Nostalgic for fantastic plastic alternatives | Bangkok Post: food

Environmental topics like global warming, the need for recycling and the prospect of rubbish overwhelming the Earth seem to be very much on people's minds. And it looks like solutions are a long way off. The use of cloth bags at grocery stores is an example. Even when used, vegetables, chillies, limes, pork, chicken and fish still go into separate bags before going into the cloth bag. Plastic in various forms is everywhere in our daily lives and the main reason for that is convenience.

plastic bags are needed at this rural market. Left, vegetables are carried with thin strips of bamboo called ‘tawk’. PHOTOS: SUTHON SUKPHISIT

In the past, most rubbish was biodegradable, and therefore recycled itself the natural way. Market purchases were put into banana leaf containers or paper bags made from folded newspaper.

Chinese cooks went to the market before dawn, travelling by bicycle or bus. They would bring big wicker baskets with handles. Fresh goods like pork, chicken and fish would be wrapped in banana leaf or lotus leaf by the vendor and then put into paper bags. These purchases were set on the bottom of the basket. Fresh produce did not have to be wrapped and could be placed on the top. When the basket became stained or dirty from use it could be washed and set out in the sun to dry.

When people in remote rural areas went to the market for meat or vegetables they did not have to bring along anything at all. The market vendor would have long, thin flexible strips of bamboo called tawk that could be threaded though the stems of vegetables, the jaws of fish, through cuts of meat, etc, to make a pendant bundle that was easy to carry home. If the tawk were not damaged they could be used at home as temporary twine.

Another way of carrying items bought at the market was, and in some areas still is, in a container called a chalawm, which is a round bamboo basket. They are woven into a cylindrical shape with a closed bottom and the loose strands gathered at the top to make a crude handle. It isn't elegantly made, but it works well and can hold all kinds of goods. Egg vendors use them with a bit of rice straw at the bottom to protect the eggs from jarring.

In the past, people from the provinces used chalawm to carry clothing and blankets when they travelled. They didn't last as long as baskets, but when they finally gave out they could be used as tinder to light charcoal in stoves.

When people made long trips they had to bring along food, and the ideal container for that was a pinto, a number of small, enamelled metal bowls that fit together vertically to form a stack, held together by a brace with a handle for carrying. It had a container for each kind of food, and was durable and easy to use. If an item had to be warmed, the container that held it could be taken out and put on the fire. When monks went out begging in the morning, they often carried both a bowl and a pinto that could be used to hold soupy or liquid foods.

Children would take a pinto to school, usually with only two bowls, one for rice and the other for the dish eaten with it. When they got home it was their responsibility to wash the pinto and leave it upside down on the shelf to dry.

The pinto never really went out of style. Today they have the same basic form but are made from different materials that retain heat and cold better, and are decorated with attractive designs. The trade-off is that they cost a lot more than the old enamelled ones did.

Many temples in the provinces still use pinto, to the point where they are one of the symbols associated with the ordination ceremony. Among the articles given to a new monk are his begging bowl, umbrella, shoulder bag, fan and a pinto.

Another carryover from the past is the simple cloth shoulder bag called a yam in Thai. It is a true classic of Thai culture, with uses for every day and every occasion. When children went to school they carried their books, pencils and notebooks in a yam, slung over the shoulder with a strap crossing the chest. It was soft, left their hands free and didn't get in the way. Children in provincial areas can still be seen heading for school with their yam.

When village men went out into the fields or the forest they would carry a yam and an all-purpose piece of cloth called a pha khao ma, which was wrapped around the waist. The yam was used to carry basic provisions such as clothing, rice, chillies, salt and other necessary items.

When it was time to sleep the pha khao ma would serve as a mat and the yam as a pillow.

All of these things are examples of old-style items used in daily life that, if restored today would contribute to stemming the flood-tide of rubbish that is overtaking us. As they are biodegradable, they recycle themselves naturally. What's more, the old-style baskets, chalawm, yam and other items to carry goods and personal belongings can be made cheaply at home.

Sometimes the past can point the best way for the future.

children in this village still use ‘yam’ to carry their books to school.