United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) LAO/89/029 and LAO/89/C03 SMALL SCALE IRRIGATION PROJECT IN OUDOMXAY AND LUANG NAMTHA NAM KHA SCHEME Village Study Report Phonsavang village and Donna village, Houn district, Oudomxay, Lao P.D.R. “The Basic Rural Features and the Development Consciousness of the Villagers in Oudomxay province, Lao P.D.R.” YOKOYAMA, Satoshi Department of Geography, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Saitama University, Japan June 1996
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United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)
LAO/89/029 and LAO/89/C03
SMALL SCALE IRRIGATION PROJECT IN OUDOMXAY AND LUANG NAMTHA
NAM KHA SCHEME
Village Study Report Phonsavang village and Donna village, Houn district, Oudomxay, Lao P.D.R.
“The Basic Rural Features and the Development Consciousness
of the Villagers in Oudomxay province, Lao P.D.R.”
YOKOYAMA, Satoshi Department of Geography,
Faculty of Liberal Arts, Saitama University, Japan
June 1996
UNDP/UNCDF Small Scale Irrigation Project in Oudomxay and Luang Namtha Phonsavang and Donna Villages Study Report
CONTENTS Page
I. Introduction............................................................................................................................... 1
I-1. Purpose of research.................................................................................................... 1
■ Boun Thala: male, Laotian [Irrigation Technician: Houn district agriculture and
forestry department]
Figure I-1 Making the Phonsavang village
map with villagers
Figure I-2 Mental map drawing
UNDP/UNCDF Small Scale Irrigation Project in Oudomxay and Luang Namtha Phonsavang and Donna Villages Study Report
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II. Geographical features of the study area II-1. Geographical location
Figure II-1 The map of Lao P.D.R.
Phonsavang is 115.5 km and Donna is 116 km from Xay, Oudomxay provincial office town,
along the national road no.2 towards the southwest. The geographic position of both villages is
101°19’ east longitude and 20°01’ north latitude (Data from the U.S. Army Topographic map,
SHEET 5249 II “MUANG HOUN LAOS 1:50,000”). The geographical locations of Laos and the
study area are shown in Figure II-1. Two district town, Houn and Pakbeng, are located within
easy access from the study area. Both district towns have medium scale markets, hospitals and
secondary schools. Pakbeng is located along the Mekong river and plays an important role in
transportation to Luang Pabang by use of high-speed boat.
1000 500
Km
0
10°
15°
20°
25°
5°
THAILAND
CAMBODIA
VIETNAM
CHINA
MYANMAR
MALAYSIA
INDIA
110° 95° 100° 105°
LAOS
UNDP/UNCDF Small Scale Irrigation Project in Oudomxay and Luang Namtha Phonsavang and Donna Villages Study Report
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Figure II-2 The topographic map of study area
II-2. Natural conditions
The villages are located about 450 metres above sea level and are surrounded by mountains
on both sides. Northwest with the national road no.2 (Route 2) between ranges the mountains
which are higher than 1,000 meters. As shown in Figure II-2, these 1,000 meter class mountains
forms several mountain chains from northeast to southeast. The middle-land, where Donna and
Phonsavang are located along the Route 2 and
Nam Beng river, is in parallel with those mountain
chains. As the map shows, the topography around
the study area is a graben (rift valley) of old-aged
forms.
In Phonsavang village, there are many big
limestone and a few limestone caves which formed
lots of big lime-dripstone (Figure II-3) around a
northwest hillside. The mesh of limestone caves
covers a wide area. They also have a north hill
Figure II-3 Limestone cave in Phonsavang
UNDP/UNCDF Small Scale Irrigation Project in Oudomxay and Luang Namtha Phonsavang and Donna Villages Study Report
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origin spring in the centre of village. The headwaters run underground as groundwater and then
are gushed out. Therefore, it is clear that the study area is karst landform from the above facts.
Figure II-4 shows the climate data at Houn. It is typical of rain forest monsoon climate of
Köppen’s climate classification. The study area has an annual sunshine variation because of
the 20º north latitude and also diurnal temperature variation because of the highland.
0
100
200
300
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12Month
0
10
20
30
Precipitation
Evapolation
Temperature
Note: Data is 2 years average from 1994 to 1995 at Houn district.Data source: UNDP Laos Udomxay project officeAnnual mean temperature: 23.9 (drgrees)Annual amount of precipitation: 1264.1 (mm)Annual amount of evapolation: 798.9 (mm)
Temperature (degrees)
Pre
cipi
tatio
n an
d E
vapo
latio
n (m
m)
Figure II-4 Seasonal changes in climatic condition at Houn district
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III. Historical and basic features of the study area
III-1. Historical changes and the background of settlement
The Phonsavang village previously lived a few
kilometres south of the Nam Beng River and there
were about 40 households in 1950s. At that time
the name of the village was Mouack. In the middle
of 1970s, they settled close to the Nam Beng river
and in 1988 settled along Route 2 about 115 km
southwest from Xay. Then the name of village also
changed into Phonsavang.
The Donna villagers previously lived a few
kilometres south of the Nam Beng river and the
name of village was Nam Mao at that time. They
had about 40 households in 1950. In 1975 they
changed the village name into Donna and a few
Lao Theung (Middle land Lao tribe) families moved
to Donna from Udom village. In 1993, they settled
along Route 2 about 116 km south-west from Xay.
As mentioned above, both villages have been
continually moving their locations through time. In
former times, they had lived near their rice farming
fields, but are now living along the Route 2 (Figure III-1). Some Lao Theung villages in
Oudomxay province were in fact settled along the main road under the government’s instruction
(Nippon Koei Co., Ltd. and Construction Project Consultants, Inc. 1993). However, in
Phonsavang and Donna villagers’ case, they were not instructed by the government but decided
to move themselves. Both villagers had a meeting when they decided to settle in a new location
and decided to move to a new place because they thought that easy access to public services
(medical services and educational opportunities) and markets were more important than to easy
access to their fields. It is clear that they are naturally involved in new social system,
nevertheless they do not know what it is.
III-2. Sawmill village “Hong Luai”
Oudomxana sawmill (Figure III-2) and its workers’ accommodation are located between
Phonsavang and Donna. The sawmill was established in 1994 under a government command.
The Laos government decided the sawmill location without the villagers’ agreement. The sawmill
manager is Thai, and most workers come from other Laotian provinces or Thailand.
Nam Beng River
1975
1988
The middle of 1970s
1993
Route 2
Sawmill accommodations
”Hong Luai”
Phonsavang
Donna
1994Nam Mui Stream
Pakbeng
Houn
0 1
km Note: This map is made by author’s fields survey. This is not accurate at scale and area.
Figure III-1 The historical background of
settlement
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The sawmill village, which was named “Hong
Luai” (means sawmill) by villagers, is
administratively included in Donna village.
However, no Donna villagers are conscious
that sawmill villagers are in their community
because all of them are strangers.
III-3. Size of the villages
The basic statistical data of villages which were surveyed of this time are shown in Table III-1.
These two villages are medium-sized compared with other villages in the Nam Kha scheme area.
The smallest village in the Nam Kha scheme is Nam Mieng which has 24 families and 134
persons. On the other hand, the largest one is Phien Nya village which has 76 families and 583
persons (OKABE, H. 1995). All villagers in Phonsavang are Lao Lum, however, few Lao Theung
people live in Donna. According to our interviews, most Lao Theung families in Donna are
inter-marriage families between Lao Lum and Lao Theung.
Table III-1 The number of families and population
(unit: person) Families Population Items
Village Total LL LT LS Total Male Female Labour force*
Phonsavang 58 58 0 0 398 191 207 131
Donna** 46 37 9 0 310 155 155 104 * 15-35 years old, ** Sawmill village “Hong Luai” is not being included in Donna data. Note: LL = Lao Lum (Lowland Lao tribe),LT = Lao Theung (Middle land Lao tribe), LS = Lao Sung
(Highland Lao tribe) Data Source: Phonsavang and Donna village committees
III-4. Village organisation
Laos has “Decree on the organization and administration of villages” based on Articles 62, 63
and 64, Chapter VII on Local Administration, of the Constitution of the Lao People’s Democratic
Republic. The village organisation of the study site (Table III-2) is almost following it, but not
exactly. They decide the members of each organisation by vote. Villagers nominate candidates
first, and then they cast a vote. The period of committee is usually two years.
In Phonsavang village, whether the members can extend their term or not is usually decided
not by a vote but by an agreement among villagers. The longest period is five years. On the
other hand in Donna village, they never fail to cast a vote when the members term expires in two
year period. Of course, some members might be re-elected again. Donna village has more
democratic system than Phonsavang village.
Figure III-2 Oudomxana sawmill
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III-5. Religion
All villagers of the study site were Buddhists and believe in Theravada Buddhism. Lao Theung
people live in Donna were Animists in former times, however, one Lao Theung person who is
one of the Donna administrative members said “I was an Animist before, but I now changed into
a Buddhist because I thought Buddhism is more comfortable than Animism. So I am following all
my religious functions of the Lao Lum people who believe in Buddhism.” However, in fact many
Lao Lum people practise Animism as well as Buddhism. It means that main religion for Lao Lum
is Buddhism, but they also spiritually practise Animism. On one hand Lao Lum people believe in
both Buddhism and Animism; on the other hand Lao Theung and Lao Sung people practise only
Animism.
Table III-3 Religious functions in Study area Month Functions Contents of function
Feb. Bun Khao-chi (Buddhism) Offer baked rice cake to temple
Mar. Bun Ta-nang Dok -mai (Buddhism) Offer flowers to temple
Apr. Bun Pi-mai (Buddhism) New Year’s festival (Water festival)
Jun Bun Liang Phi-Muang (Animism) Festival of the Village Spirit, sacrifice chickens to the Village Spirit
July Bun Khao-phan-sa (Buddhism) The beginning day of the Buddhist Lent
Aug. Ho Khao Pa-dap-din (Buddhism) The rice growing festival (and also for festival of dedication to the dead)
Sep. Ho Khao Sarak (Buddhism) Festival of dedication to the dead
Bun Ook -phan-sa (Buddhism) The last day of the Buddhist Lent
Bun Song-hua (Buddhism) Boat race among neighbouring villages Oct.
Loy Ka-thong (Buddhism) Ceremony of casting symbolic lantern boats to float away sin
Nov. Bun Khong Khao (Animism) Hold it only in case of a good harvest, Offer rice to temple
(May) Sut Ban (Karam Ban) (Animism) For 3 days, usually held on May, hold it any time if necessary, it functions as a kind of function of exocism of the villager’s evil spirit
Table III-2 Village organisation of study area The number of person Title Role Sex
Phonsavang Donna
Village Administration
General (Chief) Socio-economic (Deputy) Culture, Education and Agriculture (Deputy)
male male male
1 1 1
1 1 1
Elder Union Problem solving both 2 2
Youth Union Problem solving both 3 3
Women’s Union Problem solving about taking care children Guest receiving
female female
1 1
1 1
Defence-order committee
Patrol the village Crime prevention
men 2 4
Doctor Health and Primary health care management - 1 -
UNDP/UNCDF Small Scale Irrigation Project in Oudomxay and Luang Namtha Phonsavang and Donna Villages Study Report
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Animism is a very complicated system, and it depends on the kinds of tribes. One tribe
practise only the spiritual worship or the ancestral worship, but another tribe may practise both.
To give an example of Animism of Lao Lum, they worship spirits “Phi” which dwell in the land,
forest, village, house, river and trees, namely, almost all important existential materials. There
are two kinds of Phi; an evil spirit and a good spirit. Thus people interpret bad things as the
work of the evil spirit and good things as the work of the good spirit. Both villages have the
village wooden pagoda “Shin-chai Ban” in the centre of village (Figure III-3) to protect their
villages from the evil spirit. When the survey team had just arrived at Phonsavang, ”Karam Ban”,
which is one of the Animism functions of the village evil spirit exorcism, was being held in the
living area. Because two villagers has consecutively died, the villager had decided to held the
Karam Ban. It was held for three days and an exorcist exorcised the evil sprit by sacrificing two
chickens to the evil spirit. In order to keep the evil spirit in
the village, it is enclosed off the border of the living area
with cotton threads, and outer people must not enter the
living area for three days. In addition to Karam Ban, a kind
of Animism ceremony called “sukuan” or “ba-si” is openly
held in the village. In the ba-si ceremony, the guardian
spirits “khvan” are bound by white string to the wrist of the
guest in order to invoke good fortune and prosperity.
Animism is rooted among Lao Lum people as in the
examples above, however, their regular religious functions
are based on Buddhism (Table III-3).
Figure III-3 Village wooden pagoda
at Phonsavang
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IV. Land use and landscape
IV-1. Land use
Land use maps of Phonsavang and Donna are shown in Figure III-4 and Figure III-5. Paddy
fields, shifting cultivation fields, orchards, many teakwood plantations and other farming fields
which are located outer villages are not drawn in these maps because they are impossible to
draw precisely without aerial photographs and the latest large scale maps. Regarding the inner
living area, the field owner numbers are clearly shown in the figures. Orchards shown in the map
are full of variety. The main fruits are banana and papaya as well as tamarind, mango, jackfruit,
sugar apple (sugar sop) and pomelo (grapefruit). These fruits are found not only in the
described area but also in many other places.
Agricultural land use is described in Chapter VI.
The sawmill is located between Phonsavang and Donna. Outline land use of sawmill is drawn
in Donna map of Figure III-5. The sawmill building and lumberyard were originally Donna
Route 2
5
S
S
S S
S
Thresher
Grocery
Village wooden Pagoda House
Teakwood (1 year)
Saw
mill
Temple
S: Sawmill worker’s house
Pakbeng, DonnaHoun
Nam Beng River
Publicmeetingplace
Grave yard
Not to scale
N
Orchard & Trees
Orchard & Trees
1
S
S
234
5 67
89
1012
11
13
14
16
17
18
19
20
MT
MD
M
Teakwood (3 years)
Teakwood (8 years)
15
SpringRock
Village Clinic
Play Ground
Primary School
Small Vegetable Gardens
Orchard & Trees
M: Motorbike
T: Dump Truck
D: Drugstore
1,11
2,14
3,16
4,12
6,7,9,13
8,15
10
17
18
19
20
Village Boat place
1-20: Owner signs of Teakwood
squatter houses
Figure III-4 Land use map of inner Phonsavang
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belongings. Donna administratively belongs to these sites at present, but the sawmill has the
right to use it. All sawmill workers who come from outer Phonsavang and Donna live in sawmill
accommodation. They are supplied with electricity by the factory and some of the workers’
families run several groceries. There are six sawmill workers in Phonsavang and four workers in
Donna, too. In addition to the sawmill, there are six squatter houses in Phonsavang village area.
Phonsavang villagers do not care about them and these houses do not belong to the village
organisations. The squatters were mostly Lao Theung people.
Each village has public places like a temple “Wat” and a meeting place “Samoson”. Other
public facilities such as a school, a clinic and a drugstore are in Phonsavang but Donna
villagers are also able to use them. While Phonsavang has a graveyard near the
accommodation area, Donna does not have a graveyard. Phonsavang made it when they
settled to the present place in 1988, but Donna still has it at the old village site. In Donna, there
is a graveyard of the Oudom village which is located about 2 km away from Pakbeng. It was
already in its position before Donna settled.
S S 1 B c
L: Lao Thong B: Boat
Electricity
Thresher
Grocery
Village wooden Pagoda
Fish Pond
Well
Sawmill
Temple
S: Sawmill worker’s house
7
1-7: Owner No. of Fish Pond
Route 2 Pakbeng, Oudom
Nam Mui Stream
Public meeting place
Sawmill worker accommodations
Sawmill Lumberyard
Orchard & Trees
Not to scale
N
5 6
3 4
2
1
L
L
5 6 2
B
B
7 B B b
B
B
4 B 3 B
L
L
L
L B L S
L L B
B B a
S
Orchard & Trees a
Teakwood (3 years)
c
b
Owned by Phonsavan
villager
a-c: Owner No. of Teakwood House
Grave yard of Oudom
village
Houn, Phonsavang
Figure III-5 Land use map of inner Donna
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IV-2. Landscape
The village landscape between mountains is different
from that of open fields. Basically the rural settlement in
Laos is formed irregular clustered farm village which is
without any orderly plan to direct their growth. In case
of open fields, settlements and their places to do
economic activities were located before the main road
was constructed. Therefore the mode of production
such as agriculture, fishery or forestry and their
settlement can be found around the road. In the case of
the study area, however, the main road was
constructed first and after those villagers settled along
the road in order to get public services. Therefore the
mode of production can not be found by viewing only
the living area. Some new activities such as teakwood
plantations and fish ponds are confirmed in the inner
village.
There are small groceries along Route 2. It is one of
the common features of Laos. And another, there is a
sawmill between Phonsavang and Donna along Route 2.
It may safely be said that the sawmill is a very strange
building because there are not any industrial facilities
along Route 2. There is a Chinese capital garment factory near Xay which is a provincial town,
but it is small compared with the sawmill. The sawmill clearly stands out from ordinary house
buildings in the rural area. There is more detailed information about the sawmill in chapter IV-3.
The village landscapes of Phonsavang are shown in Figure III-6 (i). Route 2 and two squatter
houses are shown in the foreground of the figure. A complete picture of the Phonsavang is hard
to see, but the temple on the hill can be found. Mountains which are bald here and there in
Figure III-6 (i) are shifting cultivation fields of Phonsavang. The village landscapes of Donna are
shown in Figure III-6 (ii).
House type is different among tribes. Lao Lum families generally live stilt house, while the Lao
Theung or Lao Sung people live in houses which are directly built on the ground. Although there
are nine Lao Theung families in Donna, all houses are stilt house. The sawmill workers’ houses
and Lao Theung squatter houses are directly built on the ground.
Figure III-7 shows a typical house in the study area. The family consists of father, mother,
daughter (15 years old) and son (12 years old), and the living level is the up medium. The floor
area of house per person may be wider than other families. The house was built in 1994 and is
(i) Phonsavang (taken at the hill of
sawmill)
(ii) Donna (taken at the centre of
village)
Figure III-6 The village landscapes
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made of Burmese ebony (Pterocarpus macrocarpus)
“May Du” which is hardwood tree. The total cost for
building the house was about 400,000kip (US$550).
They do not have any kind of furniture, but have
hunting and fishing tools, bedclothes, baskets,
tablewares and kitchen utensils. Tablewares and
kitchen utensils are kept at Bed room (A). Cooking
spaces are kitchen and Terrace (A) and these are
detached from the main building. Kitchen and terrace
of many houses in the study area are usually
detached from the main building as shown in Figure
III-7 (i).
In the kitchen are hunting and fishing tools, and a
shelf up to the fire place for making smoked foods.
Usually the kitchen is used for storing foods and the
place for using fire, but it functions as a dining room
for women and children if guests come. Men and
guests have a meal at a sitting area when guests
come, but women and children can not come out to
the sitting area. Terrace (A) is used for washing
vegetables, scraping off scales, washing tableware
and cleaning clothes. There is nothing in the sitting
area and the room is poorly lighted. Windows on the
sitting area were boarded up because it is cold in the
winter season (from November to February).
Under the floor of the stilt house is used for working
spaces such as weaving (Figure III-8) and storing their
foods. In the case of the house in the photo, there was
a weaving machine, a bicycle, sticky rice for making
liquor, liquor “Lao hai”, firewood, baskets for fishing
and buffalo plough tools.
The building materials, especially wall and roof
materials make a big difference among the villagers. In
the case of the Figure III-7, the roof and wall are made
of wood. In addition to wood, materials listed in Table
III-4 are used in the study area. Although expensive
materials are durable and easy to maintain, it does not
Terrace(A)
Bed room
(B)
(for parents)B
ed room (A
)(for daughter)
Mattress(for son)
Sitting area
Kitchen
Windows(boarded up)
Rice
Garlicchili
Hunting and fishing goodsFire place Firewood
Terrace(B)
Bananas in the chaff
1m
(i) Plain figure of house
(ii) House overview
(iii) Wooden roof
Figure III-7 Typical house in study site
(A house of Mr. Xieng Veuy in Donna)
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always follow that these are comfortable.
In fact, owing to over 40 degrees in the hottest season (from March to May), a bamboo wall
and a thatched roof may be more comfortable than a mortar wall and a slate roof. So that it can
not be said that rich families use expensive materials, however poor families commonly use a
thatched roof and a bamboo wall. Wooden roofs are widely used in temples and are comfortable,
cheep and easy to maintain. The only problem is that the construction work requires much time.
Villagers choose building materials depending on their taste and cost. In order of frequency,
thatch, tin, wood and slate are used for roofs, and wood, bamboo and finished mortar are used
for walls.
The graveyard landscape is closely concerned with religion. Most Lao Lum are Theravada
Buddhists. Theravada Buddhists around Southeast Asia cremate and then bury their dead thus
villagers must decide the place where they will do that, and that place becomes their graveyard.
After the cremation the villagers set a wooden frame as the grave-post (Figure III-9). Some of
them construct small houses, and some only put a wooden stick in the ground. These
grave-post styles change depending on the financial ability of the bereaved family and the age
or status of the dead person.
Villagers do not cremate in the case where more than two persons die consecutively or an
infant dies. Then these graves do not have a grave-post. For example in Phonsavang, just
before arrived the survey team, a 76 years old man died of old age and then a 16 year old
young woman died of an ill-defined disease the day after the old man’s death. In such case,
villagers do not cremate the second dead person, because the soul of the old man who is
cremated and buried can not be perfectly consigned only in a day. Therefore the second dead
person is only buried without cremating. However, villagers said this custom is changeable by an
earnest desire of the bereaved family.
IV-3. Space perception of villagers
In order to understand the villagers’ geographic space perception, the author tried to ask
Table III-4 The characteristics of building materials
Items
Materials Price Maintenance
Heat insulating
Air permeability
Labour for construction
Thatch Cheap Every 2 years Bad Very good much
Tin Expensive If necessary Good Bad Less
Wood Ordinary Broken part only Ordinary Good Very much
Roof
Slate Very expensive Not necessary Very good Bad Ordinary
Bamboo Cheap Every 3-4 years Very bad Good Less
Wood Ordinary Broken part only Ordinary Ordinary Ordinary
Wall
Mortar finished Very expensive Broken part only Very good Bad much
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villagers to draw a village map as they like. This kind of
map is called a “mental map,” which is often used in
geographic research. The mental maps which are drawn
by various villagers indicate their thinking. The drawn
elements may be unconsciously drawn by them, yet
usually it consists of the elements of which people think it
is important or strange, and also its sphere of drawing can
indicate their sphere of action. The results of the mental
map analysis are shown in Table III-5 and some examples
of the mental maps are shown in Figure III-10.
As a result of the map analysis, almost all the
Phonsavang villagers drew Route 2, the spring and the
Nam Beng river. Following these, the temple “Wat”, the
public meeting place “Samoson” and their own house
come next, and some of them drew the sawmill, the school
and the village clinic. As regards Donna, Route 2, the
sawmill, the temple, the Nam Mui river, the Nam Beng river,
their own house and the spring are shown in many of their
mental maps. Wells and threshers were only drawn by
less than half of the villagers.
The important elements for them are pass and water. Most of the villagers have these images
in their head. For the Donna villagers, the spring in Phonsavang is a very important drinking
water source, so that it is drawn by many villagers despite its location in Phonsavang. Donna
has wells as another water source, however these were drawn by only seven Donna villagers.
The reason for not drawing these wells might be that those are used less frequently. And no
one drew Samoson in Donna. Because their Samoson stands in the same area with the temple,
villagers might not think to separate Samoson from the temple. All the Donna villagers and
seven Phonsavang villagers drew the sawmill. Why did they draw it although there is many other
important facilities, for example, the wells, the school, the village clinic etc.? The answer is that
the sawmill is a heterogeneous element in their community. The sawmill was constructed in 1994
without the villagers’ consent (mentioned in Chapter III-2) and, right or wrong, it must make a
strong impact on their rural society.
The Donna villagers drew the map wider than the Phonsavang villagers. Many Donna villagers
drew the Phonsavang spring, but in contrast, most of the Phonsavang villagers drew only the
inner part of their village. Except for the spring, the sphere of drawing of both two villages is
nearly the same. However, a few people in both villages drew neighbouring villages. When
neighbouring village can not be ignored for living, it means that they regard helping each other
Figure III-8 Weaving under the house
Figure III-9 Graveyard in Phonsavang
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as an important activity.
Besides, it is remarkable that two old men in Phonsavang drew old the village positions.
Usually people do not draw non-existent elements. It indicates that they remember the
settlement from these old positions and the events have important meanings for them.
Table III-5 The results of the mental map analysis
Landmark
Route 2
Phonsavang's S
pring
Nam
Beng R
iver
Nam
Mui R
iver
Phonsavang T
emple
Donna T
emple
Public M
eeting Place
School
Village C
linic
Donna's W
ell
Thresher
Saw
mill
Ow
n House
Sphere of D
rawing *
Other Remarkable Elements
Y1 W All neighboring villages positionY2 M His rice field positionY3 NM1 MM2 MM3 MO1 M Old village positionsO2 W Old village positionsO3 MY1 MY2 MY3 MM1 N Mountains and sunM2 NM3 NO1 MO2 MO3 MY1 W Forest and fruits fieldY2 W Nam Mui village positionY3 WM1 M Banana fieldM2 MM3 M Direction of sunrise and sunset O1 MO2 MO3 MY1 WY2 WY3 WM1 WM2 WM3 WO1 WO2 WO3 W
Note: Y1, Y2, Y3: Young people, M1, M2, M3: Meddle aged people, O1, O2, O3: Older people* W (Wide range): Drawing the outer part of their village
M (Middle range): Drawing the inner part of their villageN (Narrow range): Drawing the their village center only
Wom
en
Donna
Phonsavang
Men
Wom
enM
en
UNDP/UNCDF Small Scale Irrigation Project in Oudomxay and Luang Namtha Phonsavang and Donna Villages Study Report
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Figure III-10 Mental Maps of Villagers
(I) Middle-aged woman in Phonsavang
(ii) Older man in Phonsavang
(iii) Young man in Phonsavang
(iv) Young man in Donna
Temple
Meeting place
Spring
Sawmill
School
Route 2
Her house
Nam Beng river Temple
Village Spring
Nam Beng river
path
Donna village
Old village
Old village
Saw
mill
Route 2
Phonsavang Village
Nam Beng river
Saw
mill
Route 2
Nam Mao river
Donna village
Don Keo village
Koa Nam Mao village
Spring
His house
Temple
Threshe
r
Route 2
Field
Threshe
Spring
Forest
Forest
Nam Mui river
Sawmill
Village
Wells
UNDP/UNCDF Small Scale Irrigation Project in Oudomxay and Luang Namtha Phonsavang and Donna Villages Study Report
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V. Infrastructure
V-1. Personal properties
The villagers’ personal properties are shown in Table V-1. It is
clear that Phonsavang thinks much of access to markets and
public services, and Donna thinks much of river transportation and
fishing.
Figure V-1 shows a thresher. The owner bought the thresher at
400,000 kip (=US$560 at that time) in 1994 in cooperation with
relatives. He can get 100 kip/kalon (1 kalon =about 16 kg hulled
rice) from thresher users and consumes about 100 litre/year
(35,000 kip =US$38) petrol. As a result of the balance, he earns
70,000 kip (=US$76) a year by the thresher. There is a thresher
owner in Donna who earns as much as 200,000 kip (=US$217).
The price of a boat engine is between
100,000 kip (=US$109) and 160,000 kip
(=US$174) second-hand. It depends on
HP and the condition of the engine. The
boat engine owners consume more than
50 litre/year of petrol.
V-2. Water supply
The water supply situations are shown in Table V-2. Phonsavang has two natural water supply
sources - the Nam Beng River (Figure V-2) and a spring “Nam Ook Bo” (Figure V-3). The Nam
Beng River is 200 meters away from the village and the spring is located in the centre of the
village.
Donna has the Nam Beng River and two wells (Figure V-4) as water supply sources. Although
Donna is located along the Nam Mui stream, villagers can scarcely use the Nam Mui stream
water because of the bad quality. The Nam Mui stream
is only used to supply water to fishponds. The Nam
Beng river is 500 meters away from the village and the
wells are located in the centre of the village.
The spring water is good quality and used for all
purpose, accordingly all villagers draw their drinking
water from the spring. The spring is thought to be one
of ground water which is flowing in a joint of the Karst
landform. Water of the Nam Beng River is mainly used
Figure V-1 Thresher
Table V-1 Personal properties in the study area Items
Village Phonsavang Donna
Car (ISUZU Dump truck) 1 -
Motorbike (HONDA Dream) 2 -
Boat engine - 13
Thresher 4 3
Figure V-2 The Nam Beng river
UNDP/UNCDF Small Scale Irrigation Project in Oudomxay and Luang Namtha Phonsavang and Donna Villages Study Report
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for washing tableware, laundry and bathing, yet
villagers who are living nearer the spring than Nam
Beng River do not use the river.
The Donna wells were dug this year by assistance
from the Houn district hospital. However, they could
dig only 3 meters owing to a rock layer under the
ground. The water of the wells is not suitable for
drinking, therefore the Donna villagers usually go to
draw drinking water to the Phonsavang village’s spring.
The distance between the two villages is about 700
meters.
Carrying water is the children’s and women’s job.
Usually schoolchildren go to school with plastic
buckets in order to take back water in the afternoon
and the evening. It is very heavy work, especially for
the Donna villagers. According to the interviews, the
Donna villagers are eager to get a clean drinking
water source in the village.
V-3. Electricity
The two villages basically do not have electricity supply facilities, but there is one house in
Donna which receives its electricity supply from the sawmill. There are two sawmill workers in
that house, and it is fortunate that the house is located very close to the sawmill. The sawmill is
supplying electricity to workers within the limits of the possible. The service hours are from
sunset to 21:00 and electricity is free. Except for workers who are living in the sawmill village
“Ban Hong Luai”, most of the sawmill workers in Phonsavang and Donna are not supplied with
Table V-2 Water supply situation of study area
Items Village
For drinking For washing tableware For laundry For bathing
Phonsavang Spring Spring Spring Nam Beng River
Spring Nam Beng River
Donna Spring Wells Wells Spring
Spring Wells Nam Beng River
Note: in the order of frequency in use
Figure V-3 The spring in
Phonsavang
Figure V-4 Wells in Donna
UNDP/UNCDF Small Scale Irrigation Project in Oudomxay and Luang Namtha Phonsavang and Donna Villages Study Report
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electricity because they live far from the sawmill.
Typical villagers, usually spend their night time by use of candle and a kerosene lamp, but
poor villagers spend their night time without light or only a candle.
V-4. Educational facility
School children of the two villages
attend the Boribun primary school
(Figure V-5) which is located in
Phonsavang. School age depends on
household economy situations. Some
children can enter school at six years
old because it is not necessary for them
to help, but some children enter at ten years old because they must help with housework or take
care of babies. There are several children who do not enter school at all because they are
regarded as one of the labour force for their family.
As children finish five-year primary school, they usually start working. Only a few children go to
secondary school which is located either in Houn (district town) or Xay (provincial town).
Some schoolteachers come from Houn and live next to the school. The villagers give the
teachers rice as pay.
V-5. Medical
There are a village clinic, facilities and a drugstore, and a doctor is stationed in Phonsavang.
The doctor sent by the Houn district office looks after Phonsavang, Donna and areas around
the villages and is working without pay. He is from Vientiane and worked as an army doctor. He
gets money by selling medicines at the drugstore.
When villagers get sick, they used to get traditional treatment or to see a faith curer, however,
now they go to the village clinic or purchase medicines. Even Lao Theung, who is animist, does
so. The richer persons go to bigger hospital like the Houn district hospital at Houn or Oudomxay
provincial hospital at Xay. A few richer people have even gone to Luang Pabang, Vientiane and
Thailand for treatment.
The cost of medical treatment is 1,000 - 2,000 kip per time for a cold, a headache or a
stomach-ache. and 50,000 kip per time for malaria. Annual expenses for medical treatment are
2,000 - 2,000,000 kip. The costs for health are very expensive in comparison with commodity
prices, so that the poorer peoples get less treatment and are more unhealthy.
V-6. Public facilities
Almost all Laotian villages where the religion of the villagers is Buddhist have at least one
Figure V-5 Boribun primary school at Phonsavang
UNDP/UNCDF Small Scale Irrigation Project in Oudomxay and Luang Namtha Phonsavang and Donna Villages Study Report
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temple “Wat” in the village, and the study area is also
no exception to this case. The locations of the temples
of both villages stand on a hill (Figure V-6).
There is a meeting place “Samoson” (Figure V-7) in
both villages. These Samoson only have a roof and
pillars with benches underneath. Usually these are
used for public purposes: meetings, interviews and
farewell ceremony “Basi” were held at both meeting
places when the survey team visited and studied. It can
be also used as a wedding ceremony place. The
Samoson in Donna was used as school in former time,
but is now used as a Samoson. The Donna Samoson is
shabby compared with Phonsavang’s.
In addition to the public meeting place, the village
leader’s house is used when a village committee
meeting is held or they receive guests.
V-7. Communications
Road and river transportation Route 2 goes
through from Xay to Pakbeng, playing a very important
role for economic activities in the study area. The road
condition is very bad. As shown in Figure V-8, it is
paved but there are potholes everywhere. Between
Phonsavang or Donna and Xay, 116 km away, it takes
at least 4 hours and a half even if a experienced driver
drives.
Both villages have public transportation services, but
there are not regular services. Several private pick-up
truck taxis “Rot-doisane”, which are permitted by the
provincial or governmental authority, run between major
towns. The fare for one person by use of a pick-up
truck taxi is 700 kip (US$0.8) from Phonsavang or
Donna to Houn (23 km away), 800 kip (US$0.9) to
Pakbeng (28 km away) and 3,000 kip (US$3.3) to Xay
(116 km away). In case of emergency or when there are
no taxis, villagers negotiate with passing cars about the
Figure V-9 Wooden Boat under
making
Figure V-6 Phonsavang temple
Figure V-7 Phonsavang’s public
meeting place
Figure V-8 The road condition of the
Route 2
UNDP/UNCDF Small Scale Irrigation Project in Oudomxay and Luang Namtha Phonsavang and Donna Villages Study Report
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fare and then most of passing cars generally consent to pick them up. In such a case the fare is
normally a little bit more expensive than the ordinary fare.
There is a dump truck in Phonsavang. It is used for a wide range of purpose such as
transporting people, rice and forest products. However, it is not a public car, so that the dump
truck owner never moves it without recovering the petrol cost.
Both villages have plenty of wooden boats (Figure V-9). They use those in the Nam Beng river
and those are not used for transport but fishing, going to their rice fields and ferrying across the
Nam Beng river (only in the rainy season). Because Donna’s rice fields are faraway from their
living area, Donna villagers use the boats more often than Phonsavang, and they have nine
boat engines as well as the boats.
As regards Mekong river transportation, Pakbeng is connected with Luang Pabang and Houay
Xay. Houay Xay is the one of towns which have opened on the border between Thailand and
Laos. The distance from Pakbeng to both towns are about 150 km. It takes more than 5 hours,
depending on the season and the boat. When villagers in the study area go to Thailand, they
generally use the Mekong river route through Pakbeng and Houay Xay. In fact, some shop
owners in Phonsavang have gone to Thailand by use of this route for stocking things to sell.
Telephone and post There is no telephone network in the study area. When villagers want
to use the telephone, they need to go to the PTT (Post, Telephone and Telegram) office at
Houn. A posting service is also unavailable for villagers, however, if there is mail for the villagers,
the PTT asks people who go in the direction of village to bring the mail.
V-8. Market
There are seven grocery stores in Phonsavang and two in Donna and all of those are located
alongside the Route 2 as shown in Figures III-4 and III-5. Table V-3 shows retail prices of
selected items in the study area and Vientiane. Those shops do not sell fresh foods such as
meat, fish, vegetables and rice. Their goods are daily necessities and preserved foods such as
tinned foods, dried foods, seasonings and drinks as listed in Table V-3. The reason why shops
do not sell such fresh foods is that almost all the villagers can get these things by themselves,
and also private sellers of fresh things are wide spread in the village. In addition to this, meat
merchants frequently come to the villages to sell fresh meets.
The retail prices of Laos made things in the study area are more expensive than Vientiane
because the transportation cost is added. For example, salt is 2.5 times as expensive as
Vientiane’s one because it is transported from Vientiane province. However, some of the
Chinese imports are cheaper than Vientiane, because the added transportation cost is less than
Vientiane. Some Thailand imports are also cheap as the shop owner sometimes goes to
Thailand via Pakbeng-Houay Xay route to get things at a low price.
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Villagers go to Houn market or Pakbeng market in order to get clothes, farming tools and other
things. There are all kinds of retailer tenants in those markets, so that shop owners also
frequently go to there to get retail things.
Table V-3 Retail price of selected items in the study area (grocery at Phonsavang) and
Vientiane Items Study Area Vientiane
(unit) Country
(kip) (kip) Pre cooked noodles “mi wai-wai” Thailand 200 200 Dry noodles Thailand 250 200 Foods Tinned fish Tin Thailand 250 350 Chemical seasoning bag Thailand 1,300 1,300 Fish sauce Bottle Thailand 1,000 900 Pepper Laos 50 - Salt 12kg Laos 1,500 600
Sea-sonings
Shrimp paste condiment “kapi” Thailand 300 250 Factory made sticky rice liquor “lao-lao” Bottle Laos 1,500 700 Home made sticky rice liquor “lao-lao” Bottle Laos 600 600/litre Drinking water Bottle Laos 300 300 Energy drink “krathinden” Bottle Thailand 500 600
and shifting cultivation fields. The yields of some
new paddy fields are more than 3 tons/ha, but
yields of ordinary fields are 2 tons/ha. The
annual minimum consumption of rice per person
is about 300 kg (170 kg/person in hulled rice),
accordingly, they need a minimum of 0.15 ha of
rice farming fields per person. Figure VI-4 is the
results of calculation of the area of rice farming
fields per capita depending on farming type. As
a result, the families of both villages which have
only shifting cultivation fields can not secure a
minimum quantity of rice. In the case of Donna,
although paddy families also can not secure
enough rice as well as shifting cultivation families, farmers who hold both fields have enough
fields to produce surplus rice. Paddy field farmer in Phonsavang who hold both fields just
produce rice for their own consumption.
To try to make clear the villages farming system, the ratio of the rice farming fields type is
analysed. Figure VI-5 and Figure VI-6 show rice farming of the study area. Rice farming in
Phonsavang is paddy dominant system, however that in Donna is shifting cultivation dominant
system (Figure VI-5). Figure VI-6 (i) illustrates that the Phonsavang families which hold wider
paddy hold few shifting cultivation fields if compared with the families which hold only shifting
UNDP/UNCDF Small Scale Irrigation Project in Oudomxay and Luang Namtha Phonsavang and Donna Villages Study Report
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cultivation fields. Because it is not
necessary for the families which hold wider
paddy to do heavy labour of shifting
cultivation, they tend to stop it. Shifting
cultivation plays a role of making up for the
crop shortage of paddy field. Therefore, the
size of shifting cultivation fields is decreased
in inverse proportion to increasing the
paddy fields.
In Donna, the relation between the shifting
cultivation area and paddy is not simple.
Villagers who hold wide paddy fields hold
the wide shifting cultivation fields, and the
area of shifting cultivation fields of the
paddy dominant families is almost the same
as the shifting cultivation dominant families
(Figure VI-6 (ii)). The family holding size of
shifting cultivation fields do not change with
the size of holding paddy fields. To get more
Nam Beng River
The National Road No.2
PhonsavangDonna
Nam MuiStream
Pakbeng
Houn
0 1
km
Nam MaoStream
Shifting cultivation fields
Paddy fields
Note: This map was made by author’s fields survey.This is not accurate at scale and area.
PS : Owned by Phonsavang
DN: Owned by Donna
DN
DNPS PS
PS
PS
PS
PS
PSPS
DNDN
River or stream Irrigation canal
Figure VI-7 Outline location of rice farming fields.
Table VI-4 Types of Forest lands
Types Purposes Forbidden things
Protection forests “Pa hovang-ham”
i) Protection of water resource ii) Protection against soil erosion iii) Protection of steep slopes iv) National strategic defence areas v) Protection against natural disasters vi) Protection environment and others
i) Cutting any trees ii) Collecting any forest produces iii) Farming activities
Conservation forests
“Pa sa-nguan”
Preservation of life, nature and others (which hold special value for the environment, education and culture)
i) Cutting any trees ii) Collecting any forest produces iii) Farming activities iv) Hunting
Production forests “Pa som-sai”
Forest lands which are allotted to meet the requirements in national economic development and people’s living condition (without any impact on the environment)
Regenerated forests
Forest lands which must be regenerated and maintained into production forests
Cutting trees excepting using for firewood, building houses, making boats (All activities must obtain permission of authority such as MAF*, province, district or village. )
Degraded forest lands
Forest lands which are seriously damaged forest or land without forest cover or bald land which are allotted to permanent agriculture, forestry and livestock production.
*MAF: The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Note: This table was made by referred to the Prime Minister’s Decree No. 99/PM.
UNDP/UNCDF Small Scale Irrigation Project in Oudomxay and Luang Namtha Phonsavang and Donna Villages Study Report
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rice, rich farmers in Phonsavang try to extend more
paddy fields with Phonsavang’s system, but rich farmers
in Donna try to extend more shifting cultivation fields with
Donna’s system.
Locations of rice farming fields are shown in Figure
VI-7. It is difficult to estimate precisely the area of fields,
and also difficult to classify land uses. Basically land
uses, especially forest classifications, are defined in
“Decree of the prime minister on the management and
use of forests and forest land, Chapter II Delineation and
classification of Forest Types” which was pursuant to the
Prime Minister’s Decree No. 99/PM, dated 19/03/1993,
on the management and use of land. The decree
classified forestland into five types as shown in Table
VI-3 and set the Article 31; Rotating Shifting Cultivation
or Gardening by the Population. According to the Article
31, villagers do rotating slash and burn or orchard
cultivation only within degraded land or non-forest land
and have to convert to the appropriate sedentary
agriculture, forestry and livestock production as much as
possible. In Figure VI-7, shifting cultivation fields, paddy
fields and living areas are classified as degraded forest
land, other area are classified as protection forests,
conservation forests and production forests. According
to interview with village’s chief, existence of regenerated
forests is not confirmed and production forest was called
shifting cultivation forests “Pa-Lao samlap Het-hai”. Both
villages punish any person who did hunting in
conservation forests with a fine of 15,000 kip (US$16)
and cut a big tree in protection forests or conservation
forests with a fine of about US$300.
In 1995, these forest classifications were introduced
into the villages, two years after the Decree had been
decided. Till then, both villages had managed forest in their territory by themselves, however, in
fact the forests had been randomly exploited. Interviews with shifting cultivation farmers clearly
indicate the fact, because five out of six interviewees said that they could extend their cultivation
lands when no one used the neighbouring field.
(i) shifting cultivation fields Landscape
(ii) The fallow period of a year
(iii) The fallow period of 3 years
(iv) The fallow period of 4 years
Figure VI-8 Shifting cultivation fields
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The shifting cultivation system of both villages
is a year cultivation with a fallow period of four
years. So they usually have four fields for
cultivation. The fields are already determined
because they inherit the field from ancestors,
and there is little space to cultivate between
production lands. As a result, although villagers
know that the soil fertility becomes good and
increases the yields when the fallows period
lengthen, villagers can not extend the fields
easily. In the case of new villagers, they have to
look for and develop a new cultivation field.
According to a new villager who came to Donna
in 1986, he uses the field which is alloted by
village administration every year.
Shifting cultivation farmers leave big trees,
hard trees and stumps as their standards of
slashing, however few big trees have been left
in their field. A condition of their shifting cultivation lands is shown in Figure VI-8. There is only a
kind of weeds with 40-50 cm height in the land of the first-year fallow. After three years, the
secondary forests grow higher than human height, the kinds of secondary forests are bamboo
“May-pay”, a kind of pine tree “Ton-pao”, a kind of weed which is called France grass “Nya-kilo”
(Eupatorium odoratum L.), a kind of sensitive plant which is called communist grass “Nya-nyup”
(Mimosa pudica L.), cogon grass (or thatch grass) “Nya-kha” (Imperata cylindrica L.) and others.
The height of the weeds becomes higher and grows in high density, but trees do not grow big
after only four years. Four years is not a sustainable fallow period.
The farming tool for doing shifting cultivation is the traditional axe. The axe is used for slashing
and harvesting. When farmers seed rice seed in the field, they use only a wooden stick as the
seeding tool. They do not use any fertiliser or compost.
Both villages constructed an irrigation canal themselves from the Nam Mao stream or its
branches to develop paddy fields (Figure VI-9). Basically their rice is a single crop, however in
the Phonsavang paddy which is located in the upper Nam Mao stream (shown in Figure VI-7)
two crops a year are grown. It is impossible to cultivate two crops a year at the paddy fields
downstream because of the lack of irrigation water.
The villagers who hold paddy fields take the lead in maintenance of the irrigation canals at
least once a year. The main maintenance works are to dig the canal wider and to remove
obstacles such as branches, stones, and leaves.
(i) Paddy field
(ii) Irrigation canal
Figure VI-9 Landscape of Paddy and canal
Canal
Nam Mao
UNDP/UNCDF Small Scale Irrigation Project in Oudomxay and Luang Namtha Phonsavang and Donna Villages Study Report
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The farming tools for doing
paddy cultivation are the
traditional sickle, the buffalo
plough and the buffalo wooden
rake (Figure VI-10).
There are 14 paddy families in
Phonsavang and 5 paddy
families in Donna which do not
raise any buffalo (Figure VI-11,
and also see Appendix 1 and 2). The
paddy families which do not possess any
buffaloes in Donna hold only less than 0.1
ha/person, but families in Phonsavang
hold more than 0.1 ha/person. Perhaps,
less than 0.1 ha/person (=10 X 10
m2/person) is a possible size to plough
without using buffalo, however ploughing
an area of more than 0.15 ha/person
(=38.7 X 38.7 m2/person) without using
buffalo require very hard labour. Therefore,
most of paddy families in Phonsavang’s which do not possess any buffaloes have to hire a
buffalo from someone. The buffalo owner can get 30 kalon (about 266 kg un-hulled rice) of rice
per buffalo. 30 kalon of rice is equivalent to an adult man’s consumption per year.
They do not use any fertiliser or compost, however buffalo dung substitute for compost.
The survey team investigated the farmer’s daily rhythm (Table VI-5). Villagers do not have
electricity except for one Donna family, so that they keep early hours in order to effectively use
the sunshine. The times shown in Table VI-5 might not be precise because many villagers
usually did not have any watch or clock. The hour to rise depends on the cockcrow.
The farmers get up around 5 a.m. (one farmer said “cockcrow in twice.”), and then they go to
their field on foot. Paddy fields of Phonsavang are not so far. They can reach there within 30
minutes, but shifting cultivation fields of them are very far: about one hour. In the case of the
Donna villagers, they generally use a boat to go to the fields which are located along the Nam
Beng river. They work for more than 8 hours. It is very hard to work in the hot season. They
make a sunshade hut in the field every year to avoid strong sunshine and they take a nap in the
hut at the breaking time in noon. After finishing work, they bathe, and have a meal. They sleep
at the latest 9 p.m.
0
2
4
6
8
10
<.05 .05<.1 .1<.15 .15<.2 .2<.25 .25<The area of paddy fields per person
(ha/person)
The num
ber of family
Phonsavang Donna
Figure VI-11 The number of paddy cultivation
families which do not possess any buffalo
(i) Buffalo plough
(ii) Buffalo rake
Figure VI-10 Farming tools using in paddy field
UNDP/UNCDF Small Scale Irrigation Project in Oudomxay and Luang Namtha Phonsavang and Donna Villages Study Report