Moving on to the second round....

The last day of April 2015 has arrived and with that the last day of the first round of the G12 Adventures blog hosting. It has been a pleasure coordinating this initiative and reading all your posts, as well as sharing my random musings this month.

Thank you for all of you who have confirmed your blog hosting time-slots for the second round. There are a few who are yet to confirm but hopefully, will join in as well.

That is all from me for now.. except for a couple of photos that I share from a lovely weekend at Cumberland lodge earlier this year. The lodge is a 17th century country house at Windsor Park that has played important roles in the history of UK. In the post world war II era, Amy Buller shared her perspective in her book 'Darkness over Germany' that it was important to provide neutral, discussion spaces for university students to enable critical judgement. The royal family supported Amy Buller's initiative of starting up such a space in England and donated this country house for the cause. It is currently managed by a charity foundation of which the Queen is the patron. Being able to stay a weekend at this old and beautiful house, with a lot of history surrounding it, has been one of the highlights of my year so far in the UK. On a lighter note, some scenes from the movie 'King's speech' was also filmed here.

At the library

Panoramic view of Cumberland lodge

I will now return to my exam preparations and continue to miss the lovely spring around me in London :)

Over to Ismail who will be starting off the second round of G12 Adventures blog tomorrow, followed by Hafiz in the second half of May. 

(not so) Random musing #5: On donating in a humanitarian emergency

During the past couple of days, my thoughts have revolved around the earthquake in Nepal and the people who faced the natural disaster and are continuing to face the aftermath of it.

The most recent UN situation report  as of now (26.04.2015) has confirmed over 2200 dead and over 5800 injured and that while the total affected population has not been determined yet, 35 out of the 75 districts of Nepal have been affected.

From Sri Lanka's experience of the tsunami in 2004, the lesson that I learnt was that it is better to donate to well-known international organizations who are already functioning in the country where the disaster occurred. As the organizations will already have a working mechanism with the government concerned, this allows for more efficiency in fund transactions as well as effectiveness in reaching out to the people affected. While there are always issues with aid coordination and redistribution, this approach minimizes wastage.

I also felt that until and unless it is people based within the country organizing immediate care packages of food, water and other essentials for immediate help following the disaster, it does not make sense for those living outside the country to organize such care packages and have it transported there. It is always a logistical nightmare and there are usually not enough people to sort through stuff send in kind. Therefore, I prefer giving in cash than in kind when it comes to donating to a country where I am not residing in.

Here are a couple of links that I considered useful for those considering donating for the Nepali earthquake survivors:

(1) Global giving (thanks Gretchen for sharing the link on facebook) -http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/nepal-earthquake-relief-fund/

(2) Paypal campaign (thanks to Anjal, a Nepali friend in the UK, for sharing the link on facebook): this campaign has a selection of 15 international organizations, including Save the Children, Global giving, on its campaign page and you can choose the one you wish to donate to - https://www.paypal-donations.com/pp-charity/web.us/campaign.jsp?cid=35

And for those who want a bit more choice, do read the NYT article on their suggestions of international organizations to donate to.

While I generally recommend well-known international organizations for donating during humanitarian emergencies, I personally also look for smaller organizations, be it local or international, who are already working in the country because they probably are working in smaller areas of geographical coverage and have focused their ongoing work on fewer communities. My reasoning is that perhaps these organizations might be able to respond faster to the needs of the communities they work in, instead of having to try and work out priorities within the country as a whole that larger organizations have to work out.

As such, I thought of mentioning two such organizations:

(3) Yang-Ward foundation (thanks to Yangmali Rai for sharing this link on facebook. Yang is the founder of the US based organization working with women in Nepal and he founded it in 2013 with funds from the Clinton Global Initiative under the Resolution project. He is currently a fellow student at LSE and a fellow resident at my residence hall. I was touched by his posts on facebook where he shared the status of the community workers of his foundation as he got in touch with them to check on their welfare and particularly those who had lost their homes in the earthquake. While they have not shared updates on the website because their web administrator has also been affected by the earthquake, I hope they do so soon as that will probably help their fund-raising efforts)  - http://yangward.org/getinvolved.php

(4) Live to love (thanks Nancy for sharing the link on facebook of the international organization, which I have not heard of before but where Nancy's friend in Kathmandu works at) - http://www.livetolove.org/what-s-happening-sidebar/277-help-us-help-nepal

That is all from me for now... I will share a final post this month on the 30th.

Random musing #4: On Sri Lankan cooking...

Having posted on my culinary blog earlier today, I decided to share my new-found interest during APLP time in Hawai'i. Prior to living at Hale Manoa, I hardly ever cooked. I used to rely mostly on instant food or very simple quick fixes when I had to prepare my own food. In Hawai'i, I started cooking on a more regular basis though I stuck to relatively simple dishes like pasta with tomato sauce or rice and dhal curry. However, that experience kind of removed my mental block on cooking. So, when I returned home, I was ready to try my hand at cooking other stuff particularly when there was an aim to it - that of getting my mother to eat better and more than her unhealthy toast and instant noodle pattern of eating. I shared that journey through my facebook page.

While I experimented with non-Sri Lankan healthy vegetarian recipes from around the world, the idea that it would be interesting to document my mother's recipes occurred to me. Especially seeing that most Sri Lankan culinary sites seemed to focus on a particular region and did not include the regional variations which I felt was important for a 'Sri Lankan' food website. I also knew that my mother would enjoy this joint project so 'A Taste of Sri Lankan Cuisine' came to life on August 2013. I simply record and transcribe my mother's recipes and take photos of the corresponding dishes that she had made and post it on the blog. I also invite other Sri Lankan food bloggers and friends to contribute a favourite Sri Lankan recipe from their homes as the emphasis is on home-cooking and to a large extent on vegetarian cooking. When I state Sri Lankan home-cooking, it does not mean only traditional recipes but also recipes that are original creations or fusion food as food patterns evolve over time and with movement of people.

In roughly an year and a half, the blog has accumulated 232 recipes on the blog and a readership base of 400 food bloggers and over 1000 followers of the facebook page of the blog. I did not quite expect the blog to become an important hobby for me nor did I anticipate the response and interest from readers but I am glad that I started this initiative. The most important reason being that my mother and I have enjoyed this joint project so far and I am personally happy that several of my mother's recipes are documented not only for me but anyone else around the world. Cooking has also become a de-stressing activity for me, especially when I want to clear my head from all the non-stop reading that I am currently doing for my masters degree. And, it helps to try out one of my mother's recipes whenever I miss home.

Do visit the blog and check out this month's feature on north Sri Lankan dishes based on palmyrah root as the key ingredient!

Dried palmyrah root candy

And, do share whether any of you have ventured further into the cooking realm due to your time at Hale Manoa.

Random musing #3: On New Year and glimpses across decades (my mother & I)

It is the Sri Lankan New Year today. As I write this post, I hear the noise of firecrackers going sporadically around the city. It will be deafening at the time that is considered astrologically the turn of the year. While I hear less and less of people relying on astrology, many people still take into account the astrologically designated auspicious time to boil a pot of milk in their house to welcome the new year.

It is very much a family oriented celebration here and the day is usually for the family to gather and have a meal together. As a child, I used to like the 'kai visesham' which is an exchange of cash, usually coins, between family members. The only difference between this cash received and any other cash received at any other time is that one does not generally spend it. The impression I received as a kid was that this was my good luck coin for the year and I had to keep it somewhere safe.

I visited the nearby temple earlier this morning with my mother. She, holding my arm, for support. I always feel a bit of pain when I look at her current fragile state. She used to be the most healthy and fittest person in our family, having a compulsive walking for fitness habit. She turned 65 earlier this month and it is during the last five years, that her health has been on the decline.

my mother after her marathon walk, Stockholm ca 2002

my mother during the cancer hospital fund raising trail walk, Colombo ca 2011

I was going through some old albums yesterday and felt like sharing a few of those photos with my mother taken at roughly 10 year intervals.

Indonesia, ca 1984

As the youngest in my family, I usually accompanied my mother as a child whenever she went out - whether it was shopping or visiting friends. In order not to get lost, I would hold on to her hand and it eventually became a habit, as you can see from my school photo here a decade later.

(photo to be inserted next week after I finish restoring it) Sri Lanka, 1994

India, October 2006

The year after I recovered from my road traffic accident, my mother and I went on a trip to north India to celebrate the recovery. That was a very special trip for both my mother and me as that is the only multi-day holiday that we have taken together, without other family members. 

Sri Lanka, April 2015

While I am glad to be providing my arm in support for my mother, it is upsetting to see her weak after having always seen her as the source of strength in my family. It is painful to see a parent becoming weaker over the years but it is more difficult when the decline is unexpected and rapid and particularly when doctors are unable to explain the reasons or provide appropriate treatment. It is upsetting when there seems to be very little that you can do. 

I am thankful however that I did return home this April to be with my mother on her birthday and for the New Year.

Wishing you all a happy and prosperous New Year and be thankful for the time you have with your loved ones!

Random musing #2: On a nudge influenced policy and its viability...

I read in a recent Sunday Times Sri Lanka edition about the proposed colour coding system on soft drinks. The authorities hope that system will encourage people to be more conscious of their sugar intake and thereby reducing high sugar levels observed among school children.

© Kitch| Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

Why do I find this interesting? Because I have been reading Thaler and Sunstein’s book on Nudge for my behavioural public policy course under my current masters studies on social policy and development. And, I had been trying to think of examples where the Sri Lankan government might have used ‘nudge’ concepts to influence the public in a direction that they felt was beneficial for the well-being of the individuals.

When I read this article, I felt that this could be considered an example of a nudge. Where the policy does not force people to do something and the economic incentives are minimal but rather informs people of the choices and indicating their own preferred choice by the traffic light coding system on soft drink packaging.

Would this work as it is? The producers of soft drinks are going to be amongst the first to resist the coding system because a colour coding system does provide easily interpreted visual information for consumers and a rational human being would tend to keep away from the red coded food products in most instances. However, the more important question is: will consumers be ‘nudged’ into a more healthy choice in consumption simply by looking at the colour codes?

The key here would have to be the awareness campaign and to ensure that it becomes the latest trendy choice to opt for low sugar beverages. If there is a crowding out of soft drinks with high sugar content due to decline in consumption, then producers would start taking steps towards re-examining their soft drink production and possibly, reducing sugar content in their products.

So, it does look as if the proposal by the Health ministry is viable and could be effective if sufficient attention is paid to the awareness campaign.

However, this proposal assumes that the high intake of sugar content is from processed products purchased from the markets. It does not take into consideration the inclusion of sugar in home made products. According to an earlier Sunday Times article on sugar and salt consumption levels as a positive correlation to a rise in diabetes, heart disease, obesity etc., it quotes the Medical Research Institute chief as stating that 70% of salt consumption of the average Sri Lankan is from home-cooked products and only 20% from processed food. As a similar breakdown was not given for sugar intake in the article, one could perhaps assume that the same holds for sugar consumption until evidence indicates otherwise. Therefore, targeting only soft drinks and other processed food is not likely to drastically reduce the current statistics of high sugar levels.

What do you think of this proposal? Are there other pitfalls that the proposal is missing in its conceptualization? What can be added on to this proposal to make it more effective? Are there similar policies nudging people towards healthy consumption in your country?

Random musing #1: On Sri Lankan coffee while enjoying Sri Lankan tea

Right now, I am enjoying my morning cup of tea as I sit at my desk at my home in Colombo. This is a ritual that is very necessary for me to start my day right. After thinking some moments about what I would like to share with you all this month, I decided to share random moments and thoughts – so be prepared to read absurd reflections and random updates on G12 Adventures blog.

While enjoying my tea, I felt I should write about the now lesser known beverage of Sri Lanka – coffee. How many of you know that Sri Lanka was one of the largest producers of coffee during the mid 19^th century? I did not until I visited Whight & Co a few days ago. Well, I had learnt that coffee had been produced in Sri Lanka prior to tea back in 2004 when a former colleague had introduced me to Hansa coffee. However, I had not known it had also been one of the top producers of coffee in the world at some point.

Returning to Whight & Co, the company exports coffee produced in Sri Lanka and sometime during the past year, opened up a lovely café overlooking the Indian ocean on Marine drive in Colombo.  As their website also claimed that Sri Lanka had been the world’s largest exporter of coffee in the mid 19^th century, I had to look it up.

Coffee beans are thought to have been introduced to Sri Lanka at some point in the history of trade between the Arabs and Ceylonese. However, it became a commercial commodity only during the time of the British in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka became the third largest producer of coffee in the world and during its peak production in 1878, 273,000 acres was under coffee cultivation. With increased movement between Africa and south Asia with the expansion of the British empire, plant diseases were also transmitted. The first leaf disease was observed in 1869 but planters ignored it as they went about expanding plantations as the demand for coffee grew. (McCook, 2006; De Silva, 1981) 

The coffee industry never recovered from the coffee blight that hit Ceylon and by the late 19^th century, the coffee industry had collapsed. Tea was then introduced and as you well know, the rest is history.

Getting back to Whight & Co, the Australian company which has invested in a coffee plantation in Sri Lanka, and who are the source for the ruminations behind this blog post. The website claims that James Whight, the founder of the company, had tested various coffee plants from around the island in 2001 and found a particular variety with origins from Ethiopia that scored more than the top coffee in the world at that time. So, he invested in a coffee plantation in the Maturata valley in the central province of Sri Lanka – a region currently famous for its tea.

I tried their ‘pour over’ coffee which was prepared using this elaborate filter process and a very specific ratio of coffee to water at a particular temperature. And…. I really enjoyed it! 

So, if you are visiting Colombo, do visit Whight & Co and try out their coffee. A coffee there is around 3 – 4 USD. They have some interesting cold coffees as well. I am looking forward to trying out their cold drip the next time I visit.

If you want to purchase some coffee to take home, there is a roastery right there which grinds your coffee beans fresh for you to take home. A 250 g pack costs about USD 18 which is quite expensive but it is worthwhile treating yourself to some really good coffee occasionally.

With that, I wrap up today’s blog post – a bit of the history of coffee in Sri Lanka, a little background on Whight & Co together with a bit of advertisement on their coffee products (which I emphasize are my own unsolicited views) – as I enjoy my delicious cup of Sri Lankan tea.

So, which beverage - tea or coffee - do you enjoy most? And, is there a particular variety or brand that you like most?

See you soon on my next random post!

Reference:

De Silva, K.M. (1981), A history of Sri Lanka. University of California Press.

McCook, S (2006), Global rust belt: Hemileia vastatrix and the ecological integration of world coffee production since 1850. Journal of Global History, 1, pp 175 – 195.

Wrapping up the first round....

As this month's blog host and the one wrapping up the first round of the G12 cohort blog hosting initiative, I wish to take a moment first to say that I am truly happy that almost everyone did participate in the blog initiative. Thank you all for participating!

It's been 25 months since we started this blog and we have had 26 blog hosts (90%) from our cohort which I think is a wonderful collective achievement. It's been wonderful reading updates from the G12 ohana around the globe. While each post was interesting and unique, I wish to make a special mention of the two cohort members who made the most number of posts during their hosting month: Alisha and Loan... Congratulations and thank you for being enthusiastic about your blogging!

Before I share my updates, I wish to pose a few questions for our cohort to consider:

1. Are you interested in going ahead with a second round of blog hosting?
2. If yes, would you be happy with a fortnight per blog host? (That way, we can ensure that there will be a post to read each week and people who want to share more than 2 posts can share more)
3. I think it might be good to change the blog name… if you agree, do share your suggestions for a new blog name for the second round.
4. Any takers for coordinating the blog hosts for the second round?

I look forward to your responses.

More to follow from sunny Colombo! J