Exploring in Nam Giang

'Uoi' drying outside

Today was a really good day in the field. It was full of meeting people, learning more about rattan harvesting and copious amounts of note-taking. We met the heads of a few villages, learned about how they harvest rattan, what is and is not working, what they need. We also learned a lot about another nut 'uoi'. It is available only once every 3-4 years and is worth a lot more money than things like rattan or crops like maize and rice. It makes sense now because at our last field visit one of the groups was busy collecting this and did not make it to our meeting. It seems like it does not react well to water (from a sales perspective), the collection period is short (June-July), while shaking the tree for is a good way to get it, a lot of time the tree is rather tall and cut down to get larger quantities. It seems to need shade in its younger days and then provides canopy cover. I know a lot about it, I saw it, I believe it helps with back pain, but I don't know how to spell it correctly. It is interesting because we went out to find more about rattan and instead we are back with a lot of information about 'uoi'. It seems like no training sessions, health camps etc are well-attended in this season because everyone is out to gather as much of it as they can. It makes complete sense. As one of the groups told us, rattan gatherers are among the poorest in their communities. Selling 'uoi' helps make a large amount of money but it is only once every few years. The day ended with a downpour that made the weather lovely. We then found a new local restaurant that was really nice. It had a picture of Che Guevera and I have to say this was one of the dinners I enjoyed the most, because we nerded out on discussions centering around race, discrimination, policies and more. I recognize that this is all talk and we don't necessarily achieve anything by only talking but I think it is a good platform to form my own ideas as I go along.

Coke in a bowl. First time for everything.

Say hullo to this super nice place in
Nam Giang

Look at the fancy lady and
the not so fancy man.