Spanish conquerors encountering tomato in Central America in the 15th century thought the suspicious-looking berries must be poisonous. Five centuries later, a Hmong woman in the northern uplands of Vietnam was equally suspicious of the tomato plants in her backyard garden. Never having eaten tomato before, she thought the fruit was sour and malodorous at first. The plants were introduced as part of a pilot to test improved home gardens for isolated communities of ethnic minorities in the northern uplands of Vietnam. Hmong ethnic people typically live in remote areas with limited market … [Read more...]
The Hills Are Coming to Life in Vietnam
For agroforesters, there is nothing more refreshing than seeing a hill covered with trees interplanted with crops. For agroforesters concerned with livelihoods, health and nutrition, there is nothing sweeter than seeing a hill covered with fruit trees and nutritious vegetables. Both these cases applied to me when I recently visited Humidtropics' sites in Son La Province of Northwest Vietnam. The primary purpose of my visit on June 15–17, 2015, was to represent the East and Central Asia Region, and the Thailand and Vietnam country programs of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) at … [Read more...]
An Environmentally-Friendly Innovation Turns Maize Residue into Fertilizer in Thailand
Humidtropics researchers and partners from Chiang Mai University (CMU) and Chulalongkorn University (CU) in Northern Thailand are testing a more environmentally-friendly method to process maize residue. Driven by the Humidtropics Research for Development (R4D) Platform in Nan, Thailand, this initiative is part of a project aiming to improve natural resource management. Towards the end of the dry season, Northern Thailand was covered with thick smoke originating from fires all over the area and the neighbouring countries. The smoke is partially from forest fires, but also originates from … [Read more...]