More money mysteries

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Geo: 16.3833, 103.933

The mayor gives everyone a warning over the village PA system first thing this morning to be careful as people have been going out to the farms at night and stealing the cut rice whilst it is still lying in the fields drying.
Before I take Jai to the farm this morning a woman I have never seen before comes and invites us to her brothers, daughter's, marriage. She is 14 year old - but soon to be 15 so thats alright ! She has been sold for 110,000Bht, about 2250GBP plus some gold. With the average daily wage at 6GBP, when paid work can even be found, the economics of this just dont make sense. It would take just over 370 days of work to fund this and for even the most enthusiastic of workers - and there arent any of those around - that must take 4 years to accrue if no money was ever spent on anything else !! Well, you do the maths, but the economics of this place are way beyond my imagination. By contrast Jai is giving her daughter away in the January sales. Mainly because she really wants to marry this chap and the amount the family are paying is all they can afford. The wedding has already been slipped from NOvember to December and now, I gather,to January or February, in order for them to raise the cash. Aslong as it is all finished with before we leave at the end of March.
Another Groundhog Day for me then off to the farm to collect Jai in the evening.

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