Issangeorge

From the information I could find on the internet it seems that ethanol made from cassava in Thailand if the price of fresh cassava roots (not dried) is 3 baht per kilogram would cost about 28.01 per litre. I believe this price is very competitive with fuel from crude oil, therefore there is no economic reason that a farmer should not be able to get at least 2.5 baht per kilo. If the government really wants to help the farmers of Isaan, they should lower the taxes on ethanol and raise it on oil based fuels and make sure the farmer gets a fair price for their cassava.

I was approached yesterday, I said that I was hoping to get a job at another school and couldn't afford to only work for 10,000 baht a month, they said I could work on weekends 3 hours each day. I signed up. For this year it will be a hard go, but next year I was hoping to cut back and 6 hours a week seems just about right. It's a good deal for the village schools, obviously the central government is giving them the budget and for 10,000 baht they aren't going to get a teacher to come from to far away, so if they can get a resident farang it's perfect for them.

Has any farang been asked for T-money? I applied for a teaching job at a St. Joseph School and was asked for 50 baht to fill out the application, I thought that was a little strange. I have been saying for a long time now, the problem in Isaan is not that the people are not educated, it is that unless they have money, they can't get a job. All the people know this and thus the poor people see no value in education, because they know that they won't be able to get a job, no matter how much education they have or how well qualified they are, because they have no money to pay for the job. This applies to government jobs, bank jobs, and probably most business management jobs. I even heard of a girl applying for a cashier job at Tesco Lotus, having to pay 1,000 baht. It is a terrible practice, but I guess a way to keep the poor poor, no matter how much education they have. I don't understand why the protesting groups don't complain about it..

It is now February 2012 and labour is going out the roof, in my corner of Isaan the workers want 300 baht a day. The price of cassava is 2 baht a kilo give or take the day you take it in. I think the time for a planter may have come, does anyone have any new information on them.

I was just talking to the Native Chinese speaking teacher at my school and she calls herself a volunteer teacher, yet she makes 12,000 baht a month. The teachers coming from the States through these placement agencies are only making 3,600 to 8,100 baht per month. Again I ask why do they do it? And for sure it causes salaries to come down. I use to see all sorts of jobs on Ajarn.com for 35,000 baht a month and up, almost every job was for at least 30,000. Now it seems most are for less than 30,000. I can tell you I do not go out every night and party or eat out, most of my meals are cooked and eaten at home and I only have a couple of beers a week, and I own my house and it is paid for, so I have no rent to pay, yet some how I spend 30,000 baht a month and would have a very hard time spending less, so I don't know how these young teachers can live on 8,100 baht a month. They must have rich parents supporting them. Issangeorge.