On our daily schedule it had a visit to a Buffalo Training Camp listed. I was not sure what this experience might be like, but I do know that it exceeded any expectations I had for the visit.
Water buffalo were traditional used throughout Thailand to harvest rice. With the development of the Iron Buffalo, a type of rice harvesting tractor, many Thai farmers have moved away from using Buffalo. In addition, many new farms are much bigger and require faster means of harvesting the rice for consumer consumption. It should also be noted that, as a more wealthy country in the region, much of the agricultural work has been moved to neighboring countries, such as Vietnam and Laos, as land increases in value in Thailand.
The man who owns the farm we visited, however, love the buffalo. Although he has been offered significant sums of money for his land (over a million dollars), he recognizes that the buffalo would not have a place to go and that his staff counts on him for employment. In fact, he has received some buffalo from people who no number had the land to support such a large animal. Therefore, he has opened his farm to visitors as an educational opportunity.
I was immediately stunned by the easy-going nature of the buffalo. They splashed at each other in the pond and floated happily in the water. Following a soak in the water, we were shown how well they follow directions; turning left, turning right, spinning, stopping, walking, and laying down. We were also show how many different ways there are to climb onto a buffalo, and we were given the option to ride one if we wanted to give it a try. Although I was wearing a skirt and had to sit side saddle (without the saddle), I still gave it a try. Other members of our group were not as interested in the opportunity to sit on top of a very large, very horned animal.
We were also shown how rice is harvested, which was really interesting to a city girl who eats a lot of rice but never really understood how it was processed. We watched small plants planted, larger piece cut, bunched smacked against a surface to remove the rice (which I tried), and then the rice is hit with a mill thing to remove the tough outer part. This process was fascinating.
Overall, I have to admit that I adored the buffalo, I found them to be incredibly sweet, and I am glad we had the chance to visit the farm this morning.
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