Avian flu is attacking Thailand’s free-range culture
If avian flu is finally wiped out in Thailand and chicken exports resume, it will do wonders for the national economy, but not enough of this wealth will trickle down to areas like ours to compensate for the loss of our chickens. We will lose another piece of our self-reliance, another strand of the complex web that links us with our environment. For people still living on the fringes of the cash economy, the loss of a few chickens is far from trivial.
Rebecca Sooksom moved to Thailand six years ago to work as a cuso co-operant. She now lives on a small farm with her husband and daughter, and works as a document translator.
