Locals in the Sintaung area near Kalaw struggle to restart farming after natural disaster

Locals in the Sintaung area near Kalaw, which was affected by the natural disaster, are having difficulty resuming their farming activities, sources said.

Sintaung area is located in Thazi Township, but is located in a remote area, more than 70 miles from Thazi and 13 miles from Kalaw.

"After the last natural disaster and the rain, the mud came down in droves. Mud and trees came down. Our village is on a hillside. We used to grow crops on the hillside. So everything was destroyed. It became a huge mudslide. The wooden houses with iron bases were all washed away and rolled down the hillside with mud. There was a lot of damage. I have never experienced anything like this in my life. About 262 houses were damaged in the forest and in the village where our villagers mainly live. Some people had to be rescued from the mud. The road was blocked when the mud came down. The phone line was completely blocked. The mountainside was also cracked, so we were afraid it would collapse again, so we gathered in the monastery. We had to eat whatever we had. We did not get much help. Later, we had to lay logs and boards in the mud, and drive motorcycles to try to contact help," said a village elder about the situation during the natural disaster.

Regarding the difficulties faced by the locals in rehabilitating their farming activities, "Only when the farming activities are rehabilitated can the locals regain their livelihood. Currently, they are unable to resume work. We have been cultivating turmeric by shifting cultivation. After waiting for two years, it only appeared once. When the natural disaster occurred, all the crops were destroyed. There is nothing left. All the crops were buried in the mud. We have to find land with fewer rocks and find a place to grow our own. Turmeric has good price in the market. In the past, when we had turmeric, the brokers would not refuse to give us 5 million or 10 million kyats. We also prepared rice bags for 6 months or a year. Now that our crops were buried in the mud, we can't do anything. We have taken out loans. We have nothing to pay back and they will not consider giving more. We need help to rehabilitate agriculture," said local U Kyi Win.

Currently, the villagers are making their livings on the remaining donations.