Blog Post #12 - Top Style Picks in Laos

Halloween may have just ended (on my side of the world), but the people of Laos show no signs of slowing down with the fashion and style.....myself included.

Here I am dressed as a Retro Wizard for Halloween....whatever that means

This guy was a wizard making Pho, so I let him try on the outfit as well

But more on the fashion around Laos that gives me my inspiration....

When the city has an 'official' embassy for wellness, hair and nails, you know the city's style must be on another level

Obviously the guys at the Laos hot springs went to the embassy for their passports....tightie whities and track suit

Where can I find this temple?!

Mr. Oven BAKING that hair into perfection

Complement your delicious new hair cut with a legit-looking
Canada Goose jacket at the night market.....

I still lag far behind most international fashion standards....maybe I should just stick to organic certification

My cargo pants unzip at the knee to reveal cargo shorts....WOW

And if my pant shorts were not fashionable enough, I found this meme about fashionable "shoes"

Almost as cool, but just a bit more airflow
Someone is in for a surprise 

To add to the COOL style, I even have a pair of magnetic snap-on sunglasses....

Girls love hearing the sound of the SNAP

Blog Post #11 - Business Planning for Rice Export

As we continue to conduct research and meet with various stakeholders, we have begun drafting a set of questions that we will need to address in our final business plan.

Although a small group of farmers are already part of organic initiatives across five districts of Xieng Khouang Province, the organization is still very grassroots and many decisions must be made. Although a daunting task, this greenfield business planning is extremely exciting!

The organization will face many roadblocks in the months and years to come, but I hope as its Business and Supply Chain Adviser, I can point them in the right direction and prepare them for the challenges and hard decisions to come.

Here is a snapshot of some business plan brainstorming, supported by research and case study success stories:

• What criteria should be used to select farmers for participation in the pilot? (high potential farmers to become early adopters for word-of-mouth village promotion and scalability)

• How should training be facilitated (e.g. ‘train the trainer’ vs. direct to farmer)

• How do we complement training with a productivity enhancing technology?

Initial observations suggest opportunities for technology improvements

• How can we share in-house expertise and simultaneously strengthen relationships with farmers? How can the expertise be tailored to be specific for the unique needs of the farmers (e.g. quality of village infrastructure, irrigation availability, rice paddy plot size, proximity to market, labour availability, etc.)

• How do we build & maintain farmer loyalty to ensure ongoing participation in the organic program?

Happy farmers!

• How do we ensure that we are not proposing farmers commit to a long-term engagement with limited options for reversibility?

• How can materials and technology be standardized to reduce farm input costs, and improve yield quality & growing / harvest efficiency?

Labour availability can be a significant challenge hindering quick harvest

• Will loans need to be provided to farmers to support organic conversion? If so, how can loan structures be established to reduce the likelihood of default?

• How should the team be structured (e.g. FTEs dedicated to innovation / R&D, farmer satisfaction, regular operations, etc.)?

• How do we make the organization less & less reliant on grants for its operations?

• How do we improve the capacity of the organization to vertically integrate and offer more value-add services to farmers (beyond just acting as a middle-man collector)?

• How can the organization achieve revenue diversification (e.g. sale of final KKN product, seed bank, buffalo bank, agriculture expertise / consulting services, equipment sales, etc.)

The farmers also work to diversify revenue.
Here a young lady is making a beautifully embroidered sinh skirt

• Where can the rice be milled if existing mills in Laos do not have the advanced technology for <5% broken rice quality expectations?

• Where is the international market for sticky rice? Could further processing of the rice be an option? (****this is where I want your help****share your thoughts****)

• How do we evaluate available ports for export (Thailand vs. Vietnam)?

• What key performance measures and targets will be used to evaluate initiative success?

• How do we work with the Lao PDR government to make this business a shared success story?

The government is an important stakeholder

Stay tuned in the coming weeks as I share some case study success stories. As always connect if you have any questions or insight that can help further develop the business plans.

Never lose sight of the people you are working hard to support

Blog Post #10 - Meeting in Laos

We have all been in a meeting or classroom at which some point we start to doze off. Either lack of sleep (or too many beverages) the night before, boring subject material, or in my most recent case, absolutely no English being spoken.

Now, I have sat through many meetings where I really have no idea what is going on. Actually it happens quite often back home, but at least in those meetings I speak the language. Throw out a fancy supply chain buzzword like "velocity-based storage" and you are good to stay silent for the rest of the meeting (as the rest of the group scratches their heads puzzled).

"Velocity-based storage" will make even the most seasoned warehouse expert warm on the inside

But when the only supply chain buzzwords you know in Laos are "I would like my noodles with chicken and not spicy," its a little more difficult to provide meaningful contributions. So when I ran out of important things to say in Laos shortly after the start of the meeting and all the introductions (making sure to save the rest of my Laos for lunch soon to come), I was bound to start dozing off.

The voices sounded like my apartment ceiling fan. A soothing white noise that no doubt required more than just 3-in-1 coffee to fight back the closing eye lids. I tried hard to stay upright, smiling to myself and laughing when other people laughed, but the pressure was too great and I soon fell asleep.

My colleague captured the moment I went 'dead' in the meeting

I awoke to some commotion maybe 45 minutes later. We had a break! I grabbed some more sugar water. I now had the energy to continue smiling to myself. I was definitely looking forward to the next quarter, third or half of the meeting. Obviously I did not know what point in the presentation we were at, but I was sure there was only more excitement to come.

Lunch was soon around the corner. Too much later and the sugar water would have lost its effect. I was back to speaking full Laos in conversations. They were very impressed..... What can I say, "noddle soup with chicken" is a damn fine dish.

Velocity-based storage....with extra chicken

Blog Post #9 - Unexploded Ordinance (UXO) in Laos

Before arriving in Laos, I was unaware of the impact war has had in the country's history. (Almost) everyone is aware of the devastation the Vietnam War had in Vietnam, but few are aware that in addition to fighting the Viet Cong, the Americans were also fighting communist forces in Laos. A secret war raged in Laos, characterized by unprecedented bombing by US Forces, because the Ho Chi Minh trail crossed borders. 

Did you know....?

• More bombs were dropped in Laos than all of Europe in World War II

The ancient Plains of Jars...broken

Evidence of the destruction is everywhere.
Here is an old hospital

• There were 580,000 bombing missions — equivalent to a planeload of bombs every 8 minutes, 24-hours a day, for 9 years

The large patch of red in the north is concentrated in Xieng Khouang province

• Laos is the most heavily bombed country per capita in history (seven bombs for every man, woman and child living in Laos)

Remnants of the intense bombing are visible across Xieng Khouang province, given its proximity to Vietnam
(you can only imagine the size of the bombs by standing inside a crater)

• In the Tham Piu Cave alone, at least 374 villagers were killed by a single rocket. They were trying to escape from the constant bombardment happening in their backyards, rice fields, hospitals and schools

A monument very important to the Lao people

The cave entrance can be seen top right

A somber experience to say the least

• Laos Communist forces could only defend themselves with pretty rudimentary trenches dug into the sides of mountains

•  They had to take cover from 260 million cluster bombs — of which at least 30% did not explode 

Bottom of the picture you can make out the bomb shell with the cluster bombs inside

• To-date less than 1 percent of the UXOs have been cleared 

The tourists are lucky to have these markers to indicate where you can and cannot step
....even kids in schools are not so lucky

• There are at least 50 - 300 new casualties in Laos every year AND the war ended almost 50 YEARS AGO! 40% of the victims are children

The Quality of Life Association is working hard to give hope & support to UXO victims.
I bought one of their laptop bags, handcrafted by victims & their families

• Obama has recently pledged $90-million to help with clearing efforts. Despite the kind gesture, when you put that number into perspective, it is a tiny amount of money. I have read that in 2014, the US was spending at least $7.5-million per day on bombing in Iraq (that number may have risen given increased activity in the area)

Remember that the victims of war are always those most helpless

• But despite all the hardship, the strength of the Laos people is evident. All you have to do is look at local villages and businesses, where they have creatively used many of the bomb shells.

A restaurant called Craters in Phone Savan

Village rice mill supported by the casings....only in Laos

I hope this post provokes everyone to think more about the impact of war, its victims and the refugees that are created as a result. The greatness of a country is not found in the strength of its army. The schoolyard bully is the strongest. Instead the values and principles of its people make it great, especially when helping people in their time of most desperate need.

Blog Post #8 - Xieng Khouang Province Field Visit

Last week we had the opportunity to conduct a field visit to the Xieng Khouang province of northern Laos. 

We took a 30-minute flight from Vientiane (versus a 10-hour bus trip twisting through mountain roads) saving me from the certainty of road sickness.

There is only one flight from this airport each day

Our project intends to develop a business plan and supply chain for the export of organic Khao Kai Noi (KKN) to Western markets. KKN is a VERY sticky, glutinous, tasty, fragrant type of rice that can only be produced in northern Laos. Its name translates to "Little Chicken Rice" in English.

The project has begun by analyzing the existing domestic supply chain (from land cultivation, planting, growing, harvesting, threshing, milling, and transport to market for sale).

KKN almost ready for harvest

MANUAL threshing
(removing the grains from the straw)

Working with Canadian food quality and organic experts (and we are not talking expertise gained by regular shopping at Community Natural Foods), we are also determining how organic certification can be successfully accomplished within the minimum 3-year time frame. Among the benefits of improved land quality and reduced costs from not using chemical fertilizers, herbicides and / or pesticides, organic certification will also help the farmers differentiate product and demand premium prices at Western grocery stores.

Good for the land and for you!

Getting artsy in an organic vegetable plot
(income diversification, not planned for export)

We had many meetings to understand existing production, and to continue strengthening collaboration with local farmers and government officials. Unfortunately lack of English at the meetings made it difficult (impossible) for the Canadian volunteers to get the full picture. Post-meeting debriefs are therefore essential.

My first ever status meeting with chickens as guests

Why go to Stephen Ave for lunch when you can eat FRESH goat at the office

Convoys through the rice paddies

Although language barriers made data collection and interviews difficult, it was amazing seeing the rice value chain and the farmers first-hand. We have already learned a lot, and can go back to Vientiane with many observations to start framing the business strategy, and planning steps to achieve organic certification for KKN export.

Calendars will go on sale soon

.....I am also a part-time volunteer firefighter in Vientiane
(only to boost calendar sales)

What do you think about buying Khao Kai Noi at your local Community Natural Foods?

The final product. Khao Kai Noi STICKY rice

From field to local organic market
(fewer dreadlocks at this Community Natural Foods)

For those with more questions, please connect! I try to keep the blog posts short with lots of pictures. Too much reading will put people to sleep.