Written by Nat Shun May

Border News Agency
Buthidaung, September 26.

Every rainy season, villages across Arakha often experience flooding, blocked roads, and closed markets and shops. Outside assistance can also take many days to arrive.

During these periods, people often have to rely on food stored before the rainy season, such as dried fish and dried vegetables, rather than outside assistance.

“About three years ago, there was very heavy rain and flooding. The roads were blocked. We had to travel by boat even to go from one house to another. We could not go to the market either. But we had already stored dried fish and dried bottle gourd, so we were able to manage,” said Daw Ma Than Sein, a housewife from Kyauktaw Township.

As Arakha faces natural disasters such as storms and floods along with changing weather patterns, these traditional methods of drying and storing food are no longer simply family traditions. They are becoming an important way for families to maintain food security.

Why Is It Difficult to Get Food During Floods?

Because Arakha is a coastal region, it frequently experiences storms as well as heavy rain and flooding.

In 2023, nearly 400 villages in Arakha were affected by flooding after several days of heavy rain, according to a statement issued by the Arakan Army (AA).

The statement said that Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Mrauk-U, Kyauktaw, Minbya, Myebon, Taungup, and Thandwe townships were among the areas most seriously affected by flooding.

After Cyclone Mocha, access to food also became an urgent need, according to statements from United Nations agencies.

Local relief organizations have said that outside emergency assistance often could not reach affected areas in time during the first and second weeks after a natural disaster. They said that about 78 percent of villages affected by natural disasters became isolated because roads and transportation routes were cut off.

During such times, food that families had dried and stored at home in advance became an important source of food.

How Do People Preserve Food Using Traditional Methods?

People in Arakha traditionally preserve food for months by salting fish and drying it in the sun before the rainy season. They also preserve other foods through natural drying.

Fish is carefully cleaned, the intestines are removed, and salt is added before the fish is dried in the sun. Local people say that fish is usually dried for two to three days, depending on the size of the fish and the amount of sunlight.

According to information from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), salting removes some of the water from fish. When salting and drying are used together, it becomes more difficult for many bacteria that cause food to spoil to grow, allowing fish to be stored for a longer period.

“Vegetables are not easy to find in our area, but fish is plentiful. When the price is cheap, we buy a large amount and dry it for storage. When there is heavy rain or flooding and we cannot go outside, we eat this,” said Ma Aye Aye Nwe from Pauktaw Township.

People also preserve vegetables such as eggplant, bottle gourd, and beans by slicing them into thin pieces and drying them in the sun.

Bamboo shoots are first boiled to reduce their sourness and bitterness before being dried in the sun. Fermented bamboo shoots are also widely prepared and stored.

These methods are part of local knowledge passed down through many generations.

Traditional food preservation methods used since the time of ancestors are still practiced today.

“The Mro people also dry food so that it can be stored and eaten for a long time. In mountain villages, roads can remain blocked for a longer time when there is flooding. That is why we have to prepare before the rainy season,” said U Htun Hla, a member of the Mro community.

Are These Methods Safe for Health?

Traditional methods can help food last longer. However, if the food is not prepared and stored properly, mold can grow and create health risks.

According to the FAO, salted fish can be stored for a long time, but salt-tolerant bacteria and molds can still grow. Therefore, proper hygiene and careful food preparation are necessary.

“Dried fish and dried vegetables should be kept in airtight plastic bags or glass containers and stored in a cool, dry place. If moisture gets back into the food, mold can grow. This not only makes the food unsafe to eat but can also reduce its nutritional value,” said U Aung Kyaw Soe, a disaster risk reduction specialist.

People also need to be careful about the amount of salt in foods such as dried fish.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), adults should consume less than 5 grams of salt per day in total, or about one teaspoon. Eating too much salt can increase the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

How Much Food Should Families Prepare?

According to recommendations from local relief organizations, a family of four that eats three meals a day should prepare enough basic food to survive the first five to seven days when transportation is disrupted by flooding and outside assistance cannot reach them.

Based on recommendations from local relief groups and some women who have personally prepared food for floods, a family of four should prepare at least about 2 to 2.5 viss of dried fish, 1 to 1.5 viss of dried vegetables such as dried bottle gourd, dried eggplant, and dried bamboo shoots, and about 5 to 7 pyi of rice for that period.

However, these amounts are not official standards for every family. The amount needed can vary depending on the size and needs of each family and how long transportation may be disrupted by flooding.

How Are Rice Storage Barns Changing?

Along with drying and storing food, people are also repairing and using traditional rice storage barns that are built on raised posts to protect rice and seeds from flooding.

During Cyclone Mocha in 2023, local farmers said that about 80 percent of the rice seeds they had stored in townships across Arakha were destroyed, while many rice storage barns also collapsed or were damaged by strong winds.

Because of this experience, farmers who experienced Cyclone Mocha said they have raised their rice storage barns by about four to six feet compared with the past to better protect them from flooding.

“In the past, we kept the rice barn at a normal height. Now we have to build it higher than before,” said U Maung Thein Nyunt from Rathedaung Township.

When farming is affected by flooding, protecting seeds from being lost helps farmers restart cultivation during the next planting season.

Can Traditional Methods Be Combined With New Technology?

Traditional methods have some limitations. In particular, when there is heavy rain and high humidity, it can be difficult to dry rice and other foods in the sun. If moisture gets back into the food, the risk of spoilage also increases.

For this reason, in some parts of Arakha, a rural development organization has reportedly provided training on combining traditional methods with new technology.

The methods include using solar-powered drying houses to dry food, using plastic bags to dry rice, and using airtight bags when storing rice inside traditional rice storage barns.

“I went to the field and saw it myself. It really worked. The rate of spoilage decreased significantly,” said a woman who volunteered with the organization that provided the training.

However, technology-based methods are still mainly available to people who can afford them, and these forms of support have not yet reached most areas of Arakha.

In some villages in Arakha, bags of dried fish, containers of dried vegetables, and raised rice storage barns continue to provide families with an important way to prepare for food shortages during floods.

As rainfall patterns become increasingly unpredictable, these traditional food preservation methods remain useful for helping families maintain food supplies and get through periods when they are cut off from markets and outside assistance.