First Thoughts on a Nam Sabi VMA

A glimpse at Myint Myint Oo's (see Collaboration) fieldbook showing the potential layout of a Village Management Area and a basecamp outside of Nam Sabi (see Nam Sa Bi VMA, Tiger Tracks, and Stake 14). Fun to see this, because I remember the initial conversations, and the questions, and the doubts, and now the whole thing has been laid out and inventoried and has become an interesting (and hopefiully auspicious) piece of recent history for the village. [NOTE: More than you would ever want to know about the establishment of the Village Management Area at Na Sabi is contained here (CBNRM5.pdf), in the report of field activities submitted to the Myanmar Department of Forestry]. 

Measuring the Diameter of a Tree

I guess there's also a koan (see Mu) associated with this photo from the recent inventory work in the Nam Sabi Village Management Area (see VMA Inventory). How many people does it take to measure the diameter of a thin bone (Dipterocarpus sp.) tree? [NOTE: Seems a little higher than DBH to my eye, but that's not part of the koan].

Solar Home Lighting System

A  bit more about the solar system used to light the basecamp at Nam Sabi (see Basecamp). Made locally, output for three light bulbs, and apparently light enough that it could be carried with a small solar panel five miles out into the forest. Need a spot open enough for the solar panel to work; edge of the Hway Taung Kaw (Thawtan stream) worked nicely. Big step forward for fieldwork in remote areas.