Watering the Lotus

A street vendor in Hanoi waters her basket of lotus flowers (Nelumbo nucifera) and roses. [NOTE: Taken during a wonderful afternoon of just wandering around town with my camera].

Bubu Weaver

Bubus are cylindrical fish traps made by villagers at Danau Sentarum (see Danau Sentarum and Cordage) in West Kalimantan. The traps are made out of rattan, and each one requires about 500 canes.  The preferred rattan to use for bubus is Calamus schistoacanthus, or "duri antu", one of only three rattan species found in local flooded forests. The stem fiber of C. schistoacanthus is extremely tolerant of daily submersion in the lake, and a well-made bubu can last four to five years. A dedicated fisherman may have dozens of these traps. [NOTE: More about the use of rattan at Danau Sentarum can be found here].

Cigarette Roller

Every time I walked through the Belén market in Iquitos (which was a lot in the early 1980's), this lady was at her post rolling black tobacco cigarettes. I actually smoked in those days, but I was never brave enough to buy a "100 pack" from her.

These hand-rolled cigarettes were also used as "mapachos" to cast spells on people.  A shaman would put a spell on the cigarette, and the spell would be transferred by lighting the cigarette and then blowing smoke over the appropriate person. I was given three mapachos containing an "undying love" spell before traveling to  Mexico to see Elysa (we weren't married at this point). I felt a little sheepish about lighting up and blowing smoke all over her, but I thought "hey, you never know".  We've been married now for 23 years. Go figure.

Camera Shy

This little guy had good handwriting and was really careful recording the data from the forest inventory.  Very serious and focused...until he saw me with the movie camera.

Risky Business

When the riverboats ("lanchas') are docked at the Iquitos harbor, a lot of little boats converge on them to load and unload cargo. When you look down from one of the lanchas, as when I shot this picture, you appreciate how precariously these little wooden boats are wedged in between two large, extremely heavy, metal  hulls.  If another lancha arrives and tries to squeeze in to the dock, or a big wave moves through, these boats would be snapped like a breadstick. [NOTE: The lancha shown on the right with the yellow railing was called "Ferry's. It was my favorite boat to take upriver to Jenaro Herrera (see Jenaro Herrera)].

Shingle Maker

A Dayak man from the village of Ensibau in the Sanggau District of West Kalimantan splitting bolts of Dipterocarpus wood to make shingles. He is working in one of the village's many tembawangs.  I visited Ensibau in 1992 (thx, Judy), ran some inventory transects, and discovered that the village was managing over 120 tree species per hectare in their tembawangs. [NOTE: The entire State of New York contains about 150 different species of trees].

Thermos Bottles

Apropos of nothing, a diverse selection of Thermos bottles waiting to be filled outside a dormitory at Minzu University in Beijing (previously known as the Central University for Nationalities). [NOTE: At first, I thought this was a student art project].

Firewood Collectors

A group of women walking out of a forest in the Western Ghats of southwestern India with loads of firewood (and a few leafy vegetables).  Undeniably, a basic need. Indisputably, uncontrolled exploitation of a finite resoure that will ultimately be depleted. Sadly, firewood can be managed like any other forest resource.

Peat Farmer

Pak Sukri from Punggur, West Kalimantan (see String of Pearls) is one of the best farmers I have ever met.  Even more so given that he is successfully farming a substrate that agronomists will tell you is unproductive, i.e. peat soils. Deep peat soils.  Over a period of several years, he drains, compresses, and carefully burns the peat. When he has reduced the peat layer to within a meter or so of the mineral soil underneath (now enriched by the slow release of nutrients from the organic material above), he  uses double-transplanted seedlings with long roots and a 2 meter dibble stick to start planting rice.  The rice seedlings are tapping into the mineral soil; the peat simply provides support and continual moisture. I am convinced that Pak Sukri could figure out a way to farm the moon. [NOTE: Elysa worked with Pak Sukri and took this photo (thx, Elysa); pineapples, cassava, rice, coconuts, and taro are visible in his field].

Basketmaker

Nice Dayak lady from a small village in the Sanggau district of West Kalimantan sitting on the front porch of her house with an assortment of rattan baskets.  She was getting ready to go work in her rice field, which prompted me to comment on how stylishly she was dressed.  She agreed to let me take a picture after I said that. [NOTE: The red tinge on her lips is betel nut (Areca catechu), not lipstick.]