Child's Coffee Painting of Tsunami

April 4 was the 100th day since the tsunami.

In keeping with the Buddhist tradition of releasing the spirit of the deceased 100 days after death, many memorial ceremonies were held across the country.

The epicenter of the devastation in Thailand is a town called Khao Lak, which when translated into English means something like 'the highest point'. Because of the severity of the devastation and loss of life in this area, a three day memorial was organized with the final day coinciding with the 100th day.

What does this have to with coffee culture? This image was painted by a child in coffee and was on display at the memorial. It is the child's interpritation of the Tsunomi with a frame of sand.

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Part of my goal with the Coffee Culture series is to show the differences in culture and how even something as simple as coffee can be used, viewed and basically affect the culture of a region of world. In this case, a child is using what is available to him in his culture to paint something very traumatic in his life.

In the United States, children don’t paint with coffee. Coffee is something that is enjoyed by adults, for the most part as a leisurely activity. Our children use child safe non-toxic paints to paint with (except mine, she paints with coffee and wax). In other cultures, it is not uncommon to paint with coffee or tea; Columbia or Coast Rica for instance or in this cases a child in Thailand.