Two more chance meetings

It might seem like a long time to hang out in one place, but one thing that happens is that you end up meeting very interesting people. Two such folks reminded me that the Laos' National Protected Area system is very young compared to the villages that live within these areas. So for the government to tell villagers to stop their centuries' old practices of hunting, fishing and logging the land is not only impracticable for civil servants, and, were this place a real democracy, career limiting, it also finds company in the Victorian era Enclosure Laws of British India.

The US' own track record with the native americans in our new National Parks, including Yosemite, is not much better.

The problem with hunting and gathering is when it starts to go beyond the carrying capacity of the land. And this can happen when we move from being sustenance- to market-based. If you're from a village and never had to worry about over-fishing, or did not develop a culture of restricting catches or logging, you suddenly might realize you can earn money by hunting and fishing more. (Or all those trees? Who's gonna miss a few...dozen, score, hundred... trucks of logs... er, is that what all the truck traffic is before dawn...?)

Then you might be asked, well why do you want money? as a villager all your basic needs have been met: food, water, shelter, your family. Well, TV. Suddenly, it seems interesting to save up for a moto. Or a radio. Or cheese pizza. That's something worth getting that extra frog to the market, isn't it?

How did you get the TV? Well, we got hydroelectric power, and since last year now we have electricity, and so... we have a TV... like everyone else in the village.

And maybe with those things to buy, you'll be willing to work a little in town, or at M's eco-lodge (yay!). You'll forget where the best fishing spots are, or how to properly thresh rice, cuz you'll be busy working but you can always buy fish using that money you're earning doing something else than fishing or hunting or hanging out.

M rues the day that villagers come seeking jobs at Kingfisher because they were raised on Thai television commercials.