Backtrack: Don Det back to Paksong

Note: I have attempted to post this story for nearly a week. Now, I have strong enough wifi to post it.

I was tempted to travel onward through Cambodia to the islands I wanted to visit, I reversed course instead and went back toward Pakse.  My bus arrived at a nondescript station, dusty and hot, two other tourist and a crowd of Laos people.  The driver took everyone getting off the bus, only me, and directed me to the bus to Paksong.  We loaded and waited and eventually headed up to the cooler heights of Paksong.  I was the only non-Laos passenger.

Dropped on the side of the road, I found myself on a highway, not in a village.  I had the location of one guest house so thought I’d walk a couple blocks and settle in.  Over half-a-mile later, I finally came to the house.  They were located on a river which was very quiet however that was balanced by Karaoke on the other side.  My room was in the back and quiet.

He had a sign up for a coffee house that offered tours so I headed off immediately to see what they offered.  I met Tyson who has set up an NGO here to help farmers improve the quality of their crop so they can get better price for it.  And a partner of his, Michael and Rico from New Caledonia who is studying with them and going to start a business back home.

All were extremely knowledgable about coffee, beans, taste, agriculture, composting, etc, etc!  What a great experience!  I spent the rest of the day and evening with them and went to dinner.  One of those perfect coincidental experiences unfolded.  I learned a lot from them, love their energy, appreciate their patience, persistence and commitment to make a difference.  They begin building a new school this week, help villages get clean water, dig sells, offer water purification system, educate and train farmers and so much more.

Jhai is the worlds first philanthropic coffee roaster.  Check out what they do:  http://www.jhaicoffeehouse.com

The next morning I woke up early and realized an opportunity might be staring me right in the face!  Michael and Rico were going to a coffee village with garden seeds to help villagers grow their own crops.  Presently, the mostly have coffee and onions and lettuce.   I invited myself to go along, they agreed and I was off into the forest with them bouncing along on our way. What a treat.

We met with a man described as the village chief, laid out the varieties of seeds, they went through the seeds selecting what they wanted as did others who arrived later.  Michael and Rico helped them understand how to plant and care for the seeds and removed duplication so each farmer would share with others.  They now have chia seeds, amaranth, different types of corn and peppers, okra and so much more.

Photo’s of men selecting seeds:

From there, we went back to the school.  Michael and Rico had promised to get a guitar for the teacher and they gifted him with two guitars for the children.  It was Saturday and we didn’t know the kids and teachers had been waiting since that morning!  They jumped into the seed planting process with gusto.  Wednesday, Michael and Rico will go back, help them build a composting bin for them, build some raised bed gardens and teach them what to do with the seedlings once they sprout.  It was after dark when we returned to Paksong and went to dinner again.

Photo’s of us with the school children:

Enjoy!