My brother-in-law Bong Teeun took Monkey-B on a mission to harvest grass stalks typically used to make natural brooms, and I documented a bit of it for Hive.
A Bloody Start To The Day 🦷
Before any of this broom harvesting tomfoolery began, Monkey-B successfully performed some amateur dentistry on herself and extracted a loose tooth. After several rinses of the mouth, the bleeding stopped and this girl with slightly less teeth went chasing after her uncle to help harvest broom grass.
A View From Above 🔭
The grass that Cambodians use to make brooms grows wild all over Cardamom Mountain valleys, so you not even need cross the highway and climb 15 seconds before collection can begin. Almost everyone in the village harvests at least a small amount of this grass, then sun dries it until it is completely brown and the seeds have fallen off the stalks. Before I entered the grassland to search for the, I took a shot of our property from above.
After entering the grassland I realized it would take some time to find these two grass collectors. The grass is much taller than a human and also very dense, so I had to stand quietly and listen for several minutes for any sounds, and I just barely heard some talking which helped me head in the right direction.
A Happy Harvester 👩🌾
When I found my daughter and brother-in-law, Monkey-B was grinning ear to ear and performing the role of grass carrier. Upon my arrival, she asked me take over her role, but I insisted I was there strictly for Hive content.
My brother-in-law understands that we earn our living from Hive, so he is always cooperative knowing that he indirectly earns a living from the blockchain while here with us. The reason he was collecting grass is because he was bored after staying with us for a few weeks to help construct the fence. My other brother-in-law was supposed to come a few days after, but got sick with malaria or dengue fever and never came. The job really needs two people to work full-time on it for at least seven days, and I just can't commit that amount of time because I need to keep earning money to fund construction and feed the family.
Monkey-B Is Just Precious 🥰
Anytime I have no Hive content, I simply turn the camera on Monkey-B and instant content is born. She's always got a smile, and this alone can turn a regular boring day into top-notch Hive content, well at least in my opinion.
Once I decided I had enough photos for a Hive post, I headed back down the cliff, and Monkey-B tagged along. I took a shot of the grassland before leaving, an area that has been clearcut by illegal logging. Banana trees and grass are beautiful, but not as beautiful or valuable as the pristine forest just beyond.
Careful Descent 🧗♀️
Photos never do good justice to provide a good perspective of steepness and distance, but the descent back to the highway is a tricky one in bald flip-flops. I went down first and helped Monkey-B navigate her own safe descent, of course careful not to damage the precious broom grass. After the grass is dried it can be sold to local broom makers for $1.50 USD per kilo.
Even if I spent 8 hours collecting this grass each day, it wouldn't earn half as much as I do on Hive, so I used this lesson to remind the girls of the life I am trying to give them. Although we are poor and even I have no university education, I reminded both my daughters that the villagers basically force their kids to collect this grass each day this time of the year. The parents here are preoccupied with their own lives, gambling, drinking, and other vices that prevent them from being involved and supportive.
A lot of the local kids can collect about $2.00 USD worth of grass before getting tired and needing a break, so I reminded my girls of why I am teaching them so many other skills like Hive-blogging and crypto investments. If the people here don't change their way of life, there will be no forest to earn a sustainable living from eco-tourism for their children, and there will only be grass collection to sustain a livelihood.
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