Category: Greenspeak

Nobody Likes a Mean Duck In my early days in Bali I kept Indian Runner ducks the charming but singularly brainless species found in Balis rice fields It was my first experience keeping poultry and I soon learned that it was a fine balance between entertainment and inconvenience The ducks were too stupid to procreate They attempted to mate with other species laid eggs but never figured out how to hatch them and exhibited other behaviours not likely to increase the duck population These adventures are chronicled in the Bali Advertiser online archive for 2001 in Passion and Tragedy in the Duck Pond in case you are tempted down this path Then I moved to a piece of land on a steep heavily jungled ravine I soon learned that my new home was Predator Central Large pythons metrelong monitor lizards and luwakmusang were frequent visitors with a keen interest in my poultry I lost countless laying hens bantams Indian Runner

The Slippery Issue of Fair Trade Fish Cooperation and hard work between a wide range of players from the government in Jakarta down to the humble fishers of Maluku paid off big time last month Four fishing associations based in Buru and Ambon became the first in the world to gain Fair Trade certification for wildcaught fish Gentle Reader this would be a huge achievement for any country Indonesia as one of the biggest fish producing countries in the world should be very proud of what has been achieved in Buru and Ambon Selling fish domestically and internationally is an important component of Indonesias economy The total value of fisheries products from Indonesia exceeded US 14 billion in 2010 with tuna being a large component of this These statistics are a bit dated but give an indication of the industrys size With a 2011 total production of well over 12 million metric tons based on official statistics Ind

In Darkest DomesticaI dont do much housework in Bali I am not naturally inclined to it and besides Wayan Manis doesnt let me When I make my own bed she shakes her head and does it again with neater corners She refuses to show me how to use the new washing machine And shes been known to hide the broom on me which is inconvenient when she disappears for days to attend ceremonies Things are very different when I go to Canada to visit my 94 year old parents My father is in a care facility now and my mother still lives in their apartment with her ancient cat During my stays I wash dishes do laundry stock the freezer with nutritious meals drive between the two residences clean the cat box make beds and pick up all the bits and pieces that end up on the floor because Mama lives in a stronger field of gravity than most of us mortals Oh and secondguessing her ailments One night she was up with a dodgy tummy