Martin Blom is an active and involved volunteer for the coffee project at the CLUMP Foundation. CLUMP stands for for Community of Love and Unity of Mountain People. He combines his work as a painter together with his role as coffee grower, coffee processor and coffee roaster.
As a coffee grower Blom dreams of producing specialty coffee from Thailand. He received many opportunities to learn more about coffee from coffee experts such as Coffee Master Janejira Kamonsawedkun-SCAE Certified Instructor, Coffee Master Siong Goan Lee of Taiwan and Coffee Master Jon Willassen from SCAE in Europe. Blom works together with young coffee growers in remote areas with support from CLUMP Foundation's legendary Brother Anurak Nidhiphattaraphorn, toward sustainable development among Thai coffee growers
He found his own talent to express the feeling of human beings through his character figures. They became quite popular as downloaded stickers for mobile phones. And he sells them on the internet to make some income for his active endeavors.
Blom received many awards for his art work, among others in 2012 he received a prestigious scholarship for art students from the Statesman Foundation by Gen. Prem Tinnasulananda. He graduated from Faculty of Arts, CMU-Chiang Mai University in 2013 when he was 22 years old.
With his charity work in the arts, Blom plans to build an Art Camp in Chiang Mai for young volunteer artists from over the world to share their knowledge with less privileged young people of ASEAN region, since the AEC will be real in 2015.
From his own experience with anger and trauma in his childhood, Blom believes that arts can heal many sad hearts and expressing their feeling through arts can help young people to overcome their fears, especially the minority children of Asia who went through so many wars and lived without identity and dignity. He believes that mountain and minority children, wherever they settle down in ASEAN, will love that place and take part in the responsibility to preserve the nature and the environment.
Martin was born in Sweden by a Thai mother, Wimonlack Blom and a Swedish father, Prof. Staffan Blom. He spent his early years in South Stockholm, the capital city. The area called “Soder” or “South” is famous for community tourism and culture.His Swedish father, Prof. Staffan Blom, was an artist, a sculptor and a teacher at Stockholm University.
Blom was a Swedish noble family with their roots from France back to the 16th century. One of Martin's ancestors was Fredrik Blom, a "Father of Architecture", who designed many castles and buildings such as the Royal Grand Palace of Stockholm and the Royal Navy Head Quarter, which is today the East Asiatic Museum. Martin Blom’s mother served the Commercial Counselor Office of Royal Thai Embassy and was a career woman.
As an EU and Thai citizen, Martin Blom believes that life in a remote area with all the comfort and telecommunications is similar to what people in the EU are facing in countries without borders. He believes it is no longer an obstacle for young people if they want to remain in their village.
With new thinking and a new way for small artisan business, healthy lives and a sound economy, Martin Blom hopes that young people of ASAEN will gain back their freedom, their confidence and their dignity and in return they can contribute good deeds to the community wherever they live.
Hoen Jai Yong is a northern Thai food restaurant in the Lanna style which still retains the uniqueness of Thai Yong lineage. By definition, Hoen means a Thai traditional house and Jai Yong is the spirit of being of Thai Yong descendants.
The restaurant was opened on 6 January 2013. Assistant Professor Lipikorn Makaew, a lecturer in Thai Art department, Faculty of Art and Architecture at Rajamankala University of Technology Lanna. The aim of this establishment is to exhibit art works and other remarkable works from Thai northern artists as well as to support art students by providing space to show their works and to continue preserving traditional Lanna art and culture. Inspiration for the building and installation originated from Lanna cosmology and myths. The attempt here is to adapt and extend it for use as an art gallery and conventional room. On the second floor is a Lanna-style barn which stands for prosperity.
Of course, the notable feature of food at Hoen Jai Yong is the taste which is so resembles the original recipes. Some of the favorite dishes here are Spicy minced Tilapia salad, Steamed chicken with herbs, as well as Chili paste and Roasted fish.
Sesban Curry with Serpent-headed fish
Most Thai traditional foodis prepared by using natural ingredients or home-grown vegetables which are good and healthy. This curry has many kinds of vegetables and you can add pork, chicken, meat, fish or seafood to it. The main ingredients are vegetables such as Gourd, Acacia, Piper Sarmentosum, Parsley, Pea eggplant, mushroom, Para Cress and Sesban.
Chili paste
Put dried chili, salt, galangal, lemongrass, garlic, red onion, Thai fermented fish and Kapi (Shrimp paste) in the mortar and pound them with pestle until they are mixed well together.
Sesban curry
A Serpent-headed fish is scaled, mucus on the fish is rubbed off and its intestine is removed. After washing the fish, slice it into several pieces vertically. Several vegetables are washed and sliced properly. The cooking oil is mixed with some sesame oil in the pan.Heat the pan. Put in the chili paste prepared earlier. and fry it in the pan until it smells good enough. Add some water When water is boiling, put sliced pieces of fish in the pan. After the fish is cooked, add vegetables and kaffir lime leaves to make a pleasant smell. After that you can use any seasoning sauces you like
Khai Parm (Grilled egg in banana leaf)
Khai Parm is a traditional way of Thai cooking by putting an egg in a small container made of banana leaf without using any cooking oil. The preparation is quite simple. Make a small banana leaf vessel using a few banana leaves and two small bamboo pins. Put a chicken egg or duck egg in a bowl and add some salt and spring onion in the same bowl. Mix these three ingredients together well and then pour the ingredients into the small banana leaf vessel. After that grill the banana leave vessel with a low fire until the egg is properly cooked.
|