THE BEAUTY OF THE LOTUS – A SACRED FLOWER

The rains brought their challenges, but also brought beauty. The grasses are growing and the trees that we planted earlier in the year are beginning to take root. Of particular joy is the way that the lotus has flourished. Under the guidance of P’Jinda  we planted pink and white lotus plants in the ponds at Ban Ton Sae to enhance the environment making it a very Thai experience.

The lotus (bua in Thai) is important in the everyday life of the Thai people and is the traditional flower of Buddhism. Legend has it that when the Lord Buddha took his first steps, lotus blooms opened up to cushion the soles of his feet. With its roots in the mud, the plant rises above the dirty water to yield a flower of perfect beauty and purity. Indeed, for Buddhists, the flower stands for pureness of spirit and the flowers are widely used as offerings at shrines, in spirit houses and in the temple.

However, the lotus has many other uses. The roots, petals and stamens of some varieties are used by herbalists to treat a variety of complaints from fainting attacks to acne, and from the lowering of blood cholesterol to stomach upsets.  In fact, most of the lotus plant is edible. Some people will eat the raw seeds, others might boil up the dried seeds in syrup as a popular drink; moreover, the roots can be mixed with pork to make a delicious soup, and the leaves and stems of some species can be used in salads. The leaves are also used to wrap steamed rice, giving it a mild lotus fragrance; when fresh, the lotus leaves are useful as (biodegradable) wrappers. In the old days, dried lotus petals were used to roll cigarettes.

The lotus is undeniably beautiful and adds charm to the surroundings. We want the lotus to be visible part of our Thai world at Ban Ton Sae, where the Thai culture must never be forgotten.

PALM OIL – IT MUST BE SUSTAINABLE

For several decades, palm oil cultivation on a commercial scale in some south-east Asian countries has resulted in a very serious impact on the natural environment, causing widespread deforestation and loss of natural habitat and threatening critically endangered species such as the Asian elephant, orangutan, Sumatran tiger, gibbons, hornbills, and other organisms that are trying to survive in the wild.

Oil palms have been harvested by humans for over 5,000 years and palm oil has even been found in a tomb in Ancient Egypt dating back to 3,000 BC. But it was in the 19th century that palm oil suddenly became widely used in Europe and America as an industrial lubricant and cooking oil, and as the basis of many famous household products ranging from soap and toothpaste to ink and pizza dough. The oil comes from the red pulp of the fruits which are small and oval and grow in clusters of several hundred, close to the trunk on short heavy stalks. The fruit is black and red when ripe, and is fibrous and oily around a white kernel that is also rich in oils.

Because the oil palm trees produce fruit continuously throughout the year, with new bunches ripening each month, the fruit is always in season. A very sharp knife is used to cut off the fruit bunches. As the tree grows, it develops a very thick, distinctive scaly trunk, and large spreading crowns.

Nowadays in Thailand most of the oil palms are cultivated on smallholdings that practice sustainable cultivation. The picture is not so rosy in some other countries but at last big companies are coming under a lot of international pressure to ensure their palm oil production is sustainable. In some places, farmers, whose lives depend on the crops, will try to discourage elephants from eating their plantations and in extreme cases may even try to poison them.

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