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Awa Shuen

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2 minutes ago, Awa Shuen said:

  I always believe bug is the future protein for human being...

I would agree with that...as long as there is a future, and that mostly depends on a bunch of crazy guys on the other side of the world...

 

Having said that, don't expect to change their minds.

Thais are mostly into copying each other, and not into listening to foreigners' advices!

If someone started farming insects with success in their area, then other similar farms would sprout like mushrooms.

 

The other problem is that I am not sure whether there is a significant market for that, at least in Thailand.

 

There used to be a so-called "lao market" in Sisaket, close to the border with Ubon, where you could buy all kinds of insects (alive!), but the sellers progressively changed their products and replaced them by the terrible snack-crap that are sold everywhere, with much more sugar than protein, which probably helps explaining the growing obesity problems seen around...

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ToGood luck on your visit.  I hope all goes well.   I envision ending up somewhere in Thailand but not sure about being so remote.    

They usually cut rubber trees at night because that's when the sap flows I think.  Collect the cup rubber the next day.  They don't cut every day.  

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7 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

I would agree with that...as long as there is a future, and that mostly depends on a bunch of crazy guys on the other side of the world...

 

Having said that, don't expect to change their minds.

Thais are mostly into copying each other, and not into listening to foreigners' advices!

If someone started farming insects with success in their area, then other similar farms would sprout like mushrooms.

 

The other problem is that I am not sure whether there is a significant market for that, at least in Thailand.

 

There used to be a so-called "lao market" in Sisaket, close to the border with Ubon, where you could buy all kinds of insects (alive!), but the sellers progressively changed their products and replaced them by the terrible snack-crap that are sold everywhere, with much more sugar than protein, which probably helps explaining the growing obesity problems seen around...

Ya she told me the same, we even had a small fight about the bugs farm thing, she said I never work in farm and I don't know anything so better don't insist to convince that. So I shut up and do my own research and study. I really can't stand to see the premature death of their pigs so often, not even count the disease outbreak. If do bugs, I believe the investment / risk can be smaller. (I guess)

 

like you said, the 2nd majoy problem is looking for market..... indeed selling to local markets or nearby is doable, but I'm thinking if I could sell it online..... with a nice packaging and stuff. Maybe I take it too simple but just wonder if the possibility is there..... really a tough question.

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I built a house for a girl (30 years old now) near this area....... about 15 Kilo east of Kantaralak and about 15 kilo from the Cambodian border (and the Buddhist temple which is disputed by Cambodia and Thailand) (Many Thai Army camps in the area)......

We could possibly be neighbors.............. I live in the USA but go to Thailand every other month...........  and I go to Kantharalak about once a year now. 

I will store this post so I may make contact with some of you posters in the future........... I might mention that there are 'rooms for rent' (in the region) for about 400 Baht a night with Air Con and WiFi until you get the services you need....... 

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3 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

With regards to bugs, those who produce silk are quite interesting.

They eat only leaves from mulberry trees...thus you can keep the mulberries for yourself.

They produce silk which can be sold at a high price.

Once their work finished, they are considered as a delicacy and can also be sold, dead, at a good price.

But all that requires a lot of work...I know...I have the mulberry trees, my wife's mother deals with the silk and then ships the dead insects to faraway people waiting for their dessert!

Ya I read about silk worm here too, another interesting study I'm doing to look at. But no idea how to process the silk... it's ok i will figure it out someday.
Forgot where I heard from but some said the cricket selling price is doing down (so as many other stuff, like pork). My gf is pissed off about the buyers keep lowering their price but in supermarket the pork price never change. Last month the middle person from the buyer tried to scam them saying their pigs are not healthy and so, just want to pay her family less AFTER he already took the pigs away.... My gf called that guy saying if you don't give them back the original deal then just meet up at police station.... luckily they get back the original price.

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27 minutes ago, Awa Shuen said:

Ya I read about silk worm here too, another interesting study I'm doing to look at. But no idea how to process the silk... it's ok i will figure it out someday.
Forgot where I heard from but some said the cricket selling price is doing down (so as many other stuff, like pork). My gf is pissed off about the buyers keep lowering their price but in supermarket the pork price never change. Last month the middle person from the buyer tried to scam them saying their pigs are not healthy and so, just want to pay her family less AFTER he already took the pigs away.... My gf called that guy saying if you don't give them back the original deal then just meet up at police station.... luckily they get back the original price.

Same everywhere...farmers are being ripped off by middlemen, yet they keep working with them!

What's true for meat is also true for fruits, vegetables and everything else!

Prices are always down for the middlemen and up in the shops!

 

The problem is that instead of working together (cooperate), small farmers compete with each other (basically they are jealous of each other, or worse), thus playing into the hands of middlemen.

 

I have tried countless times to explain, with no success, that one member of the village should act as middleman for all the farmers, while one or a few others would do the selling at the market, thus sharing the profits between themselves...but this seems too complicated...better work under the sun for peanuts while the crook who is driving around in his pick-up collects the profits!

 

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10 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

Same everywhere...farmers are being ripped off by middlemen, yet they keep working with them!

What's true for meat is also true for fruits, vegetables and everything else!

Prices are always down for the middlemen and up in the shops!

 

The problem is that instead of working together (cooperate), small farmers compete with each other (basically they are jealous of each other, or worse), thus playing into the hands of middlemen.

 

I have tried countless times to explain, with no success, that one member of the village should act as middleman for all the farmers, while one or a few others would do the selling at the market, thus sharing the profits between themselves...but this seems too complicated...better work under the sun for peanuts while the crook who is driving around in his pick-up collects the profits!

 

Hmmm ya they are quite stubborn on some matters, but eventually she will listen to me when I gone mad. Maybe I'm a chinese, I can't be so patience and gentle to convince my gf/wife over and over again. 

 

All I want is get rid of those middlemen and find a way out to sell the stuff..... so her family can have a more fair deal, the money ain't go into my pocket anyway but I just don't like to see them got ripped off.

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1 hour ago, Awa Shuen said:

Hmmm ya they are quite stubborn on some matters, but eventually she will listen to me when I gone mad. Maybe I'm a chinese, I can't be so patience and gentle to convince my gf/wife over and over again. 

 

All I want is get rid of those middlemen and find a way out to sell the stuff..... so her family can have a more fair deal, the money ain't go into my pocket anyway but I just don't like to see them got ripped off.

May you live in interesting times. 

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I worry the op will be frustrated in the up country.   He is Young and full of gusto.   Reminds me of myself 30 years ago.    Change is so slow in Thailand.   

As for insects.   It seems like such a low initial cost of entry thing.  Means many competitors.   I tried fried insects but I don't like them.  Maybe if I was starving and poor.  I know they are good protein and environmentally friendly.   I go to many markets in Thailand.  It's one of my favorite things.  Much better than another temple.   I see insects piled up high and not much traffic at these vendors.    I see lines at the sugar sellers-- ice cream, crepes, some snack where they pour liquid nitrogen over them so they are putting off a fog as they serve them.   

Insects have not become popular in the US.  

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1 hour ago, Elkski said:

I worry the op will be frustrated in the up country.   He is Young and full of gusto.   Reminds me of myself 30 years ago.    Change is so slow in Thailand.   

Change is slow and Thais often don t welcome new or different ideas.  After HK anywhere will seem dead quiet but that is part of what I love about my little village.  

 

As for the bugs, Isaan loves it's bugs. My mother in law has them with most lunchs and dinners.  Silk worm are ok, most of the bugs I need to be drinking a bit before I start eating but ant eggs are delicious.  Roughly 3/4 of the world's population eats bugs.  https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/bugs-for-dinner

 

I wouldn t choose the cuts of meat that most Isaan people prefer but food is tied to heritage and Isaan people  have a history of hard life.  My people were slaves she tells me and pigs ear barbequed and sliced into narrow strips does taste like pork jerky. 

 

Good luck to you, with an open mind and a young back, the world is your oyster.  A delicacy on ranches in western Canada and the US is prairie oysters.  try them some time. 

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Plenty of computer stores in Thailand and routers.   Just don't advertise that you do work in Thailand even online.   There are work permit and tax issues.  I don't know all but I'm concerned about this for myself as you can be deported immediately.      It will be interesting to hear how you like your trip.    I think I enjoy up country more than BKK but I'm not sure about 1:15 mins from ubon ratchathani.  Or  major city.   

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4 hours ago, Awa Shuen said:

 

Thanks Elkski your concerned, I know i'm still young so whatever i saied is just too early for now. All the time I'm keep thinking if i'm really suitable to live in a super village life...... so much stuff I need to face to, not easy to get any modern stuff, like if my computer is broken, where the hell I can go fix it? where to buy a router.... etc. I will be VERY VERY READY before I move to there. More, i won't expect much (but I'm a very simple man, I born in a wrong country, HK is too much for everything), i think the thing bother me the most is the computer stuff, but worst case i just fly back to HK and buy everything i need then come back. other than that, I can pop back to the field and help her family on the farm. In HK computer-related work is my primary, but if I move to there, it will be just a secondary job. I know the life will be huge difference but I'm a very active person so I guess I'm ok with all those physical work. To me, i preferred physical work then brain work, I used my brain too damn much,  I hate to hear "Awa give me a design of this and that" with no reference and instruction. in farm, weather control your outcome, but at least, you get what you work at, on a proportionally scale. in HK, i work like a fxxk , they make good profit from my work but pay me a little (ok its not only in HK, I mean generally we called it capitalism), labours are cheap assets. My mom sent me to AU spent so much on me just hope I can get a better job for living, but I don't get a fair living. This place has some problem, if you google it, HK is not a place for human being, but a heaven for bankers. All expats working in hk, only a few jobs they can do: English teacher, investment consultant(banker), thats all.

When I look at thailand, I just need to figure out how I can maintain my current work + the farm work and study, earn cheap but spend cheap, I think I'm kinda rough guy (never buy new clothes or smartphone), thats why i want to move to a jungle (Srisaket, LOL).

Although I have a great passsion to ready for this, probably after the visit next week, I come back here and crying to your guys "EHHH damn i better stay in HK" LOL. Let's see, I don't want to be too confident to something I never tired. i already assume Issan maybe a very shitty place for me, but I also be ready to adapt to it coz I don't believe anywhere can be worse than HK (I think you guys know what I mean, good or bad doesn't related to the country is developed or not, South Korean is well developed but they have the highest suicide rate, so you know my definition). A city with no soul and future.

Tonight I just dinner with my mom, she said pretty much the same thing like you guys, and more she missed me she don't want me to leave to a far place, all I can do is telling her thai is not far from HK so I can come back anytime, she never been to other country but keeps telling me thailand is not cool like I think, mom I know its not cool, but HK is even worse, Hk is part of China now. British forgot us already.

You will find most of everything you might need (computer, doctor, dentist...) in Ubon city, not in Sisaket city however...there is a big difference in development and wealth between both cities.

 

As far as living in a remote village is concerned, it is first and foremost a matter of taste and personality.

I visited Hong Kong, which I hated like I hated Monaco, because I don't feel good in a concrete jungle.

But for other people, it is the opposite...they hate nature.

 

By the way, you will see that most Isaan villagers are not nature friendly at all: they use massive quantities of pesticides, fertilizers, cut trees without replacing them and kill all the wild animals they can, and would gladly cover most of the land with cement.

 

While in Kantharalak, you might enjoy to visit the Asoke Community which is still living in the traditional Thai way, while being much more productive than the farmers around.

 

Your capacity to live and stay in an Isaan village will depend on how much you can live alone...I personaly spend months at a time without speaking to a foreigner, since there are none in my area...and that doesn't bother me, I never think about it.

 

Yet, do not expect to have with local villagers the kind of conversation you can have in Hong Kong, not only because of the language, but mostly because of the content which may seem rather childish to many foreigners...for example, they will talk for hours about the lottery results, twice a month, and how they played number 47 while the winning number was 57, which was not so far...then they will move on to the ghost that a neighbor just saw last night, and so on.

 

 

 

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You will find most of everything you might need (computer, doctor, dentist...) in Ubon city, not in Sisaket city however...there is a big difference in development and wealth between both cities.

 

As far as living in a remote village is concerned, it is first and foremost a matter of taste and personality.

I visited Hong Kong, which I hated like I hated Monaco, because I don't feel good in a concrete jungle.

But for other people, it is the opposite...they hate nature.

 

By the way, you will see that most Isaan villagers are not nature friendly at all: they use massive quantities of pesticides, fertilizers, cut trees without replacing them and kill all the wild animals they can, and would gladly cover most of the land with cement.

 

While in Kantharalak, you might enjoy to visit the Asoke Community which is still living in the traditional Thai way, while being much more productive than the farmers around.

 

Your capacity to live and stay in an Isaan village will depend on how much you can live alone...I personaly spend months at a time without speaking to a foreigner, since there are none in my area...and that doesn't bother me, I never think about it.

 

Yet, do not expect to have with local villagers the kind of conversation you can have in Hong Kong, not only because of the language, but mostly because of the content which may seem rather childish to many foreigners...for example, they will talk for hours about the lottery results, twice a month, and how they played number 47 while the winning number was 57, which was not so far...then they will move on to the ghost that a neighbor just saw last night, and so on.

 

 

 

So true. I always say, when they are not eating, they are talking about eating!

OP, don’t worry about being without essentials in SSK/Ubon.

Things are moving fast and most things are available in shops or by online purchasing. Things that are not, can be sent from Bangkok in a day or 2. It might take you a while to adapt but it’s not impossible. Just go with the flow and keep a very ‘tight reign’ on your finances, is my recommendation. Beware of the ‘get rich quick’ schemes as something that seems too good to be true usually isn’t.

 

 

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I’m an occasional visitor to Kantharalak and it’s hinterland. I’ve enjoyed reading the contributions here and the good humour of Awa and the commenters. 

 

I hadnt heard of the Asoke Community in the Kantharalak area. Is it easy to find when you’re there?

 

cheers all

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Oh ya...... lottery again.
Seems it's a big thing to them, they talk about it all the time. Always come ask me HEY AWA GIVE ME A NUMBER. Luckily my gf doesn't really into it, she buys lottery sometime but just buy it then leave it and never talk about it.
 
I don't talk so much with people but indeed I need friends sometime. Thats why I join this forum ;-)
It's cool to make friend with Isaan locals but all we know its not so easy.
 
DILLIGAD yes I will keep a very "tight reign" on my money. Once I moved to there I won't make as much money as now.
 
Good to hear I get get most of the modern stuff from Ubon, silly me just worry too much.... 2 more days later I will be in Srisaket and feel the place.
 
 

As already said pop in to met Norbert at Pizza4u, Kanthralak or Frank in Living in the past,SSK and they will both help you, I’m sure (as would ‘Bergan’who posted above)


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9 minutes ago, Ashto said:

 

 

I hadnt heard of the Asoke Community in the Kantharalak area. Is it easy to find when you’re there?

It is easy to find as long as you are on the right road, the 221.

 

From the road 24, you turn left or right (depending on where you come from) to join road 221 in direction to Kantharalak city.

 

Then you drive about 10km and you will find the main entrance to the community on the right side...there is a big sign...along with the supermarket where they sell parts of their products.

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12 minutes ago, DILLIGAD said:


As already said pop in to met Norbert at Pizza4u, Kanthralak or Frank in Living in the past,SSK and they will both help you, I’m sure (as would ‘Bergan’who posted above)


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If you mean me, - not Bergan - you assume right!

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On 2/7/2018 at 7:02 PM, Awa Shuen said:

Her village name is Kantaraluk (maybe wrong spelled...), really no idea where it is, but we found her sister's house nearby on Google map.

Screen Shot 2017-07-07 at 7.21.02 PM.png

Kantharalak i one of the biggest districts from Sisaket and  about 65 Km from Sisaket town. Internet is not a big problem for more info drop in to Pizza4you, Mr. Norbert. The best pizza in a circle from 100 km

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5 hours ago, Brunolem said:

You will find most of everything you might need (computer, doctor, dentist...) in Ubon city, not in Sisaket city however...there is a big difference in development and wealth between both cities.

 

As far as living in a remote village is concerned, it is first and foremost a matter of taste and personality.

I visited Hong Kong, which I hated like I hated Monaco, because I don't feel good in a concrete jungle.

But for other people, it is the opposite...they hate nature.

 

By the way, you will see that most Isaan villagers are not nature friendly at all: they use massive quantities of pesticides, fertilizers, cut trees without replacing them and kill all the wild animals they can, and would gladly cover most of the land with cement.

 

While in Kantharalak, you might enjoy to visit the Asoke Community which is still living in the traditional Thai way, while being much more productive than the farmers around.

 

Your capacity to live and stay in an Isaan village will depend on how much you can live alone...I personaly spend months at a time without speaking to a foreigner, since there are none in my area...and that doesn't bother me, I never think about it.

 

Yet, do not expect to have with local villagers the kind of conversation you can have in Hong Kong, not only because of the language, but mostly because of the content which may seem rather childish to many foreigners...for example, they will talk for hours about the lottery results, twice a month, and how they played number 47 while the winning number was 57, which was not so far...then they will move on to the ghost that a neighbor just saw last night, and so on.

 

 

 

I'm not sure what time you been in Sisaket ? I live here for nearly 20 years and I have no idea what you couldn't find in Sisaket (computer, doctor, dentist...). All we need is available here and some of our specialists get their patients tranfered from Ubon to Sisaket Including eye specialists and eye clinic in Goverment Hospital.

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25 minutes ago, fishbone said:

I'm not sure what time you been in Sisaket ? I live here for nearly 20 years and I have no idea what you couldn't find in Sisaket (computer, doctor, dentist...). All we need is available here and some of our specialists get their patients tranfered from Ubon to Sisaket Including eye specialists and eye clinic in Goverment Hospital.

I don't know much about public hospitals, which I don't use for myself...so I cannot comment on that.

 

For the rest, I would say that looking for something is generally more easy in Ubon than in Sisaket, especially for someone used to big city life.

 

Ubon has its shopping centers, like Central or Sunny, with floors dedicated to all things electronics, which makes it easier for prospective customers, than roaming the city streets in search of a small shop here or a small shop there.

 

On top of that, as was mentioned by a member above, in Sisaket city one has to deal with a rather heavy traffic in narrow streets, and few parking places,...for drivers, Ubon is also more convenient...

 

 

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8 minutes ago, DILLIGAD said:


Oops, sorry my Viking friend, it’s been a while!
Dave.


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Maybe he lives inside Srisaket city but didn't know I'm going into a jungle.... but that's ok his info comforts me, I don't need to worry about getting modern stuff at there.

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Maybe he lives inside Srisaket city but didn't know I'm going into a jungle.... but that's ok his info comforts me, I don't need to worry about getting modern stuff at there.

No, the opposite, mate. He’s resort is out in the countryside near the disputed (Thai/Cambodian) temple


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