Food

Edible Earth from a Mountain

I arrived at place that has a mountain with the edible earth. I found that the wonderful mountain earth is eaten by PaOh ethnic elders especially for women and pregnant women. They often eat the edible earth in two ways; first is fresh earth and second is baking the earth. Usually they put the edible earth in the traditional oven to have a good smell and better taste. They believe that it is good for their health and it helps for pregnant women to get their energy. Nowadays most of young generations don't know about the edible earth.

Tea Picking (Harvesting)

Tea trees are kept small by tea growers and are evergreen throughout the seasons. In their natural state, they can grow to be up to 30ft tall. However, tea growers keep their tea tress to within 4-5ft in height. This ensures that the tea trunk remains thick and encourages more leaf and branch growth. Tea growers do so to get as much leaves as possible from their trees as the leaves are the sole product of tea trees. Keeping the tea trees short makes tea harvest easier to harvest. 

Traditional Old Tea Tree

Tea cultivation is one of the main rural livelihoods seen in Kyaukme Township, Northern Shan State. It can be seen in the many hills around the area. In Kyaukme Township, tea plants have been cultivated naturally for many years. Botanically speaking, tea belongs to the genus Camellia, species Thea and family Theaceae. Tea is a perennial crop. Most tea plants are not allowed to grow more than 3 feet high. This is because tea cultivators prefer to keep the plant low as it is difficult to pick tea leaves when the tree is tall.

Tabaski Twenty Twenty (2)

The first activity on the feast day tabaski is group prayer in the public squares. Otherwise it will led in the mosques by the Imams who will be the first to slaughter their animals. After the immolation of the Imams from each zone, the rest of the community starts to slaughter their animal. Following the mechanical skinning of the animals, the meat is distributed at three levels: firstly, the share of the disadvantaged first, then the next of kin and the third part is for the family. This meat is consumed in different dishes, at least within the families.

Tabaski Twenty Twenty (1)

The feast of Aîd El Kébir or tabaski is a Muslim feast. It involves prayers and the slaughter of animals (preferably sheep). This year, it coincided with the Covid 19 pandemic and its consequences. This explained the soaring prices of sheep in the market. The animals were exposed in the parks and on the streets to customers. The prices varied between sixty thousand (60,000 F cfa) to four hundred thousand (400,000 F cfa and up). Because of the high price of sheep, within twenty-four hours (24 hours) of the event, some Muslims could not have the sheep of their choice.

Practice for High Quality

The first step in making steamed, pickled tea the traditional way is to evenly lay out the tea leaves on a reed or bamboo mat. Next, the tea is rolled out by hand. This is done by placing both hands side by side and gently pressing down on the tea leaves with the lower palm of both hands.The steady back and forth motion of the slowly rolls the tea leaves. More and more pressure is added as the tea leaves begin to roll and curl up. This process takes about 15 minutes. Locals may use tea rolling machines if they are available. 

Traditional Soybean Cury

Famous Traditional PaOh Soybean Cury

This one of the most famous traditonal foods in our country, Myanmar, especially in Southern Shan State.

The PaOh ethnic group has been used to this kind of food since their ancestors. Soybean cury and the PaOh ethnic people are inseparable from their society.

They always use every ingredient (soybean, chilli, salt, tomato, peanut oil) in these foods from their local resources without buying from outsides.

Problem of Yellow Color (Dye)

This report released by the Ministry of Health states their persistent monitoring and testing of food products to ensure health safety and promote the well-being of citizens. It further explains that on lab examinations, 43 brands of tea (pickled) on the Myanmar market contained significant traces of Auramine O. Auramine O is a diarylmethane dye used in fabric coloring processes and despite lacking any immediate affect on consumer health, is hazardous and harmful to the kidneys and liver, therefore unsuitable for consumption.

Woman Led Self-Reliance Family

Woman Led Self-Reliance Family

I would like to share something with you about an ethnic Lahu family in Southern Shan State, Myanmar. This is a women-led family and they are relying on their own farm for their family foods and income generation. She is Daw Thida Aung with 52 years old and her husband is a religious leader. The family consists of four family members with her husband, a daughter and son.

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