT Phyu Ei Thein of the Sunflower Group. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) After fleeing their homes amid armed conflict, many displaced women in northern Burma lack opportunities to earn a living. At camps for internally displaced people (IDPs), some have been waiting for three years to go home, where they can find jobs or farm the land. To make the wait a little easier, one philanthropist is teaching them to weave and sell handicrafts at markets. Phyu Ei Thein, founder of the Sunflower Group, offers classes at IDP camps in Kachin State while also encouraging women across the country to support themselves by learning to weave at loom institutes. She spoke with The Irrawaddy about her work. Question: Can you tell us the story of how the Sunflower Group was founded? Answer: We formed in January 2012 and we work with 14 loom institutes. I had been exporting natural dyes to Japan since 2006, so I already had a company, and I began to discuss a plan with students at loom institutes to mix their designs with mine. I gave them weaving assignments and then bought their products at reasonable prices. This is how I started my Sunflower Group. Q: And I heard that in June you offered handicraft training for ethnic Kachin women at a camp in northern Burma. A: I taught them how to make string and showed them how to craft it into bracelets, necklaces and earrings, as well as charms for mobile phones. They used string and gems, which are available in our country, and I put their products on sale in Rangoon… If they can earn a regular income, I will go [teach] in other townships. Q: Why did you focus on Kachin State? A: The women in the refugee [IDP] camps have been there for over three years. They don’t have jobs and they cannot farm. The women who have children cannot go outside to work. If we can give them job opportunities in the camps, they can earn money. They can keep working like this even when they go back to their villages. They have been living without any income for so long. Plus, they can keep themselves busy with work so they don't have to focus so much on their other problems. They can stand on their own. Q: What are your main challenges? A: We have to ensure quality products, which takes time, practice and imagination. We don't have many difficulties because the camp we visit now is the same camp we used to visit very often. We have talked about making bamboo trays for men in the refugee camps. We combine traditional ways with my ideas. Q: Do you encourage girls in the camp to attend loom institutes? A: I’ve been there 10 times and I'm now friendly with them, but I still need to convince the young girls to go to the loom institute. There are girls who have already passed the matriculation exam and there are girls who do not go to school. Also there are some girls who go over the border to China to work. We need to help them get an income. If they go to loom institutes, they can work for the rest of their lives. Q: Do you plan to visit other IDP camps in far-off regions? A: I'd like to, but it's quite difficult because of poor transportation. We also need to find the resources that we can use in those regions first. Q: What else do you want to say, Ma Phyu Ei Thein? A: The officials are talking about peace, but the people at refugee camps know nothing about it. They seem hopeless. They don't know when they can go back home. If we wait to create job opportunities for them only after achieving peace, that will not be for a long time. It's better if we help them now. We should have been doing this a long time ago, but we can start now. We need to raise their morale. I cannot afford a massive investment. I am just trying to make their lives better. The post 'They Can Stand on Their Own' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Petition Launched Against Proportional Representation for Burma Posted: 26 Aug 2014 05:04 AM PDT Activists march near Rangoon's Sule Pagoda on Aug. 5, 2014, to oppose a proposal to change the way Burma elects its lawmakers to proportional representation. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Activists in Burma began a signature campaign on Tuesday to tally public opposition to an electoral system based on proportional representation (PR), which some parties including the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party are pushing to implement ahead of nationwide elections next year. The Mass Movement Acceleration Network, Democracy Force Association and activists based in the Rangoon townships of Botahtaung, Pazundaung, Dawbon and Thaketa have joined forces to collect signatures in the commercial capital. "We are starting the signature campaign today and will hold a signing ceremony on Thursday by inviting around 50 civil society organizations," Myat Kyaw, spokesman of the Mass Movement Acceleration Network, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. He said activists in each of Rangoon's 33 townships would collect signatures from the public at homes, bus stops and teashops, wrapping up the campaign one week before the next session of Parliament, which is expected to begin on Sept. 11. Activists outside Rangoon seeking to support the petition drive would receive assistance in carrying out local efforts to gather signatures, Myat Kyaw added. "We protested against PR on August 5 and now we are organizing this campaign to send public opposition to PR directly to Parliament," he said. He said the activists would send the signatures to Parliament to bolster the opposing stance of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and ethnic political parties. Burma's Upper House of Parliament has already approved switching from the current first-past-the-post (FPTP) system to a PR-based alternative, a proposal that the main opposition NLD party and ethnic minority parties are against. Parliament's Lower House has formed a commission to discuss which electoral system the country should use. "A PR system would lead to the disintegration of national solidarity since it is opposed by ethnic parties and would bring extremists to Parliament since the seats [are allotted] proportionate with the vote," Myat Kyaw said. He added that regardless of whether the petition is successful in swaying a Parliament dominated by the pro-PR Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the activists will have done their duty in recording the public's opposition for the history books. More than 100 people, including members of Myat Kyaw's Mass Movement Acceleration Network, protested against PR in Rangoon and in Pegu Division's Prome Township earlier this month. The USDP and some smaller parties support a move to PR, arguing that it allows for a wider representation of parties in the legislature and more closely hews to the spread of votes in an election. Opponents have objected on a variety of grounds, including by claiming that Burma's young Parliament would struggle to function with the fragmentation that would likely result as more parties are granted representation. Some NLD supporters have also claimed that the PR push is an attempt by the USDP to mitigate losses in an election next year that could deal a heavy blow to its parliamentary dominance. The post Petition Launched Against Proportional Representation for Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Students Get High on Cough Medicine in Burma Posted: 26 Aug 2014 04:23 AM PDT Students in Pathein Township are taking a cough suppressant to get high, according to the police. (Photo: Salai Thant Zin / The Irrawaddy) In the poppy fields of Burma's hinterlands, farmers are growing the world's second-biggest source of opium, and just this week police officials boasted of their biggest-ever drug bust, but in some cities, the problem of substance abuse lies closer to home. For a cheap, easy high, some students in Pathein Township, Irrawaddy Division, are turning to a popular cough medicine, police officials say. This month, township police warned shops near urban schools not to sell tablets of Dextro Cough, which contains the active ingredient dextromethorphan and is often stocked at shops that specialize in betel nut, a popular stimulant. A 14-day warning period went into effect on Aug. 14, after which the police have pledged to act in accordance with the national drug law against any betel nut shop found to be selling the cough medicine. Urban chemists have also been warned not to give Dextro to students. "A small proportion of university students abuse it. Mainly, high school students abuse it, as do some students at the government technical college," Myint Aung, platoon commander of the Pathein-based No. 49 anti-drug squad, told The Irrawaddy. "It's a flu and cough medicine. Youths take many tablets at once, which is harmful to them." Imported from Thailand, Dextro is reportedly a registered household drug in Burma. A bottle containing 1,000 tablets costs 15,000 kyats (US$15), while individual tablets sell for 25 kyats at betel shops, kiosks and some chemist shops in urban wards. "Dextro makes the abuser sleepy and tranquil. Not only university students, but also youths in the wards, abuse it," said a 21-year-old from Pathein's Ward No. 9. "They use it during festive events. Recently, I went back to my native village to visit a pagoda festival and found that youths were abusing that drug." In addition to use for the common cold, the cough suppressant is often prescribed to ease symptoms of serious illnesses including tuberculosis, HIV, pneumonia and lung cancer, according to a general practitioner in Pathein. "Dextro stabilizes lungs and dissolves phlegm, and only one or two tablet should be given to TB, lung cancer and HIV patients, even under a doctor's prescription. If children take more than 10 tablets at one time, it may harm their nerves and lungs in the long run," he said. The post Students Get High on Cough Medicine in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Remote, Gas-Rich Islands on Indonesia’s South China Sea Frontline Posted: 25 Aug 2014 10:28 PM PDT A boy fishes on the rocky east coast of Natuna Besar. (Photo: Reuters) RANAI, Indonesia — The word "sleepy" could have been invented for Ranai, the largest town in Indonesia's remote and sparsely populated Natuna archipelago. It has few cars and only two sets of traffic lights. The cloud-wreathed mountain looming over it resembles a slumbering volcano. Nearby beaches lie pristine and empty, waiting for tourists. From Ranai, it takes an imaginative leap to see Natuna—a scattering of 157 mostly uninhabited islands off the northwest coast of Borneo—as a future flashpoint in the escalating dispute over ownership of the South China Sea, one of the world's busiest waterways. But that's precisely what many people here fear. They know Natuna is quite a prize. Its fish-rich waters are routinely plundered by foreign trawlers. Lying just inside its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone is the East Natuna gas field, one of the world's largest untapped reserves. And any quarrel over Natuna would also upset a delicate strategic balance, undermining Indonesia's role as a self-appointed honest broker in the myriad territorial disputes between its Southeast Asian neighbors and regional giant China. Jakarta's foreign ministry insists there is no problem with China over the status of Natuna, but the Indonesian military has in recent months struck a more assertive tone. In April, Indonesian armed forces chief Moeldoko accused China of including parts of Natuna within its so-called "Nine-Dash Line," the vague boundary used on Chinese maps to lay claim to about 90 percent of the South China Sea. Early Warning System With maritime tensions rising between China and the Philippines and Vietnam, Moeldoko later vowed to send more troops to Natuna "to anticipate any instability in the South China Sea and serve as an early warning system for Indonesia." The air force plans to upgrade Ranai's airbase to accommodate fighter jets and attack helicopters. Officially, China and Indonesia don't contest the sovereignty of the islands: both agree they are part of Indonesia's Riau Province. Nor is Indonesia among the five countries—Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and Brunei—challenging Beijing's expansive claims in the South China Sea. This has allowed Jakarta to play a neutral role and seek to mediate in an increasingly bitter and volatile dispute. But Natuna's bit-part in this regional drama reflects "growing concern within Indonesia about China's actions within the Nine-Dash Line," said Ian Storey, a security expert at the Institute of Southeast Asia Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore. Rising maritime tensions with China have induced many Southeast Asian countries to seek closer strategic ties with the United States. Since 2010 Indonesia has unsuccessfully sought clarification through the United Nations of the legal basis for the Nine-Dash Line. Indonesia's foreign minister, Marty Natalegawa, told Reuters in April that Indonesia had "inferred" from China that the line did not cross Indonesian territory. Locals remain unconvinced. "We're worried they'll take over this territory," Ilyas Sabli, Natuna's regent, or district chief, told Reuters, referring to the Chinese. "That's why it has become our first priority to protect this homeland." Defending Oil and Gas About 80,000 people live on 27 of Natuna's islands, mostly in Ranai and other places on the main island of Natuna Besar. Ranai airbase was developed after Indonesia's independence in 1949, and the town grew up around it. Today, a new civilian passenger terminal is being constructed in the hope of attracting more investors and tourists. There was no evidence of an Indonesian military build-up. Two small naval ships lay idle at the end of a nearby pier. Plans to upgrade the airbase were "not a new thing," but part of a longer-term strategy to improve the air force's far-flung facilities, base commander Lieutenant Colonel Andri Gandhy told Reuters. The plans include lengthening Ranai's runway to handle larger aircraft. Work will start in 2015 or 2016, depending on the funding, said Gandhy. Any military build-up would be hampered by budget restraints and fear of antagonizing China, said Yohanes Sulaiman, a security analyst at the Indonesian National Defense University. "The Indonesian military really wants to defend the islands, but with what? How can they fight China?" he said. Neighboring Malaysia has a more convincing blueprint to beef up its military presence in the South China Sea. In October, Malaysia announced plans to build a navy base in Bintulu on Sarawak, the closest major town to the James Shoal, a submerged reef about 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of Malaysia's Sarawak claimed by Malaysia, China and Taiwan. Chinese warships conducted exercises nearby in 2013 and 2014. The base will host a new Marine Corps, modeled on, and possibly trained by, its US counterpart. Without mentioning China, Malaysia's defense minister said the aim was to protect Malaysia's oil and gas reserves. China has never protested against Indonesia's search for oil and gas in Natuna waters, said Storey. The state-owned Pertamina is co-developing the East Natuna gas field with Exxon Mobil Corp , Total SA and PTT Exploration and Production . Fishing Wars As in Vietnam and the Philippines, it is Indonesia's fishing fleet that feels China's growing maritime presence most acutely. Natuna fish stocks plummeted with the arrival of big-net trawlers from China, Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan, said Rusli Suhardi, 40, a leader of the local fishermen's cooperative. "Before 2010, we could catch 100 kg (220 lbs) of fish a day. Now it takes three days to catch that amount," he said. A nearby bay is littered with the disintegrating wrecks of a dozen or more boats, mostly Vietnamese trawlers confiscated by the Indonesian authorities for fishing illegally. That no Chinese trawlers rot in this marine graveyard is testament to China's growing maritime muscle. In March 2013, armed Chinese vessels confronted a patrol boat from Indonesia's maritime and fisheries ministry and demanded the release of Chinese fishermen who had just been apprehended in Natuna waters. Fearing for his safety, the captain of the Indonesian boat complied. Similarly, in 2010, a Chinese maritime enforcement vessel compelled an Indonesian patrol boat to release another illegal Chinese trawler. Storey, of ISEAS, said Indonesia has downplayed such incidents, not wanting them to overshadow relations with China. Those relations are historic. Predating Ranai's airbase is the ethnic Chinese community of Penagi, a ramshackle village built on stilts along a nearby pier. One of its oldest residents is Lim Po Eng, 78, a retired laborer, who said Penagi was founded by his grandfather and others fleeing chaos and poverty in China. "We settled here and began to develop the place," he said. The island was already inhabited by indigenous people, added Lim, "but they lived in the bush." Every morning, an Indonesian flag is raised over Penagi's pier. Many locals say the Indonesian government cares little about the fate of Natuna, which lies closer to Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur than it does to Jakarta. But this apparent indifference is bred partly by a desire to keep the status quo, said security analyst Sulaiman. "The government knows there are no good options," he said. "They can't fight China, but if they don't push their claims Indonesia will become a laughing stock." The post Remote, Gas-Rich Islands on Indonesia's South China Sea Frontline appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Vietnam Envoy to Visit China to Seek Thaw in Testy Ties Posted: 25 Aug 2014 10:18 PM PDT Protesters shout as they hold an anti-China banner which reads, "down with China" at a park in front of the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi on May 9, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) HANOI — Vietnam will send a special envoy to China this week to try to rebuild battered diplomatic ties with its communist neighbor after they sank to their lowest in three decades, amid a flare-up over sovereignty in the South China Sea. Vietnam's Foreign Ministry on Monday said Le Hong Anh, a member of the Communist Party's powerful politburo, had been invited to meet Chinese leaders to try to ease tension and stabilize ties with Beijing, with which it shares US$50 billion of annual trade. The visit, starting on Tuesday, is the first sign of a concerted effort to heal rifts between two sides locked in a war of words since May 2, when China deployed a $1 billion oil rig in waters Vietnam claims as its exclusive economic zone. China moved the rig on July 16, saying its mission was complete. The last high-profile meeting between the two sides on June 18 ended in stalemate, with China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, telling Vietnam to "stop hyping up" the row and Vietnam reasserting its maritime claim. The Vietnamese envoy would discuss "measures to ease the situation, prevent the recurrence of recent tension, and enhance the relationship … toward a sound development and long-term stability," spokesman Le Hai Binh said in a statement on the ministry's website. The deployment of the Haiyang Shiyou 981 rig caused an outpouring of anger in Vietnam, where bitterness is entrenched over what its people see as a history of Chinese bullying. Rare protests in Vietnam turned violent in several industrialized provinces in May, with bloody clashes between Vietnamese and Chinese workers in central Ha Tinh province killing at least four people and wounding at least 100. About 4,000 Chinese workers fled Vietnam. In two southern provinces near Ho Chi Minh City, dozens of Taiwanese factories were set on fire and looted, presumably after having been mistaken as being Chinese-owned. The China row has put Vietnam's leadership in a tricky spot. While a prolonged period of bad blood with China risks exposing a far smaller economy—which relies heavily on Chinese materials for its manufacturing sector—perceived concessions to Beijing could prove deeply unpopular at home. Over-dependency on trade with China is a source of friction and even members of the secretive Communist Party of Vietnam have spoken up about "escaping" China's orbit. Spokesman Binh expressed regret for damage to Chinese firms in the May riots and promised to "help affected enterprises overcome difficulties, mitigate damages and resume normal operation," while providing security for companies and workers. Experts are divided on whether China's experiment with the oil rig was an economic or strategic move, as it grows more assertive in its claims to nine-tenths of the potentially energy-rich South China Sea, putting it at odds with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. The dispute has seen Vietnam forge closer alliances with other countries locked in maritime rows with China, including the Philippines and Japan, which has offered six navy boats and radar equipment to Hanoi's coastguard. The Vietnamese leadership has also been courting numerous visitors from the United States in meetings that will not have gone unnoticed in China. Four US senators have visited the country since the China row broke out, some calling for a gradual lifting of Washington's three-decade embargo on lethal arms to help boost Vietnam's maritime capability. On Aug. 8, Senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, spoke of "strong bipartisan support" to ease the embargo as early as September. Six days later, Vietnam's top leaders met the US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, in the first visit by a top US general since the two countries were at war. In a posting on the website of China's Foreign Ministry, spokesman Hong Lei said Vietnam "was pained by the casualties and fatalities that were suffered by Chinese workers" and that Beijing hoped its neighbor would stay true to its word. "China affirms the work and attitude by the Vietnamese side and hopes that Vietnam can earnestly implement the relevant measures," Hong said. Additional reporting by Sui-Lee Wee in Beijing. The post Vietnam Envoy to Visit China to Seek Thaw in Testy Ties appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Edible Insects a Boon to Thailand’s Farmers Posted: 25 Aug 2014 10:04 PM PDT A laborer in Thailand displays a bunch of fried locusts. (Photo: Reuters / Amir Cohen) THANON NANG KLARN, Thailand — Depending solely on the rains to either yield a good rice crop or leave their fields dry and barren, farmers in this village in northeastern Thailand, the country's poorest region, led a precarious and back-breaking existence. Then they discovered bugs. At Boontham Puthachat's home, six concrete pens seethe with crickets munching on chicken feed, pumpkins and other vegetables—treats to fatten them before they are harvested and sold to hungry humans increasingly eager for a different type of dining experience. "We haven't become rich, but now we have enough to better take care of our families," Boontham says proudly. "We are self-sufficient." Boontham's family is one of 30 in this village raising mounds of the profitable crisp and crunchy critters in their backyards, satisfying a big domestic appetite for edible insects, and a slowly emerging international one in countries where most diners would rather starve than sample fried grasshoppers or omelets studded with red ant eggs. Replicated across the country, these enterprises have spawned a multimillion-dollar industry with more than 20,000 registered farms, most of them small-scale household operations, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Averaging an annual output of 7,500 tons in recent years, Thailand leads the world in producing insects for the dining table. While it may still seem exotic, if not outright repulsive, to many in the Western world, the FAO points out that insects have long been an integral part of human diets in nearly 100 countries, particularly in Asia, Africa and Latin America, with more than 1,600 species consumed. In China, the use of insects for food and medicine goes back more than 5,000 years. In recent times, cockroach farming has flourished, with some entrepreneurs getting rich by selling dried cockroaches to companies producing cosmetics and traditional medicines. Besides generating extra income, insects have proven nutritious and farming them is easy on the environment, according to a 2013 FAO report. "Eating a few insects is like taking a multivitamin," says Patrick B. Durst, a senior FAO official who co-authored a study on Thailand's edible insect industry. A 6-ounce serving of crickets, for example, has 60 percent less saturated fat and twice as much vitamin B-12 as the same amount of ground beef. Farmers don't use antibiotics or growth hormones and—unlike crabs and lobsters—edible insects don't feed on dead animals. Six-legged livestock, as the agency calls them, are also kinder to the environment than their lesser-legged counterparts. It takes 2,900 gallons of water, 25 pounds of feed and extensive acreage to produce one pound of beef and just one gallon of water, two pounds of feed and a small cubicle to produce a pound of crickets. And when one suppresses any psychological and cultural biases, many insects taste just fine. This reporter found crickets nicely crisp and nutty (a cross between shrimp and almond), and fried bamboo worms not unlike unsalted potato chips. Palm weevils, to some palates, are likened to bacon soup with a chewy, sweet finish, while insect larvae are rich and buttery. "Mushroomy" is another frequently-used description for some species. Although a decade ago, insect eating was largely a gimmick—such as a bug embedded in a lollipop—experts say a recent increase in interest in the West is being driven by health and environmental concerns. Energy bars made from ground-up crickets are now found in some health food stores in the United States, and the first cricket farm is scheduled to open in Youngstown, Pennsylvania, this year. In San Francisco, the Don Bugito Prehispanic Snackeria can whip up a five-course, all-insect dinner including ice cream with mealworms. A bar in Paris serves insect tapas and a London start-up, Eat Ento, features honey caterpillar and vegetable wraps. "When I was growing up in the United States, most people would turn up their noses at sushi. Now, it's very chic. People's eating habits do change, so who knows? In 10 to 15 years, eating insects may take off and be regarded as good and cool," says Durst, whose favorites include fried wasp and some crickets with his beer. Creating such a buzz, he says, may involve a celebrity chef putting some palm weevil larvae or giant water bugs on a menu "with someone like Tom Hanks eating them. And then people will say, 'If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me.'" Durst is cautious about predictions that edible insects will stave off hunger in parts of the world, but believes that as a supplement, it could become an important component of food security. In countries as far apart as Laos and Ghana, projects are underway to combat malnutrition with insect farming. And there is major growth in the breeding of insects for feed at fish and poultry farms and for bio-security through the release of some species to combat pests. In Thailand, many people—not just the rural poor—simply enjoy eating some of the 200 different species on offer. Large quantities must be imported from Cambodia, China, Laos and Burma and domestically often fetch higher prices than chicken, beef or pork. This is all good news for farmers like 47-year-old Boontham, who started his business four years ago with a modest capital investment, relatively low-cost input such as cricket feed and little physical labor. He now reaps an annual profit of about US$3,000. A neighbor, Chalong Prajitr, says she was able to send her son to university thanks to the extra annual income of $5,000, a considerable sum in northeast Thailand, where annual per capita income is estimated at about $2,200. "In the past, people depended on rice farming for their source of income. But we get only one harvest a year, while you can harvest crickets once every two months," says Boontham. And without an irrigation system in the area, a year of drought could spell disaster for farmers. "Crickets," he says, "are less risky." To boost their business, the village cricket farmers have formed a loose cooperative to share information and facilitate marketing. They also receive help from local authorities and Khon Kaen University, a major center for research on edible insects and efforts to export them, developing products like crickets with Mediterranean herbs and bamboo worms flavored with sour cream. British businessman Graeme Lee Rose and his Thai wife have seen their own export business to Europe, the US and Australia grow in recent years, especially for cricket powder used in energy bars and biscuits. Still, best sellers for his JR Unique Foods remain novelty items like chocolate-covered scorpions and four-bug kebabs. "There's been quite a bit of interest and we see a lot of potential but it's not something people are going to be throwing on the barbecue," he says. "It's not going to replace steaks." The post Edible Insects a Boon to Thailand's Farmers appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Mandalay’s Handmade Gold Leaf Industry Under Threat Posted: 25 Aug 2014 05:30 PM PDT Men work with hammers at a gold leaf workshop in Mandalay. (Photo: Zarni Mann / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — Myat Par Yat, an area in Burma's second biggest city, is always busy with the rhythmic hammering sounds. Half-naked men in more than 20 gold leaf workshops sweat heavily as they pound pieces of the metal into the thinnest delicate foil—an essential product for Buddhist life. Beside the row of hammerers is a small room where women transfer the delicate gold foil onto pieces of paper, producing ready-to-use packages for sale—each includes 100 sheets of gold leaf, weighing about 1 gram. Mandalay is the birthplace of gold leaf in Burma. The product of Myat Par Yat has long traveled across the country to glitter the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon, Phaung Daw Oo's images of the Buddha at Inle Lake, the Mahamyatmuni image in Mandalay, and hundreds of pagodas and Buddha statues in Bagan, Pegu and elsewhere. It is also used to decorate lacquerware, in Burmese traditional medicine and in cosmetics. But as the country's economy opens up, people in the local gold leaf industry are concerned that an influx of imported gold leaf—which is machine-made and apparently of lower quality—is threatening their business. Recently, a local merchant won an auction to sell machine-made gold leaf to the Shwedagon Pagoda, and those in the Mandalay industry believe imported foil is now being used on Burma's most important Buddhist site. The claim could not be independently verified, but traders claim that in the past Thai and Chinese businessmen visited their workshops to see how gold leaf is made, and are now copying their techniques to make gold leaf that is being imported to Burma. "The pagoda trustees said the machine-made gold foil is much cheaper than handmade, and this is the reason the [merchant's] bid won," said Chaw Su, the owner of one of Myat Par Yat's workshops. Local handmade gold leaf costs 32,000 kyat (about US$32) for a pack of 100 sheets, while the machine-made alternative costs only 25,000 kyat. Mandalay's gold-leaf makers say the price reflects the purity of their product and the labor that goes into it—hours of hammering and extremely careful handling of the foil. The paper that carries the foil to the consumer is also handmade, adding more time to the production process. "We've seen machine-made foil but it is not thin enough like ours, and the quality of gold is not comparable with our product. And the paper that holds their foil is not convenient in the glittering process. The gold foil does not come off easily when you apply it on a pagoda or Buddha image," Chaw Su explained. She said that trustees of the Shwedagon Pagoda have even asked Mandalay's gold leaf makers to transfer the machine-made gold leaf onto local handmade paper to make it easier to transfer. "Since the paper-changing process also has some cost, and the foil is not good enough like local products, what is the point in choosing this cheap product?" Chaw Su asked. A spokesperson for Shwedagon Pagoda's trustee committee told The Irrawaddy that the machine-made gold leaf it buys—from the unnamed trader—is comparable in quality to handmade foil. "We already inspected the quality and it is good quality. We look at the price and the machine-made leaf was cheaper, so that they won the bid," said the spokesperson, who requested anonymity because members of the committee have been barred from speaking with the media. "We do not have information about whether this foil was imported from foreign countries." In recent years, Buddhist pilgrims from Thailand and China have brought their own gold leaf to offer at the country's famous pagodas and images, but have regularly been blocked by some pagoda authorities from adding imported foil to Burmese places of worship. "If we allowed such action, every foreigner will bring imported foils," said a spokesperson for the Mahamyatmuni Pagoda in Mandalay, who also spoke on condition of anonymity. "We cannot know if their leaf is pure gold or fake gold, or bronze or silver. If we allowed it, some would bring fake gold and bronze foil, which will cause future damage to the image and pagoda if applied in a large quantity." Whether the competing product is imported or not, the Mandalay handmade gold-leaf makers say their business is under threat. "Actually, our industry mainly depends on pagodas and pagoda trustees, and gold leaf merchants across the country are also our loyal customers. What if the other customers follow in the footsteps of the Shwedagon Pagoda?" said Kyaw Ngwe, another gold-leaf producer. "If the merchants and the trustee committees want machine-made foil, our handmade workshops will no longer exist and only belong to history. If that day arrives, more than 20 workshops and more than 100,000 workers [in the entire gold leaf industry] will become jobless." The post Mandalay's Handmade Gold Leaf Industry Under Threat appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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