Nothedala gathering food from the jungle
Nothedala, Thai-Burmese border
Nothedala (17) is from Warely village in Karen State. When her mother died, her father remarried, since which time Nothedala has been looked after by her elder sister. She has brothers also, but 'they are very far away' and so Nothedala has lived full time at Thoo Mwe Khee since she arrived two years ago.
In this image she is foraging for 'jungle food' along the river bed with school friends; the children often collect vegetables from nearby to add to the communal meals at the school. Carrying machetes and woven baskets, they follow a steep path down the hillside into dense forest of bamboo, teak, creepers and vines. In amongst all this there are yellow beans, black beans, watercress, tiny aubergines, chillis, water bamboo, and other edible foods which the Karen have been harvesting from the wild for generations.