Coral Red Jasmine Rice

- 1 lb. Pouch	$4.99
- 8-Pack (8 x 1 lb. Pouch)       $4.49 per pouch - SAVE $4.00!	$35.92
- 11 lb. Bag	$42.99
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Alter Eco Coral Jasmine Rice (Khao Deng variety) is an ancient red grain that has been polished using an innovated technique. The polished grains remain red at the tips and have a natural coral color in the middle. The advantage of this technique is that the grains retain all the riches and minerals of the whole grain rice but are light and easy to digest. This original rice, developed in partnership with Alter Eco, is cultivated in Surin, a province in the East of Thailand.

Farmers of the Agrarian Cooperative of Surin cultivate the Alter Eco Coral Rice using traditional methods that ensure quality and respect for the environment. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides have been replaced with organic fertilizers and natural plant extracts to produce this premium quality, environmentally friendly rice.

Ingredients

Polished Khao Deng Red Rice.

To preserve the flavor and freshness, keep your rice in a cool and dry environment, protected from direct sunlight.

Made by The Surin Cooperative Area Brief World Bank Country Profile

The Surin cooperative was created in 1997, but the current members have been regrouping and working communally since 1993. Thanks to Fair Trade buying prices and a development premium managed by the members themselves, the cooperative was able to invest in a facility for de-husking, sorting and packaging the rice. In this way they are able to increase the percentage of the final product price that goes to them. The members also avoid the added cost of multiple transports during the various stages of transformation. The close collaboration between Alter Eco and the Surin cooperative has led to the creation of three new cooperatives, currently in the process of starting their activity.

Annual FTA 200 audit is performed at this location.

Area Brief

Capital: Bangkok

Government: Constitutional Monarchy

Currency: Baht (THB)

Area: 198,456 sq mi

Population: 62,354,402 (July 2002 est.)

Language: Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects

Religion: Buddhism 95%, Muslim 3.8%, Christianity 0.5%, Hinduism 0.1%, other 0.6% (1991)

Thailand is a country in Southeast Asia with coasts on the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. It borders Myanmar to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Cambodia to the west and Malaysia to the south.

Country Overview by Wikitravel

"The problems of the poor in Thailand have also increased since the 1997 financial crisis. Before 1997, high growth rates had pulled poverty rates down from 32.6% of the population in 1988 to 11.4% in 1996, lifting nearly a million people out of poverty every year. But much of this progress came to a halt in 1997. With a total population of 61 million, the country saw the number of poor increase from 6.8 million in 1996 to 9.8 million in 1999. The Northeast, the poorest region of the country, experienced a drop in income twice the national average.

Weak environmental institutions and substantial environmental damage -- a byproduct of Thailand's rapid development over the last 30 years -- have also hurt the poor disproportionately. One-third of the country's surface water is unsuitable for human consumption or agricultural use. Half of the forest cover has been lost. Levels of air pollution in Bangkok exceed health standards, and industrial waste generation has hit 1.6 million tons per year.

The poor in Thailand could also benefit greatly from governance reforms, which would afford the impoverished with more security, increased opportunities, and a greater voice. Governance reform is one of the four pillars of the government's agenda -- social protection, competitiveness, environmental protection, and good governance -- which is underpinned by a multi-faceted poverty-reduction strategy."

The Province of Surin

The province counts 1.4 million inhabitants and is 73rd, in terms of economic development, of the 76 provinces that make up Thailand. The average annual income per inhabitant is 400 USD in urban areas and 120 USD in rural areas.

Source: The World Bank

Impact of the Product on the Local Economy

Production of rice in the province of Surin is 1300 000 tons per year. Rice represents 50% of the income in the province of Surin where 90% of the population live off rice production. There are 150 cooperatives in the region of Surin, producing 24 000 tons of rice (less than 2% of the rice produced in the province). The rest is commercialised by mills who buy directly from the 300 000 small independent producers (who have an average cultivated surface of 3.5 acres). Only 11% of the land is irrigated and cultivated using machinery.

Why Promote Fair Trade in This Region?

The blossom effect throughout the region, increase of revenue (market price in the province is controlled by a handful of buyers who own a mill), and protection of Thai Rice against biopiracy (GMO replicate) are among the main issues that Fair Trade addresses for the Surin population.

Product Cultivation

The rice is planted mid May and harvested from mid November to mid December.

An average of 360 lbs of rice paddy are needed to sow one hectare if the seeds are sewn directly into the soil; and 180 lbs if creating a plant nursery and the rice is replanted (after 15 days following traditional methods or after 7 days following the SRI method: Systematic Rice Intensification, a program, developed in Madagascar, that uses less water but is not well known in Thailand).

Fertilizers are limited to green compost - animal and plant waste.

The sole transformation phase before packaging is the shelling of the rice paddy.

Preparation

Rinse the rice thoroughly and drain. Add one cup of rice to 1½ cups of water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer until all the water has evaporated (approximately 15 minutes).

You can also fry the rice in a small amount of olive oil for five minutes before cooking to give it a deliciously more elaborate taste.