northeast

16 Mar 2023
Fermented fish jars, once a sign of prosperity in Thailand's northeast, are now a grim reminder of a culinary tradition threatened by the construction of dams on the Mekong River.
26 Apr 2022
Drastic ecological change of the Mekong is linked with hydropower development. Water fluctuation due to operation of upstream dams is indicating by the fish species and their stocks declined.
28 Feb 2021
The aridity of the Thung Kula Ronghai region’s alkaline soil is behind the Hom Mali rice strain’s popularity as a world-renowned export. The rice farmers and the special care they put into their production method have succeeded in turning their despair at the unpredictability of the rain cycle into assets. While quite a number of Isaan (northeastern Thai) people prefer sticky rice to regular rice for everyday consumption, the jasmine or ‘Hom Mali 105’ variety has been grown in Isaan for 70 years. How did the popularity of this particular rice variety come about?
1 Sep 2017
The courts have dismissed defamation charges against a controversial motivational speaker who in a talk last year accused Isaan people of being disloyal to the late King Bhumibol.   November last year, Thai social media was flooded with video clips of motivational speaker Orapim ‘Best’ Raksapon. She was reportedly subsidised by the Royal Thai Army to give lectures on the late King Bhumibol across the country.
12 Jun 2014
KHON KAEN – Since the May 22 coup d’état, Thailand’s military has tried to sweep the country clean of weapons to quell fears of a violent uprising. But in Isaan, the heartland of the Red Shirts, some of the soldiers’ actions have raised doubts about the military’s intentions. Red Shirts here believe that the military may be wrongly framing peaceful Red Shirts as violent terrorists in a high-profile legal case, which could set the stage for a wider crackdown on Red Shirts in the region.
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