Buffalo School

[Arcadian]

I have just seen a report on Al Jazeera about a buffalo school in northeasr Thailand where they are teaching the animals ploughing and other farming skills. Very eco-friendly.

[hhfarang]

Why is this in "Digital Realm"? Are there digital buffaloes in Thailand now?

[Spitfire]

Must say that Northeast Thailand is an odd location for that "colourful" journalistic publication to focus on.

One of the things they still need buffalo for here is the growing of a vegetable crop called 'man-sam-ba-lang' (มันสำปะหลัง, I think) that they make into some kind of flour/powder for general cooking in Thai food. Once it grows then you can't use a tractor to harvest it (due to the fact that the crop will be destroyed), only buffalo. Can only use a tractor to make the long lines in the fields when you plant it at the beginning.

Some of you will have seen it on the sides of the road, green leafy plant that they grow when can't grow rice as it needs little, if any, water.

I think buffalo are also still needed in the process to produce sugar from the cane, probably also in a field process dynamics way.

[Khundon1975]

From all the stories (sick buffalo) I read, I'm surprised there is one in Thailand fit enough to pull a plough!

[PeteC]

Are you referring to this (cassava), SF? If so it's major use here is for bio fuel as well as grinding for flour. Pete

51990-anyone-for-some-cassava-maputo-mozambique.jpg (56.09 KiB) Viewed 978 times

[PeteC]

Here's the story but from the WSJ. Pete

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 96858.html

[splitlid]

i always thought that was tapioca

[PeteC]

i always thought that was tapioca

You're going to confuse everyone. Pete

http://ask.yahoo.com/20010702.html

[Nereus]

i always thought that was tapioca

Other names:

Cassava is also known as tapioca, manioc, yucca, etc. It is known as มันสัปหลัง man sapalang in Thai.

[STEVE G]

That school for kwai opened a couple of years ago when the price of diesel went through the roof but since then the price has gone down enough to keep using the two wheel tractors for ploughing.
Around my partners village water buffalo are kept for meat (the locals eat it, before you ask!) and for fertilizing fallow fields.

[Name Taken]

From all the stories (sick buffalo) I read, I'm surprised there is one in Thailand fit enough to pull a plough!

Maybe all the local government offices in Thailand could set up a special 'Sick Buffalo Fund' or something for when a buffalo gets sick. LOL