Muesli Matters.
Uniquely Yours
Ban Ko Ngiaw
Ban Ko Ngiaw is a Khamu village in the Muang Kham district of Xiang Khouang province. When compared to Ban Navene, it is a village that is well on its way: it is accessible year round (at least for motorcycles), has reliable electricity and toilet facilites, and there are nearby markets and little food stores. As the well water is not safe to drink, the majority of the households have bottled water delivered to them.
The livelihood strategies of all 62 households have drastically changed in the last ten years; their practice of traditional shifting cultivation has been completely replaced by successive monocroppings of fodder maize. Furthermore households no longer cultivate rice, padi or upland, and instead solely rely on buying their rice at the markets.
These changes have made Ban Ko Ngiaw more reliant on external market mechanisms and thus more vulnerable to price fluctuations. This is a major concern as food security is now determined by the maize harvests and prices; in the past, food security was closely tied to the seasons and availability of certain food crops, both domesticated and wild.
The adoption of maize has led to some positive impacts: in general, households now have capital assets and credit access that have led to improvements in their quality of life and agricultural inputs. However it has also had some consequences: there is a visible inequality among households in regards of material wealth, livestock ownership and land holdings. Additionally many households now face large debts, a concept which is very new.
The Project: Spoon-to-Cow
Building Livestock Capital through Cattle Investment
In many SE Asian farming systems, cattle are the equivalent to the 'Western' concept of a savings account; they are sold in times of financial hardships, i.e. to cover hospital bills, crop failure, funerals or school fees. Thus the contribution of cattle to a household's security is quite significant. Those who own cattle are much 'better off,' meaning often they own brick houses, may have a child attending boarding school or, most importantly, have food security.
The day I left, I asked Si Thong, the headman, of what he thinks would improve the lives of those in the community: ' A cattle pair for breeding and we could give the offspring to other households ' was his response.
So this is what I hope to do: through your support of Muesli Matters. (by simply enjoying delicious muesli on those wonderful sunny mornings), cattle will be purchased for Ban Ko Ngiaw. The offspring can then be 'passed on,' a concept which has been successful in many other development projects. A cow and bull pair cost
5 - 6 000 kr (7-8 million LAK) in Lao P.D.R; a hefty sum especially for such resource-poor farmers..
