FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY EM BALL WORKING BEE

On November 9 over three hundred people attended a working bee at the MSU Faculty of Technology to make and pack Effective Micro Organism Balls (EM Balls).

The flooding in Bangkok has been widely reported in international news for the last month. Many people do not realise large tracts of farmland in Isan have been inundated for a much longer period of time. Whole villages have been displaced for well over a month with many still waiting for floodwaters to drain.

Many farmers are harvesting crops from boats , in chest or waist high water. Others  have nothing left to harvest.

Because of the huge influx of water many areas have ‘trapped’ water. i.e. Water has flooded over man-made barriers such as roads and cannot drain naturally leaving large areas which have to be pumped out or are draining very slowly. Besides ruining crops, the standing water runs the risk of stagnating, becoming contaminated from sewage and accumulated rubbish bringing with it greatly increased risks of disease and contamination of the land.

The EM (Effective Micro-organism) balls are the brainchild of horticultural expert Professor Yasuo from Ryuku University in Okinawa, Japan. EM or balls are cast into the water. They are not harmful to humans, help restore the natural ecological balance and increases oxygen levels in water while assisting in the process of decomposition of organic matter in the water.

MSU RUBBER PLANTATION PROJECT

On July 23 MSU President Dr. Supachai Samappito opened the Faculty of Technology rubber tree plantation project. Growing rubber trees is gaining popularity in the north east of Thailand.

The rubber tree plantation project is located on twenty acres of land devoted to agricultural technology to the north east of the main campus.

MSU Faculty of Technology will now be conducting training, educational courses  and research on natural rubber sustainability. The plantation project is part of the teaching program of Department of Agriculture.

The training program is also inclusive of local communities.  

FISH SAUSAGES ANYONE?

If you look up Mahasarakham University on Google Earth you may notice it is very far from the sea and would therefore have very limited availability to sources of fresh fish. This is not so.

In northeast Thailand there is a large and thriving freshwater fish and prawn industry. So much so you could say fish and prawns may be described as a staple part of the Isan diet. In many locations you can dine outdoors in the middle of a pond on a bamboo platform on stilts with your dinner swimming live underneath you among the blooming lotus.

Commercial agricultural entrepreneurial company Thanapol Foods Ltd in conjunction with MSU Department of Food and Nutrition have been busy innovating this rich fish resource.

link to Highgreenfish.com (pictured left)

On July 6 at the MSU Conference Center Thanapol Foods Ltd in collaboration with MSU Faculty of Technology Department of Food and Nutrition launched their new product named Green Diamond sausages.

Green Diamond sausages are result of exhaustive scientific research and development studies led by Dr Suwan Angkana of MSU’s Department of Food and Nutrition. The team explored the best physical characteristics of fish species and fishmeat content  to find and develop a successful fish sausage recipe.

 The product was also aided by the MSU Business Incubator program and has attracted research support from the National Office of Science and Technology.