An interview with Thi Tran Lanh from the SPERI network We had the chance to meet Thi Tran Lanh, an impressive woman engaged with the Social Policy Ecology Research Institute (SPERI) to defend and empower ethnic minorities in the Mekong sub-great region.
Lanh is a charismatic person radiating with passion. She is a convinced activist dedicated to the cause of ethnic minorities. She fights intensively against governments’ and lobbies’ attempts to exploit the land of local communities. She fights for the right of communities to live on and cultivate their ancestral land as well as the right to sustain their cultural traditions. This article aims at introducing Lahn’s work with ethnic minorities:
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Traduction / Übersetzung / Translation / Tafsiri / Tradução / 翻訳 / అనువాదం / अनुवाद / Dịch / ແປພາສາ Ta Phin, Sa Pa, Lao Cai - on top of Vietnam In May 2018, we spent 10 days with Lý Mẩy Chạn, from the red Dzao community of Ta Phin, a small village located 12 km away from Sapa in the mountains of north Vietnam.
The Red Dzao community belong to the different Dao ethnic groups, who share a common history as described below. Permaculture in Phang Nha Ke Bang We travel to learn, work and grow with positive projects; we also travel because we love to discover new landscapes, cultures, foods… Vietnam brings it all in one. If you follow us, you might have noticed that we are enjoying Vietnamese food a lot, that we have great opportunities to discover beautiful cities, amazing temples and astounding pristine Nature. When it comes to projects, we are also very lucky. During Mathieu’s Permaculture Design Course (PDC) at Aranya Agricultural Alternatives in India, Mathieu met Chon Chon and Chris, a lovely couple that travelled a lot to work with ethnic minorities, especially in South-East Asia. Chris told Mathieu about the beautiful projects they worked on. He especially recommended visiting Human Ecology Practice Area (HEPA) in Vietnam and invited us to contact Thi Tran Lanh for more information and volunteering opportunities. Visiting HEPA was not possible due to VISA limitations. Nevertheless, Lanh recommended two projects: visit a 20-year old permaculture farm in the heart of the amazing jungle grottos landscapes of Phang Nha Ke Bang and stay with the Red Dzao community in Ta Phin, near Sa Pa, north Vietnam . This article is about our visit of the 20-year old permaculture farm near Phang Nha. We invite our reader to discover and appreciate the wisdom of the family that takes care of it. Abstract I tend to write (too) long articles. This abstract gives you an overview of the content and the key messages from this blog post. Feel free to read the complete post 😊
We spent several hours with the Phuoc family. The son came directly at our homestay and guided us to the farm. As we arrived we met Mr. Phuoc and his wife, two very smiley and charismatic persons. We had the chance to get an interview with them. Mr. Phuoc told us about how they turned a minefield into a model eco-farm through permaculture practices. In twenty years Mr. Phuoc rehabilitated the soil by employing permaculture methods and principles and this article relates the history of the farm. We also explain what we acknowledged from the visit of the gardens. Finally, we relate the more intimate conversation we had with Mr. Phuoc regarding how people migrate from land to cities and how society is influencing us and breaks our connection to the earth. We make the parallel with many projects we have met. The story of Mr. Phuoc’s farm is a successful rehabilitation of a land after the destruction by the war and the people exodus with society shift from rural to urban model. This meeting with the Phuoc’s family was full of wisdom and good values that we want to share with you. Have a good read. Young trees need care such as protection (e.g. fencing), nutrition and watering! Lack of proper care lead to high death rate in young trees. I visited some projects with 80 to 90% death rate in young trees because of lack of water… Water is precious and human action has often lead to and keeps on aggravating water scarcity issues. During our journey through Africa and India, we acknowledged how severe the issue is and truly understood the value of water… Some irrigation solutions use a lot of water and, in dry climates, evaporation make those systems inefficient. Some irrigation solutions are costly and require technology that are not accessible to some communities in dry areas. On the other hand, protracted thoughtful landscape work and adapted irrigation solution can improve the situation and, with the rehabilitation of the degraded area, lead to solving the water scarcity issues. Many examples of “greening the desert” are available and documented. Our solution and its expectable benefits Use a clay pot berried in the ground and low-tech to irrigate young trees to:
"If we could only understand what a #tree does for us, how beneficial is to #life on earth, we would (as many tribes have done) revere all trees as brothers and sisters." (B. Mollison) Trees are so important for so many reasons. They play an active role in the water cycle, in protecting and building soils, in hosting and enhancing biodiversity, in sequestering carbon, in providing biomass and so much more. The impacts of deforestation are well-documented: erosion, soil salination, soil acidification, desertification… which lead to water scarcity, famine, conflicts, migrations… Even though most of the permanent cultures and tribes revered trees as brothers and sisters, “modernity” and “progress” encouraged and keeps on supporting forest clearing (facts not debated here). Our solution and its expectable benefits Plant trees to:
The seek for timber and firewood, fights between British and French colonial troops and some government incentive for cash crops for Europe in the early 20th century depleted the native Dry Evergreen Tropical Forest in the region of Pondicherry. Less vegetation coverage combined with heavy rain episodes lead to massive topsoil erosion and transformed the luxuriant ecosystem of the plateau into a dry savannah. This severe degradation of the ecosystem impacted the biodiversity, reduced the water underground levels, reduced fertility, increased surface temperature, degraded the livelihoods and eroded the culture of nature stewardship of the local communities. Our solution and its expectable benefits Recycle material and use low-tech techniques to plant trees to:
"If we could only understand what a tree does for us, how beneficial it is to life on earth, we would (as many tribes have done) revere all trees as brothers and sisters." (B. Mollison) Ready for the supramental evolution? As stated on the Auroville website: “Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity.” The purpose of this article is to share some of our impressions, stories and thoughts after our short-term stay in the City of Dawn. Abstract I tend to write (too) long articles. This abstract gives you an overview of the content and the key messages from this blog post. Feel free to read the complete post 😊
In this article we describe Auroville both as Auroville describes itself as well as how we discovered it. The main lesson is that there is the theory, the words on the paper, and there are the facts, what we really experienced. Auroville is a concept in action, it is a living project, which is not achieved, and which is evolving. Some of the objectives are met, others are far from being met. This article is not a cold critic of Auroville, it is our personal examination of what the town aims to be, what it has achieved, which challenges it is going through. We detail our observations regarding the town’s structure and architecture, the relation to money, the relation to spirituality, and much more. We acknowledge that Auroville is a creation of people. From the initiators, the charismatic Mother and Sri Aurobindo, to the current heroes of the multiple projects in Auroville, everyone brings its stone to the edifice. Finally, Auroville is about spirituality, and one thing we cannot deny is that the city is full of vibrant energy, from the Matrimandir to the gardens, the streets, the projects’ sites, the hearts of the people… Many come to Auroville for a unique spiritual experience, all will find it! |
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