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Farmhouse lunch-From Opposition Leader Tshering Tobgay’s blog

26 November 2009

We had lunch today at Aum Sonam’s house. Aum Sonam, who was a member of the last National Assembly before the introduction of parliamentary democracy, served us a sumptuous meal of kharang, sikam, ema datsi, mushrooms, farm eggs, cottage cheese and papaya.
I enjoyed Aum Sonam’s cooking thoroughly. It was clean, wholesome and traditional. So I asked her if she would be willing to make lunch for other travelers between Bumthang and Mongar or Trashigang. Her answer was “yes!” quickly qualified by “but they should call me first”.
I’m quite certain that tourists would also enjoy a visit to Aum Sonam’s. Besides cooking lunch and brewing tea, she could be easily distilling ara, frying zao, or pounding tsip, all traditional activities that more of our tourists would want to see.
I already know where we’ll have lunch on our way back.
Response to Farmhouse lunch by “Invisible”
Your inspiration from Aum Sonam shouldn’t stop at lunch break. If you “genuinely” believed in Aum Sonam, enjoyed her lunch, and saw a business potential in it with your Harvard instinct, then let it give you inspiration, reason, and energy to drive SMEs in Bhutan.
Let it start with Aum Sonam of Thidanbi but let it spread to all Aum Sonams, Ap Sangays, Bum Seldons, and Bu Samdrups creating ripple effects of employment throughout our economy, driving the very economy. Let our own Aum Sonams, Ap Sangays, Bum Seldons, and Bu Samdrups take the centre stage, take charge, and implement what they already know the best, not imported from Jamtshophakha’s (across the ocean) Ap McKinsey.
Ap McKinsey has neither tasted our Emadatshi nor munched our Zao, nor felt the harsh reality of pounding our Sip, nor experienced the kick of our ara or the core marketing strategy of our Tshogchang system of the east.
Ap McKinsey will have a real difficulty in swimming here because we don’t have oceans. We ride yaks, cook Emadatshi, and adapt in the Himalayas. Our ground reality is different from all the countries where Ap McKinsey succeeded. Our ground reality is closer to countries where Ap McKinsey couldn’t handle the kick of ara and collapsed. We are not Corporate America.
Big business houses could neither drive the economy nor generate mass employment for our own people here. We are a nation that will do well in SMEs.
In most countries the SME sector makes an enormous contribution to the economy. I spent more than a year in New Zealand and I learnt that – in New Zealand, 350,000 or so SMEs make up more than 99% of all businesses and account for about 60% of employment.
The SME sector broadly covers micro-enterprises (fewer than 5 staff), small enterprises (6-49) and medium enterprises (50-100). And most of their businesses started from their garages, something similar to Your Excellency’s idea of Aum Sonam entering the Bhutanese economy and finding a niche in tourism sector. They call it Kiwi Ingenuity.
But I learnt that more than what they claim as their Kiwi Ingenuity, it is their Government’s “De-regulation” of SMEs that gives them all the flexibility to try any business idea without much risk.
For example, one can start about 20 different SMEs from the garage and even if only one succeeds, it is worth the effort. It takes one dollar to register a business, after all.
They are strict and corporate businesses are highly regulated, making it very difficult for corporate giants led by Ap McKinsey difficult to enter and penetrate their market. But they make it so easy, through “de-regulation,” for Ap Maori or Aum Massey to do their SMEs businesses. The result, they have consistently strong economy that guarantees consistent mass jobs. Most of their businesses are family run, employing less than 5 staff (mostly family members and relatives). Does it sound like how our Sharchogpa Tshongkhang runs its business at Chubachu, Thimphu?
Perhaps, almost all the businesses in Bhutan including all the businesses gutted by fire in Wamrong.
So I urge Your Excellency not let your Aum Sonam’s inspiration die before crossing Thrimshingla or erase with a kick of ara. Sacrifice your cup of ara, think over the idea that stuck into you, bring it to the Hall of National Assembly, and provide a polite alternative to the government.
Let Aum Sonam face Ap McKinsey. The people of Bhutan, especially the vast majority of the “invisible people” including those thousands of youth chasing Ap McKinsey’s shadow, will be the judge.
Let us face our own reality before today’s Ap McKinsey solution becomes tomorrow’s Aum Sonam problem.
We have to be honest to ourselves and be realistic. Otherwise, it will be like blindly listening to safety measure propagated by Ap Naka about earthquake safety.
Ap Naka told us, continuously and confidently, to run “under the table” when an earthquake happens. We all know that the biggest disaster in our history was the September 21 earthquake that hit eastern Bhutan, especially Narang, Thangrong, and Durung.
Not a SINGLE house or a bago (hut) has a “TABLE” in it. Was Ap Naka out of touch with reality or failed to see the ground reality? Ap McKinsey may not trust Ap Naka to learn from that mistake. Let Aum Sonam explain to him politely through Ara Tshogchang.
I am worried about jobs and livelihoods of the vast majority of “Invisible People” (poor and voiceless) of Bhutan.

We had lunch today at Aum Sonam’s house. Aum Sonam, who was a member of the last National Assembly before the introduction of parliamentary democracy, served us a sumptuous meal of kharang, sikam, ema datsi, mushrooms, farm eggs, cottage cheese and papaya.

I enjoyed Aum Sonam’s cooking thoroughly. It was clean, wholesome and traditional. So I asked her if she would be willing to make lunch for other travelers between Bumthang and Mongar or Trashigang. Her answer was “yes!” quickly qualified by “but they should call me first”.

I’m quite certain that tourists would also enjoy a visit to Aum Sonam’s. Besides cooking lunch and brewing tea, she could be easily distilling ara, frying zao, or pounding tsip, all traditional activities that more of our tourists would want to see.

I already know where we’ll have lunch on our way back.

Response to Farmhouse lunch by “Invisible”

Your inspiration from Aum Sonam shouldn’t stop at lunch break. If you “genuinely” believed in Aum Sonam, enjoyed her lunch, and saw a business potential in it with your Harvard instinct, then let it give you inspiration, reason, and energy to drive SMEs in Bhutan.

Let it start with Aum Sonam of Thidanbi but let it spread to all Aum Sonams, Ap Sangays, Bum Seldons, and Bu Samdrups creating ripple effects of employment throughout our economy, driving the very economy. Let our own Aum Sonams, Ap Sangays, Bum Seldons, and Bu Samdrups take the centre stage, take charge, and implement what they already know the best, not imported from Jamtshophakha’s (across the ocean) Ap McKinsey.

Ap McKinsey has neither tasted our Emadatshi nor munched our Zao, nor felt the harsh reality of pounding our Sip, nor experienced the kick of our ara or the core marketing strategy of our Tshogchang system of the east.

Ap McKinsey will have a real difficulty in swimming here because we don’t have oceans. We ride yaks, cook Emadatshi, and adapt in the Himalayas. Our ground reality is different from all the countries where Ap McKinsey succeeded. Our ground reality is closer to countries where Ap McKinsey couldn’t handle the kick of ara and collapsed. We are not Corporate America.

Big business houses could neither drive the economy nor generate mass employment for our own people here. We are a nation that will do well in SMEs.

In most countries the SME sector makes an enormous contribution to the economy. I spent more than a year in New Zealand and I learnt that – in New Zealand, 350,000 or so SMEs make up more than 99% of all businesses and account for about 60% of employment.

The SME sector broadly covers micro-enterprises (fewer than 5 staff), small enterprises (6-49) and medium enterprises (50-100). And most of their businesses started from their garages, something similar to Your Excellency’s idea of Aum Sonam entering the Bhutanese economy and finding a niche in tourism sector. They call it Kiwi Ingenuity.

But I learnt that more than what they claim as their Kiwi Ingenuity, it is their Government’s “De-regulation” of SMEs that gives them all the flexibility to try any business idea without much risk.

For example, one can start about 20 different SMEs from the garage and even if only one succeeds, it is worth the effort. It takes one dollar to register a business, after all.

They are strict and corporate businesses are highly regulated, making it very difficult for corporate giants led by Ap McKinsey difficult to enter and penetrate their market. But they make it so easy, through “de-regulation,” for Ap Maori or Aum Massey to do their SMEs businesses. The result, they have consistently strong economy that guarantees consistent mass jobs. Most of their businesses are family run, employing less than 5 staff (mostly family members and relatives). Does it sound like how our Sharchogpa Tshongkhang runs its business at Chubachu, Thimphu?

Perhaps, almost all the businesses in Bhutan including all the businesses gutted by fire in Wamrong.

So I urge Your Excellency not let your Aum Sonam’s inspiration die before crossing Thrimshingla or erase with a kick of ara. Sacrifice your cup of ara, think over the idea that stuck into you, bring it to the Hall of National Assembly, and provide a polite alternative to the government.

Let Aum Sonam face Ap McKinsey. The people of Bhutan, especially the vast majority of the “invisible people” including those thousands of youth chasing Ap McKinsey’s shadow, will be the judge.

Let us face our own reality before today’s Ap McKinsey solution becomes tomorrow’s Aum Sonam problem.

We have to be honest to ourselves and be realistic. Otherwise, it will be like blindly listening to safety measure propagated by Ap Naka about earthquake safety.

Ap Naka told us, continuously and confidently, to run “under the table” when an earthquake happens. We all know that the biggest disaster in our history was the September 21 earthquake that hit eastern Bhutan, especially Narang, Thangrong, and Durung.

Not a SINGLE house or a bago (hut) has a “TABLE” in it. Was Ap Naka out of touch with reality or failed to see the ground reality? Ap McKinsey may not trust Ap Naka to learn from that mistake. Let Aum Sonam explain to him politely through Ara Tshogchang.

I am worried about jobs and livelihoods of the vast majority of “Invisible People” (poor and voiceless) of Bhutan.

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Comments

3 Responses to “Farmhouse lunch-From Opposition Leader Tshering Tobgay’s blog”

  1. wow on November 26th, 2009 8:50 pm

    worth reading!

  2. YesheyP on November 28th, 2009 10:16 pm

    Invisible has hit the bull’s eye. But, our politicians including opposition leader, tshering tobgay are good at debating unrealistic topics. Ground realities of Thridangbe will be forgotten as he tastes Bumthang Khurba, Putta and Sinchang. Same will be forgotten as he taste red rice and phaksha sikam in Thimphu.

  3. kinley on March 9th, 2010 7:00 am

    A very god read indeed!! Bhutanese officials including politicians should always think about promoting the welfare of the people and the economy of the country. i believe that this article consisting of the opposition leader’s intelligent thoughts would act as a free promotion and advertisement to Aum Sonam’s seasonal business and it would also act as a motivation and inspiration for the others.

    Ps: i think the article has much more to say than just phaksha sikam and Khurba!

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