47 ῏ 4 ῑ2010 ῒ 3 ῐ

῍ῌAgency, Opportunity and Risk: Commercialization and
Human-nature Relationships in Laos
Introduction ῌῌῌῌῌ KDCD Yasuyuki, Nathan B69:CD8=, TDB>I6 Shinsukeῌῌ ῍365῎
Linkham DDJ6C<H6K6CI=, NDC6@6 Kenichi
The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the
Northern Mountainous Region of Laos ῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌ YD@DN6B6 Satoshiῌῌ ῍374῎
Can Paper Mulberry Contribute to Building Sustainable
Rural Livelihoods in Northern Laos ? ῌ Andreas N::;, Pornsiri SJ:7EDC<H6C<ῌῌ ῍403῎
Chanhsom M6CNI=DC<
Wirachinee T68=::C6, O<6I6 Kazuo
Time-geographic Analysis on Natural Resource Use in a
Village of the Vientiane Plain ῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌ N>H=>BJG6 Yuichiroῌῌ ῍426῎O@6BDID Kohei, Somkhit BDJA>96B
Conflict between Water Buffalo and Market-Oriented Agriculture:
A Case Study from Northern Laosῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌ T6@6> Yasuhiro, Thanongsone S>7DJC=:J6C<ῌῌ ῍451῎
Water, Livelihood and Health in Attapeu Provincein Lao PDR ῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌ M>9DG>@6L6 Yutaka, M>9DG>@6L6 Kaoruῌῌ ῍478῎Bounphenh S6C<HDBH68@, Traykhouane P=DJI6K6C
Kampheng C=DBA6H6@, W6I6C67: Toru
Nanthasane V6CC6KDC<, H67: Shigehisa
N6@6IHJ Masami, KDH6@6 Yasuyuki
Kongsap A@@=6KDC<, Boungnong BDJE=6
Michel SIGD7:A, N6@6BJG6 Satoshi
47 ῍῏῎ῌ ῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌ ῍499῎Vol. 47, No. 4

March 2010

CONTENTS
Agency, Opportunity and Risk: Commercialization and
Human-nature Relationships in Laos
KDCD Yasuyuki
Introduction ῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌ ῍365῎Nathan B69:CD8=
TDB>I6 Shinsuke
Linkham DDJ6C<H6K6CI=
NDC6@6 Kenichi
YD@DN6B6 Satoshi

The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the
Northern Mountainous Region of Laos ῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌ ῍374῎

Can Paper Mulberry Contribute to Building Sustainable Rural
Andreas N::;
Pornsiri
Livelihoods in Northern Laos ? ῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌ ῍403῎
SJ:7EDC<H6C<
Chanhsom M6CNI=DC<
Wirachinee T68=::C6
O<6I6 Kazuo
N>H=>BJG6 Yuichiro
O@6BDID Kohei
Somkhit BDJA>96B

Time-geographic Analysis on Natural Resource Use

T6@6> Yasuhiro
Thanongsone
S>7DJC=:J6C<

Conflict between Water Buffalo and Market-Oriented Agriculture:

in a Village of the Vientiane Plainῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌ ῍426῎A Case Study from Northern Laos ῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌ ῍451῎

M>9DG>@6L6 Yutaka Water, Livelihood and Health in Attapeu Province in Lao PDR
M>9DG>@6L6 Kaoruῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌ ῍478῎Bounphenh S6C<HDBH68@, Traykhouane P=DJI6K6C
Kampheng C=DBA6H6@, W6I6C67: Toru
Nanthasane V6CC6KDC<, H67: Shigehisa
N6@6IHJ Masami, KDH6@6 Yasuyuki
Kongsap A@@=6KDC<, Boungnong BDJE=6
Michel SIGD7:A, N6@6BJG6 Satoshi
Index to Vol. 47ῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌῌ ῍499῎Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. ῏ῑ, No. ῏, March ῎ῌ῍ῌAgency, Opportunity and Risk: Commercialization and
Human-nature Relationships in Laos
Introduction
KDCD Yasuyuki*, Nathan B69:CD8=**, TDB>I6 Shinsuke***
Linkham DDJ6C<H6K6CI=** and NDC6@6 Kenichi****

From Land-locked to Land-linked
Laos, previously known as an isolated and land-locked country, has undergone rapidchanges bringing it into the dynamic regional economy of Southeast Asia. Locatedstrategically at the center of the region, and home to many of the region’s remaining
natural resources, the country is better understood now as “land-linked” [Kono et al. ῎ῌῌῒ].
Regional integration is proceeding at a rapid pace, driven by national policies, regional
cooperation and the private sector. Each of Laos’ ῍ῐ provinces has an international
border. With the opening of the Lao national economy starting with the ῍ΐῒῐ Chinthanakaan mai policy, local Lao economies have begun to orient themselves towards markets
in neighboring countries and beyond. Thailand, China and Vietnam are now not simply
sources of commodities for the Lao population, but have become partners in trade andinvestment.
The larger context for these local market-based linkages is the driver to create acommon economic arena on the mainland of Southeast Asia, including the provinces ofSouthwestern China. The Greater Mekong Subregion, a regional mechanism funded by
the Asian Development Bank with significant financial backing from the Japanese
government, is working to integrate communications and energy networks to promote
the movement of capital, goods and people across the region [ADB ῎ῌῌ῏]. With improved
road links, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese companies are increasingly attracted to Laos asa destination for investment.

This in turn has stimulated the growth of a modest

domestic private sector providing basic services.
ῌ Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University
e-mail: konocseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp
ῌῌNational Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Lao PDRῌῌῌ Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyoῌῌῌῌ College of Arts, Rikkyo University365῔῕῎῏῎ῒῑ ῐῒῐ ῐ ΐ

By most macro-economic standards, Laos’ development in the past years has been
impressive.

Annual growth rates of between ῒῌΐ῍ and increases in foreign direct

investment to ῐ῕῏ billion dollars in the first nine months of ῎ῌῌ῔, suggest that policies
opening the country to regional trade under the framework of the ASEAN Free Trade
Area have produced results [EarthTimes, ῎ῒ October ῎ῌῌ῔]. Much of this development,
however, is based on extraction of the country’s natural assets. Laos, itself a hotspot of
biodiversity, has seen a continuous reduction in forest cover, from ῐ῔῕῎῍ in ῍῔ΐ῎ to ῐ῍῕῍῍in ῎ῌῌ῎ ῌ the product of multiple pressures stemming from logging and agriculture [DoF῎ῌῌ῏]. Ambitious hydropower development plans aim to turn Laos into the battery ofSoutheast Asia, drawing upon the abundant water resources that rise in and flow
through the country [GoL ῎ῌῌῑ].
At the micro-level, there are indicators that the gap between the rich and the poor iswidening at a worrying rate. The benefits of economic development have been concentrated in the Mekong valley region, while the upland regions lag behind. The Participatory Poverty Assessment ῎ῌῌῑ [Chamberlain ῎ῌῌῒ] showed that the major source ofpoverty in the country is insecure access to land. Behind the inadequate land situationis the government’s effort to stabilize shifting cultivation and create permanent village
settlements in areas where access to services is better. In terms of human development,
every second child still suffers from chronic malnutrition, a situation that has notchanged in ten years [World Food Programme ῎ῌῌΐ]. Running across these worrying
indicators is the gross imbalance in poverty, with the ethnic minority groups thatcompose approximately half of the national population at a distinct disadvantage.
Vulnerability of local livelihoods to shocks has emerged as one of the key threats tohuman development in the new economy across the region [Cornford and Matthews῎ῌῌῒ].

Opportunity and Risk: Rural Livelihoods in Transition
The situation of development in Laos is a complex mosaic of government and market,
seemingly contradictory macro- and micro-dynamics, and widening variation acrosssectors of society. That said, both upland and lowland areas are clearly on the way
towards a market-driven, regionally oriented economy. Natural resources are to be themainstay of local economies, just as in the national economy. Trade in natural resources
has long been an important part of local economies, and has been a central element of
Laos’ relationships with its neighbors [Stuart-Fox ῍῔῔ΐ]. What is different today is therate of change, and ways of adaptation to these changes that challenge rural people’s
resilience.
The papers in this volume show how local people are adapting their livelihood to therapidly deepening market economy through case studies in various parts of Lao PDR.
366

KDCD Y. et al. : Introduction

Fig. ῌ

Locations of the Study Sites(Fig. ῌ ). Two main sets of dynamics are explored in the following analysis. First, somecommunities are devising new ways to engage with the market, commercializing resources they have traditionally managed as part of their livelihoods. Here, local people
engage with rapidly expanding domestic markets to supply natural products that arecollected or cultivated within the village landscape.

These products are linked ec-

ologically and economically with other livelihood activities; for example, a wide range ofwild foods are collected from rice fields and village forests. As Nishimura et al. describe,
responding to signals from markets in nearby urban marketplaces and more distantregional markets, rural people devise strategies for securing income based on the resources available on hand.
In a large part, these strategies are based on consideration of how to maintainsimultaneously a flow of economic benefits and productive natural systems. In places
located farther from markets, for example in the northern mountainous regions, local
people search for ways to respond to the changes in demand for forest products.
Non-timber forest products (NTFPs), long-time components of local and regional trading
networks, undergo another phase of commercialization. One of the key changes in the
upland economy has been the re-emergence of private traders who provide access tomore distant markets, such as China. The trade in NTFPs was nationalized through367ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῏ῐ῎ ῏ ῑstate-run trading firms until the end of the ῍ῒῑῌs, when restrictions on private involvement in trading were released. After this, marketing chains ῌ often linking ethnic groups
and crossing boundaries ῌ for forest products such as Boehmeria malabarica, called peuak
meuak in Lao, were revived and new products available locally become commercially
viable. Traders form nodes in these networks, building upon social relations in uplandareas, as described in Yokoyama’s article. Neef et al.’s analysis shows how local dependency on these products has grown with increased international trading outlets.
These case studies illustrate how economic sustainability at household-level is
intricately linked to ecological sustainability at the farm level, even as markets takeproducers and products into larger scales of economic activity. Simultaneously, rural
lifestyle, or more concretely speaking, people’s time allocation, is deeply linked to theecological seasons and daily rhythms of the rural landscape, as Nishimura et al. describe(Fig. ῎ ). Small-scale, incremental changes are born out of the daily decision-making

Fig. ῌ

Non-rice Products of Paddy Landscape and Their Seasonality at a Village in theVientiane Plain
Note: A wide range of non-rice products including fishes, insects, weeds and tree products arecaught/collected at mosaic landscape of paddy fields, forests and water body for homeconsumption and commercial purposes.
Availability clearly depends on seasonalhydrological patterns.
368

KDCD Y. et al. : Introduction

strategies of local people.
Second, other communities are experiencing rapid transformation of livelihoods andlifestyles. Takai et al. show how a conflict between agriculture and livestock has arisen
in response to market opportunities. Farmers, anxious to take advantage of demand for
cash crops, have expanded agricultural production areas. This means that fallow fields,
where livestock had previously been kept under customary management institutions,come under multiple demands. The result has been a tightening of land use restrictions
not only from government agencies but also from inside the community. In the end,
previously diverse production systems have been transformed into more simplified ones.
Buffalo, traditionally a popular strategy for livelihood security, have been sold off, evenas consumer demand may be growing in urban areas.
With these changes, some of the basic assumptions of life have been challenged, suchas the allocation of time and labor to agriculture-based livelihood activities. Nishimura
et al. show how the peri-urban people take advantage of opportunities to engage in wage
labor in Vientiane municipality. Where the rhythm of daily life was centered previously
on agriculture and collection of natural products, people are now faced with a range ofoptions for off-farm income generation. Foreign investment in Vientiane municipality
creates a pull-force, which comes just as prices for traditional agriculture and othernatural products experienced drops. The advent of wage labor brings about a drasticchange of the rhythm of daily life, from ecological to artificially predetermined rhythm,
reflecting the changing idea on the productivity of their time.

This diversifies thelifestyle even within a family, particularly between on-farm workers and wage labors.
Thus, the agency of local people is expanding with the opening of new opportunities
ushered in by the market. However, opportunity is accompanied by risk in the process oftransition. The risk stems from uncertainty in both the market and policy, in addition toenvironmental degradation.
The government hopes to concentrate more dispersed communities near roads where
it is hoped they will have better access to markets and social services. While access may
be improved through basic infrastructure, communities are often not equipped for thechanges that can result from being resettled along roads and with other communities
from unfamiliar ethnic groups, often in areas where productive land is in severe shortage[URDP ῍ῌῌ῎]. Another key concern is health, as is shown by Midorikawa et al.’s findings
about the interrelationship between water, livelihoods and health.

In the relocatedcommunity studied, high levels of malaria and parasites were observed, despite thepotential access to improve health care services. The research shows that information
gaps are still substantial, raising the risk of infection among relocated people.
Many ethnic minority groups rely on NTFPs for cash income. These commercialized
forest products are, however, largely bought and sold as raw products. The hopes for
success, in terms of raising local incomes, are pinned on the creation of sustainableproduction, processing and marketing mechanisms.

Potentially high-value products,369ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῎῏῎ ῎ ῑsuch as paper mulberry, are constrained by the difficulty in developing ways to add value
and thereby increase the benefit to harvesters, as shown in the article by Neef et al. Hereas well, the unsure land tenure situation adds a layer of uncertainty and risk to thesecommunities.

Agency and Balance: Negotiating the Human-environment RelationshipThe changes described in these papers represent a significant shift in the role of local
people in determining their livelihood and economic activities.

This new form of“agency” means that rural people have more options at hand, when it comes to improving
their well-being. After two decades of state-directed development, markets are providing
the signals upon which people act. With the market come other actors, domestic andforeign. By any standard of governance, one must welcome the increased role for local
decision making.
Yet, the flip-side of this new range of opportunity is uncertainty and risk, and there
are signals that the market as it currently operates is far from producing efficient
outcomes. Farmers lack negotiation skills to engage with agribusiness, price informationis slow to reach producers and the government still struggles to provide the necessary
support mechanisms.

Contracts are very difficult to enforce, and have very little

meaning in terms of ensuring that a farmer’s product will be purchased.

Informal

networking among farmers and local traders is yet immature. Furthermore, competition
between traders may mean higher farm-gate prices, but at the same time communities
may find themselves in competition with other communities. Market demands dictatequality, quantity and timing of supply, which mean that the conditions for production
are fixed outside of the producers’ livelihood.
Farmers who are empowered by the changes going on around them are faced with arange of dilemmas. The short-term prospect of increased cash income is a main concern
for rural people who are faced with an ever-longer list of expenditures, from agricultural
inputs to school uniforms and modern medicines. Farmers have learned that market
prices for cash crops are unstable. The drop in maize prices in ῍ῌῌῐῌῌῑ was a particularly
strong shock for many areas, for example. There is a strong incentive to capitalize on
opportunities when they present themselves, which can lead to over-exploitation of
resources. Farmers are also learning that over-supply drives prices down. On the other
hand, many of the products being sold have been a component of traditional livelihood
strategies for generations. Knowledge of management, harvesting and use of natural
products may exist in communities. If the need for short-term cash overrides the benefitof a longer-term management regime, not only will the resource be depleted, but indigenous ecological knowledge is also eroded.
This dilemma is also reflected at the national level. Short-term benefits from a370

KDCD Y. et al. : Introduction

resource-extraction economy become more tentative when considered in a longer-term
perspective of sustainability. In the market economy, the main strategy for providing
support is to identify one product that draws on the local ecological and economic
situation, and focus on this as the main route to development. As seen in the paper by
Takai et al., the homogenization of production systems may bring some immediate
economic benefits, but the overall sustainability of the system is likely to be reduced andthe vulnerability of the producers enhanced.
Clearly Laos is undergoing remarkable changes with integration into the regional
economy. The interface between local and regional markets is complex and dynamic.
Farmers find themselves with more power to make their own decisions, but the dilemmas
they face are increasingly difficult and their bargaining position remains weak. Economic
reforms promoting market-oriented production have stimulated new strategies to production which reflect a greater range of options than have been available in the past.
More locally appropriate and sustained government support is needed to help bridge
gaps in information and experience, reduce risk by encouraging diversification andproviding an institutional and regulatory framework that mediates the interactions
between diverse stakeholders.

Micro-analysis and Policy Feedback Loops
As these papers demonstrate, micro-level analysis is indispensable in maintaining the
feedback loops to inform policy. In “policy,” the volume editors refer to the full spectrumof actors making decisions that impact local livelihoods and landscapes. This includes
government policy makers, who are in need of information regarding the outcomes ofdevelopment interventions. Furthermore, the donor community, which usually works inclose concert with government agencies to implement programmes and projects, isimportant not only because of the direct impacts of its activities on the local level, butalso because it maintains dialogue with government and other actors. Finally, international organizations, which work at both policy and implementation levels, are well
positioned to make use of research findings.
Biodiversity is one of Laos’ greatest resources.

More broadly speaking natural

resources will continue to be the backbone of development in Laos. There is now noquestion about whether Laos will be integrated into the regional economy, assuming afully developed central position as a land-linked country. How this process of integration
proceeds depends on a mixture of both policy-level development interventions andlocal-level, individualized decisions about how to engage with market opportunities.
This collection of papers shows that at the local level, there remain steep challenges tomaintaining a balance between the aspiration of improving one’s economic wellbeing inthe short-run and the imperative of sustaining the productive natural systems upon371

ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῐΐ῎ ῐ ῑwhich livelihoods depend. Furthermore, while farmers are making more decisions about
their economic activities, they are at considerable risk when they venture down the pathof commercial cropping.
Research, such as presented in the papers included in this volume, should be of use
to decision-makers at all levels. Additionally, this analysis should contribute to theconstant re-creation of a research agenda that addresses the key challenges faced by
Laos. Domestic Lao researchers and foreign researchers alike have a key role to play inproviding policy-relevant analysis to a broad range of actors. Empirical data based in thedaily dilemmas of decision making faced by local people should form the foundations ofpolicy debate on pathways towards economically viable, ecologically sustainable andsocially acceptable development outcomes.

Acknowledgements
On the way from field survey, data analyses and workshops to the completion of this volume, wehave owed a number of persons, institutions and projects. We began a collaborative research
program in Laos in ῍῕῕῕. This is exactly the year when the National Agriculture and Forestry
Research Institute (NAFRI), our counterpart, was established as the umbrella institute of the various
research centers under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Lao PDR. As a partner of ourresearch activities, the first Director General, Dr. Ty Phommasak, the second Director General, Dr.
Bounthong Bouahom, and their staff helped us to carry out field surveys, co-organized a series ofworkshops, and translated some publications into Lao [Bouahom et al. ῎ῌῌΐ]. A part of our work has
also been coordinated by the Department of Geography, the National University of Laos, and the
National Institute of Public Health. Most of the articles of this volume are the outcome of a research
project of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) titled “A Trans-Disciplinary Studyon the Regional Eco-History in Tropical Monsoon Asia: ῍῕ῐῑῌ῎ῌῌῑ.” The discussions among thisresearch group, particularly with its leader, Prof. Akimichi Tomoya, have been indispensable for the
success of our research work. In addition, a various research projects including the Grant-in-Aids for
Scientific Research of the Japanese Society of for the Promotion of Science, including “Transnational
Comparison of Ecological Resource Management by Constructing Integrated Database on Livelihood and Environment in Mainland Southeast Asia” (No. ῍ῑ῏῍ῌ῍ῒῒ) and “Land Use Dynamics ofMainland Southeast Asia: Combining Field Works with RS” (No. ῍῔῏῍ῌ῍ῒῌ), supported our fieldstudies and data analyses. We would like to express our sincere thanks for their academic andfinancial supports.

References
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Bouahom, B.; Kono, Y.; and Nonaka, K., eds. ῎ῌῌΐ. Thammasat, Manut lae Saphapweadlom [Nature,
Human and Environment]. Vientiane: National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute.
Chamberlain, J. ῎ῌῌΐ. Participatory Poverty Assessment. Vientiane: Asian Development Bank andNational Statistics Center.
Cornford, J.; and Matthews, N. ῎ῌῌΐ. Hidden Costs: The Underside of Economic Transformation in the
Mekong Region. Vientiane: Oxfam Australia Report.
Department of Forestry (DoF). ῎ῌῌ῏. Comparison of Different Land Use and Vegetation Types in Laos
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KDCD Y. et al. : Introductionin 1982ῌ1992ῌ2002. Vientiane: National Office for Forest Inventory and Planning.
EarthTimes, “Foreign Investment in Laos Jumps Nearly Fourfold this Year,” ῎ῒ October ῎ῌῌ῔,accessed ῍῎ November ῎ῌῌ῔. http: //www.earthtimes. org/articles/show/ ῎῔῍῔ῌ῔, foreigninvestment- in-laos-jumps-nearly-fourfold-this-year. html
Government of Lao PDR (GoL). ῎ῌῌῑ. National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2006ῌ10). Vientiane:
Committee for Planning and Investment.
Kono, Y.; Ochiai. Y.; and Yokoyama, S. ῎ῌῌΐ. Development Path of Laos (in Japanese). In Lao Rural
Area Studies, edited by S. Yokoyama and Y. Ochiai, pp. ῍῏ῌῐῐ. Tokyo: Mekong.
Stuart-Fox, M. ῍῔῔ΐ. The Lao Kingdom of L£n X£ng: Rise and Decline. Bangkok: White Lotus.
Upland Research and Develoment Programme (URDP). ῎ῌῌῒ. “Report on the Effects of Village
Re-location on Previous Land Allocation in Phonexay, Luang Prabang and Namo, Oudomxay,”
URDP Research Management Component. Vientiane: National Agriculture and Forestry ResearchInstitute.
World Food Programme. ῎ῌῌΐ. Lao PDR: Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis,
Vientiane: WFP.

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Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. ῏ῑ, No. ῏, March ῎ῌ῍ῌThe Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the
Northern Mountainous Region of LaosYD@DN6B6 Satoshi*

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to clarify the trade flow of agro-forest products and commodities by analyzing commercial activities and private traders in a mountainous region.
This study focused on Ngoi district of Luang Phabang province in northern Laos where
there is a long history of non-timber forest product (NTFP) trading in the study area.
In the L£n X£ng Kingdom era, political coordinators called L£m collected agro-forest
products from mountain people as tax, and private traders purchased NTFPs, mainly
benzoin and cardamom. Then, under the communist regime in the period between ῍ΐῐῌand ῍ΐῒῐ, private traders were replaced by government-managed stores and the role of theL£m disappeared. After the Lao version of Perestroika or Chintanakan Mai in ῍ΐῒῐ, private
agro-forest product trading was re-established in the study area and in addition, general
stores and periodic markets appeared along the riverside. The re-establishment of agroforest product trading resulted from the stimulation of commodity flows due to the local
general stores and periodic markets, and vice versa.
During the Chintanakan Mai period, the NTFPs being traded in the study area were not
traditional foods or medicines but rather new products being exported to foreign countries,
especially China. The borders with Thailand, China, and Vietnam in northern Laos were
re-opened in the early ῍ΐΐῌs, after which Chinese traders came directly to northern Laos topurchase NTFPs. This paper shows how the stimulation of human mobility, commodity
distribution, and information flow observed after Chintanakan Mai has strongly affected
the livelihood of the mountain people.
Keywords: northern Laos, NTFP, commercial activity, agro-forest product trading, periodic
marketI

Introduction

Economic networks on a continental or global scale have developed, not only in urban
areas but also in rural areas since the late ῎ῌth century. The mountainous region of Laos
has also been incorporated into a novel market system, and this has brought about
various social, economic, and cultural changes. An understanding of these changes may
provide an insight into some of the effects of globalization. However, a basic understanding of the historic relationship between the mountainous and lowland regions in northern Laos is first required.
ῌ

374

῎῏ ῐῌ Department of Geography, Nagoya University, Nagoya ῏ῐ῏῍ῒῐῌ῍, Japane-mail: s-yokoyama῍nagoya-u.jp

YD@DN6B6 S. : The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the Northern Mountainous Region of LaosIn Laos, the products that were supplied by the mountainous regions to the lowlands
were typically special kinds of forest products. Stuart-Fox [῍῕῕῔: ῐ῕] describes forest
product gathering in the northern mountainous region in the L£n X£ng Kingdom era ofthe ῍ῐth century: “Valuable forest products such as benzoin and other resins, sticklac formaking lacquerware, cardamom, and beeswax were collected mainly by Lao Thoeng.”῍) Interms of forest product trading, ethnic Lao ῎ ) traders, known as L£m, played an importantrole in the L£n X£ng Kingdom era of the ῍ῑth century [ibid.: ῐ῔ῌῐ῕]. According to Halpern[῍῕ῑ῔: ῒ῕], the relationship between the L£m and mountain people continued until the late῍῕ῑῌs.
Moreover, by the early ῎ῌth century, Yunnanese caravans, known locally as Cin Hocaravans, had constructed cross-border trade networks, and were trading between China,
Burma, Thailand, and Laos. This history has been shown to date back to the Tang age(A. D. ῒ῍῔ῌ῕ῌΐ) or more [Forbes ῍῕῔ΐ]. There were three main caravan routes between
Yunnan and northern Thailand through northern Laos during the late ῍῕th century: The
first was Muang Sing ῍ Xiangkok route to Chiang Mai and Uttaradit; The second was
Luang Namtha ῍ the Houayxay route to Nan and Uttaradit; The third was Oudomxay ῍
the Pakbeng route to Nan ῏ ) [Walker ῍῕῕῕: ῎῕ῌ῏ῒ]. At that time, raw cotton cultivated by
Lao farmers was sold to Yunnanese caravans as a principal product.
Although trading history in mainland southeast Asia has been an object of study fora long time, there is little information so far concerning agro-forest product trading byL£m and the trade between Yunnanese caravans and mountain people in Laos. As a topic
of research, it remains to be discussed further.
The trading system in northern Laos was greatly changed by political upheavals. In

῍῕ῐῑ, Laos became independent from France and established the Kingdom of Laos;
however, at the same time, a communist-led political association called Lao Issara (FreeLao) was increasing its influence in the country and established a provisional government in Vientiane [LeBar and Suddard ῍῕ῒῌ: ῍῕]. The Lao Issara had fought against
French colonialism and American imperialism for the liberation of Laos with a coalition
with the communist Vietminh. It subsequently formed a communist government called
the Pathet Lao,ῐ) and the headquarters were established in Xamneua in ῍῕ῑ῍ [ibid.: ῎῎]. The
Pathet Lao controlled the area of Phongsaly and Huaphan provinces in northern Laos,
designated as a liberated zone under the terms of the Geneva Agreements of ῍῕ῑῐ῍ῌ The term Lao Thoeng represents the Khmu.
῎ῌ The official ethnic name for this group is “Lao,” but it is often confused with an identicalword which stands for the Lao nation, that does not refer to any ethnic group. In thispaper, the term “ethnic Lao” is used to avoid confusion.
῏ῌ With regard to a route to Nan, Forbes [῍῕῔ΐ: ῍῏] suggest that caravan might visit Luang
Phabang, because a large daily market was held there.
ῐῌ This means “Lao Country.” The Pathet Lao was reorganized into the Neo Lao Hak Xat (LaoPatriotic Front) in ῍῕ῑῑ [Stuart-Fox ῍῕῕῔: ῕ῐ].
375ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῐΐ῏ ῐ ῒ[Stuart-Fox ῎ῌῌ῍: ῍῕ῌ]. The Pathet Lao controlled the northern part of Laos from the late῍῕ῑῌs to the early ῍῕ῒῌs, and had established government-managed stores called Han Kha
Khong Lat in order to sell commodities and purchase agro-forest products.
The system of government-controlled trading continued even after the establishment of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) in ῍῕ΐῑ. However, it began tocollapse in the mid-῍῕῔ῌs. The government adopted the Lao version of Perestroika or
Chintanakan Mai in ῍῕῔ῒ, and then private-managed general stores and periodic markets
began to appear in rural areas that had previously specialized in subsistence farming. In
addition, private agro-forest product trading was re-established.
Recent studies of trading in Laos have focused on border trade [Mya Than ῎ῌῌῒ;
Khontaphane et al. ῎ῌῌῒ], associated distribution routes [Walker ῍῕῕῕], smuggled timbertrading on border areas [Pholsena and Banomyong ῎ῌῌῒ: ῍ῐΐῌ῍ῑῐ], and an overview ofmajor agricultural crops [GoL, Department of Agriculture ῎ῌῌ῎]. There have been nostudies on how commodities have been supplied from the lowlands to the mountains, on
how agro-forest products have been supplied from the mountains to the lowlands, or on
historical changes in these processes. In addition, it remains unclear whether globalization has had an effect on agro-forest product trading.
In the northern mountainous region, the L£m have supplied many kinds of products
to lowland areas, and furthermore Yunnanese caravans may have directly trade a wide
variety of goods with mountain people. In this respect, the northern mountainous regionof Laos has been productive for a long time. However, the mountain people were merely
gatherers in this context, that is, there was a clear distinction between lowland people
and mountain people before Chintanakan Mai.
In fact, at present, the mountain people are in charge of a part of the global economy,
and they are not merely gatherers. Thus, it is hasty to reach the conclusion that themountain people of northern Laos were affected by globalization after Chintanakan Mai,
because the trading between the mountains and lowlands has been established, andagro-forest products have been exported from the mountains to foreign countries via thelowlands since the L£n X£ng Kingdom era. To be precise, some mountainous areas have
had a grounding in exporting natural resources on demand, and being embedded into themarkets of foreign countries [Pholsena and Banomyong ῎ῌῌῒ: ῍῏῍ῌ῍῏ῐ]. However, tradingin the region has constructed a different system after Chintanakan Mai than the one itpreviously had.
Over the past years, studies have focused on an economic shift, from subsistencebased agriculture and livestock to more commercialized agriculture and wage-earnings,
induced by government development policies.ῑ) Foreign investment from the neighboring countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and China, have increased under the developῑῌ The Government of Laos has made it a top priority to break away from Least Developed
Countries (LDCs) by ῎ῌ῎ῌ [GoL ῎ῌῌῐ].
376

YD@DN6B6 S. : The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the Northern Mountainous Region of Laosment project of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) led by Asian Development Bank
(ADB) [ADB ῎ῌῌΐ]. Furthermore, China has an especially large influence on peoples’
livelihood in the northern Laos [Stuart-Fox ῎ῌῌ῕], and the mountain people comply with
Chinese demand for cash crops such as maize and sugar cane [Thongmanivong andFujita ῎ῌῌῒ], and rubber production [Cohen ῎ῌῌ῕; Shi ῎ῌῌ῔; Rattanavong ῎ῌῌ῔; Ziegler et al.

῎ῌῌ῕], in addition to forest products. These changes are strongly accelerated by improving transport infrastructure with aid from international donors such as ADB. In particular, Asian Highway No. ῏ linking Yunnan and northern Thailand through northern
Laos plays a central role in the regional integration. Many researchers have described
this circumstance as seeing Laos transition “from a land-locked country to a land linked
country” [Jönsson ῎ῌῌ῕] or becoming a “crossroads” [Pholsena and Banomyong ῎ῌῌῒ;
Lintner ῎ῌῌ῔].
It is obvious that the penetration of the global market has progressed at a rapid speed
and covered a wide spatial range in Laos. Improvements in transportation and logistics
platforms must be considered as one of the triggers underpinning this change, but that is
not all. There is still little known about what kind of changes occur in parallel with
infrastructure development in northern Laos. In order to deal with these issues, it isessential to understand agro-forest product trading and commercial activities at multiple
levels, from small mountain villages to urban areas. Consequently, the purpose of thisstudy is to clarify the trade flow of agro-forest products and commodities by analyzing
the commercial activities and private traders in the mountains from spatial and historical
viewpoints.
In order to achieve this purpose, this study focused on Pak Luang area,ῒ) Ngoi districtin Luang Phabang province as a representative example of the northern mountainous
region (Fig. ῍ ). Here, three ethnic groups, ethnic Lao, Khmu, and Hmong, live in the same
area. Only Pak Luang village, which was an ethnic Lao village until ῍ῑ Khmu families
moved there from a nearby village in ῍῕῕῕, is mixed. The other villages are ethnicallyhomogeneous. There are no land vehicles in the study area because only hill footpaths
are present; hence, access is only possible on foot or by boat using the Ou River. The
major economic activities in the study area are swidden agriculture and gathering
NTFPs (non-timber forest products).ΐ) Moreover, there are several kinds of commercial
activities such as a general store management and agro-forest product trading, whichwere introduced after Chintanakan Mai.

ῒ ῌ The Ngoi district office carried out the merging of villages in the mid-῍῕῕ῌs. As a result,several small villages in the study area merged into larger neighboring villages for administrative purposes, as shown in Fig. ῍. Although the administrative unit changed from village to settlement, the dwelling area did not change. Hence, to avoid confusion, the term
village but not “settlement” is used to denote an administrative unit.
ΐῌ The author previously discussed NTFP gathering in the study area [Yokoyama ῎ῌῌῐ].
377ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏῎ ῑFig. ῌ Village Locations in the Study Area
Source: Surveyed by the author using GPS, and / Topographicalmaps issued by the National Geography Department, in 

II Commercial Activities in the Mountainous RegionIIῌ Trading History in the Study Area
In the study area, the commercial activities date back about  years, as determined frominterviews with elderly people in .

According to interviewees, they have nevertraded their products with Yunnanese caravans, but there were several L£m in the study
area. The L£m were appointed by a district office, and had been present in ethnic Lao
villages until the s. A major role of the L£m was not to trade but rather to collect tax
from mountain people in Khmu and Hmong villages. The purchasing of agro-forest
products from mountain people was undertaken by traders called Poka, separately from378

YD@DN6B6 S. : The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the Northern Mountainous Region of Laos

the L£m. The L£m usually levied rice, opium, and valuable NTFPs from mountain people
as tax, and then paid tax to the district office as cash in French Indochina piaster.ῒ) The
L£m received the difference between the total value of products collected from mountainpeople and the total tax paid to the district office. The other role of the L£m was toarrange for Khmu people to engage in farm work in ethnic Lao villages. The ethnic Lao
people did not pay the Khmu people but sometimes provided them with a meal afterwork. The L£m had arranged a fixed partnership with at least one Khmu village. It canbe said that a patron-client relationship between ethnic Lao and Khmu had been
established in Ngoi district of Luang Phabang province. The L£m should be consideredmore like middlemen between mountainous villages and lowland ethnic Lao villages
rather than be seen as traders.
At present, it is unclear whether L£m existed across the whole of northern Laos. For
example, in an ethnography of the Lamet, who belong to the same linguistic family as thekhmu, written by Izikowitz [῍ΐ῏῍], the existence of the L£m mediating between a Lamet
mountainous village and an ethnic Lao lowland village was not mentioned. The Lamettransported surplus harvested rice by boat to ethnic Lao merchants in the lowlands,
which was exchanged for iron products such as farming implements and sharp tools[ibid.: ῎ῌῒῌ῎῍῏]. The function of the L£m as determined by the author’s survey differsfrom the descriptions by Stuart-Fox [῍ΐΐῒ] and Halpern [῍ΐ῏ῒ], and the existence of theL£m remains unclear given the conflicting accounts provided by Izikowitz’s ethnographyof the Lamet. However, there is little doubt that there were L£m in certain ethnic Lao
villages of northern Laos, and that the mountain people have had a strong relationshipwith lowland people for a number of centuries.
In Pak Luang village, which was established about ῎ῌῌ years ago, the elderly people
stated that there were two L£m and a trader of agro-forest products in the village. The
two L£m dealt with four Khmu villages: Khong Mone, Cheang Tai, Cheang Neua, andCheang Kang, and collected taxes from them for the French Indochina government andthen, for the Royal Lao government. A trader in the village had purchased benzoin,
cardamom, and opium from neighboring villages and sold these to the Chamber ofCommerce of the French Indochina government in Luang Phabang via Nam Bak until themid-῍ΐ῏ῌs. Nam Bak was then the largest town along the Ou River, because Nong Khiaw,
the current commercial center and seat of Ngoi district, had not been established.ΐ)In the case of Hatsa village, an ethnic Lao village with a similarly long history as Pak
Luang, there was only one L£m. He alone dealt with seven Khmu villages: Xam Noun,῍ῌ)ῒῌ The piaster was the official currency of French Indochina from the late ῍ῒῒῌs to the mid῍ΐ῏ῌs, and was subdivided into ῍ῌῌ cents. It was called hman in northern Laos.
ΐῌ In ῍ΐῑῐ, the seat of Ngoi district was moved from Ngoi village to a new town named Nong
Khiaw, where the Ou River crosses the road to Xamneua.
῍ῌῌ Xam Noun village is outside of the area shown in Fig. ῍.
379ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῐΐ῏ ῐ ῒKiouxang, Houay Si, Kong Pod, Houay Talong, Mok Ouay, and Taban Lam,῍῍) and two
Hmong villages: Houay Lo Sung and Nyot Si. He had held the Phia, a title of the nobility,
which was the highest ranking official in the Taseang῍῎) in the era of the Kingdom of Laos.
Moreover, Hatsa village had five traders until ῍῕ῒῌ who purchased the same kinds offorest products as were bought in Pak Luang. The products were transported to Luang
Phabang by boat to be sold to French traders.
Under the Pathet Lao regime, a government-managed store located at the Ou riverside between Hatsa village and Pak Luang village was established in the early ῍῕ῒῌs(Fig. ῍ ). The store replaced the local traders and purchased agro-forest products fromlocal residents besides selling daily necessities. Mountain people sold agro-forest products such as benzoin, cardamom, opium, and sticklac to the government-managed store,
then these products were sent to Xamneua.

The local traders, therefore, could notcontinue trading with merchants in Luang Phabang.
However, the Chintanakan Mai period began in ῍῕῔ῒ, and the government-managed
store was closed in ῍῕῔῔.

Just before the closure of the government-managed store,

privately managed general stores began to appear in Hatsa village. Then, two periodic
markets on the Ou riverside were established in ῍῕῕ῌ (Photo ῍ ). Private agro-forest
product traders also re-emerged in Hatsa village around the same time that the general
stores began to open in ῍῕῔ῑ. When agro-forest product trading recommenced, the traderssold the products they purchased to the government-managed store. After the government-managed store closed in ῍῕῔῔, the traders started selling to other traders in the Nong
Khiaw or Luang Phabang areas.

Photo ῌPeriodic Markets and General Store in the Study Area

῍῍ῌ Taban Lam village is located near Nyot Si. However, its inhabitants moved to anothervillage and it is now deserted.
῍῎ῌ This was a sub-district within the district, and contained ῍ῌ to ῎ῌ villages. This administrative unit was abolished during the Chintanakan Mai period [Stuart-Fox ῎ῌῌ῍: ῏῍ῑ]. In Thailand, however, Tasaeng acts as an official administrative district.
380

YD@DN6B6 S. : The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the Northern Mountainous Region of LaosIIῌ῎ Characteristics of Commercial Activities in the Study Area
In ῎ῌῌ῍, the general stores and agro-forest product traders were unevenly distributed in
the study area (Fig. ῎ ). The general stores are only located in Pak Luang village and
Hatsa village.

Many general store managers have an additional role as agro-forest

product traders. There are two types of general store: permanent stores found in Hatsa
village and non-permanent stores, which are only open during the periodic market, foundin Pak Luang village. The first general stores in the area were opened in ῍ῒῑῐ in Hatsa
village by seven households. Two households in Pak Luang village started thefirst non-permanent stores in ῍ῒῒ῎. By

῎ῌῌ῎, Hatsa village and Pak Luang village had ῍ῐ and five stores, respectively.
All general store managers are ethnic
Lao, but not former traders or L£m.
A periodic market is held on theriverbank at two places, Phonsana village and Pak Bout village. In addition tothese, Houay Chanum periodic market
in Phongsaly province, which is outside
the study area, is included in this study
because the general store managers andagro-forest product traders in the study
area use this market.
Agro-forest product trading differs
greatly in the nature of the activity according to the spatial range of trading.
Thus, in this study, agro-forest productFig. ῍traders are classified into three levels(Table ῍ ).

While only Level-῍ traders

Table ῌTrader Type

Distribution of Agro-forest Product
Traders and General Stores in the
Study Area, ῎ῌῌ῍

Source: Surveyed by the author

Classification of Agro-forest Traders According to Spatial Range of Trading
Range of Product Purchasing

Selling Destination

Trading Permit

Level-῍Forest product gatherers, agricultural productgrowers, Level-῎ traders and Level-῏ traders in
the market and the village

Traders or exporters living outside
study area

District permit

Level-῎Forest product gatherers and agricultural
product growers in the market and the village

Level-῍ traders

Village permit

Level-῏Forest product gatherers and agricultural
product growers in the same village

Markets andLevel-῍ traders

Village permit

Source: Surveyed by author381ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ῏ ῒ

who have a motorized boat trade outside the study area, the range of activity of Level-
and Level- traders is limited to the study area. Additionally, traders must pay a fee foran annual trading permit to Ngoi district office. Annual trading permits are of four types:
domestic permits, provincial permits, district permits, and village permits. The domestic
permit allows unlimited transportation of goods within Laos, and also allows the exportof products.

The cost in  was  Kip/year (about 

US$/year).

The

provincial permit, district permit, and village permit cost , , and 
Kip/year (about,  , and   US$/year), respectively. Traders with a village permit

can sell products purchased in the village at the periodic market. In the study area in, no trader had a domestic permit or a provincial permit. Level- traders have a
district permit, and Level- and Level- traders have a village permit. All traders shownin Fig.  have an official permit of Ngoi district.
Agro-forest product trading has extended beyond ethnic Lao villages appearing in
Pak Bout village in 

and Phonsana village in 

. These are both Khmu villages

located along the Ou riverside. Afterwards, traders appeared in Cheang Neua (Upper) and
Cheang Kang villages, which are Khmu villages in the mountains, and Om Mok village,
which is a Hmong village, also in the mountains. In terms of geographical location,although Level- and Level- traders are only in the Ou riverside villages, Level- traders
are limited to the mountain villages.
Commercial activities in the study area after the start of the Chintanakan Mai period
were initiated by ethnic Lao households located along the river where accessibility tourban areas has been comparatively good since the mid- s. Later, these activities
spread to the Khmu households located along the river, then, finally to the Khmu andHmong households located in the mountains. However, Level- traders and general
stores are found only in riverside households. In the study area, geographic village
location, influenced by traffic networks such as the river, greatly contributed to theinitiation of commercial activities.)

III Trading System of Agro-forest Products and Commodities
IIIῌ Periodic Markets and Commodity Supply
In the study area, two periodic markets were started in   whereby many stalls wereopened by general store managers in both Hatsa village and Pak Luang village. All
merchants of Hatsa village had both a store open in the village and a stall in the periodic
markets. The periodic markets and general stores at Hatsa village are, therefore, the only
commercial outlets available for mountain people.
ῌ Yokoyama [] discusses the way in which the economic activities were newly introduced to the villages are related to the village location, as the major effect of new information is obtained from surrounding villages through the road link.
382

YD@DN6B6 S. : The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the Northern Mountainous Region of Laos

Commodities sold comprise daily necessities, clothes, and food, all of which are madein Thailand, Vietnam, or China. The general store managers travel to Luang Phabang
and Muang Khoa areas at least once a month to purchase commodities to sell in theirstores and stalls.῍ῐ) Moreover, they ask friends or relatives resident in those areas to sendcommodities whenever possible. From ῍῕῕ΐ, the five general store managers of Hatsa
village sometimes traveled to Mengla, Xishuangbanna in China to purchase Chinese
commodities at a low price by sharing a truck hired in the Muang Khoa area.῍ῑ) However,they stopped these journeys in January ῎ῌῌῌ because Chinese merchants started to sell alarge amount of cheap Chinese commodities in the periodic markets from that time.
Periodic markets have been seen in many places through out the ages. There aremany similarities between periodic markets throughout the world, for example, they areheld at regular intervals based on the local calendar and act as a place for social
interaction [Ishihara ῍῕῔ΐ: ῍ῒῌ῏ῐ; Skinner ῍῕ῒῐ]. The periodic markets in the study area
follow this pattern. A market is held once every ῍ῌ days in accordance with the Khmu
calendar.῍ῒ) Phonsana periodic market and Pak Bout periodic market are held on the third
day (Kat) and the tenth day (Huay) of this ten day “week,” respectively.
The number of stalls and their patterns of flow to the periodic market are shown in
Fig. ῏. In Pak Bout periodic market on ῎῕ November ῎ῌῌ῍, ῐΐ stalls originated from four
villages. From the study area, Hatsa village and Pak Luang village contributed ῍῕ stallsand ῏ stalls, respectively, and from outside the study area, Muang Khoa area (Khoa
district, Phongsaly province) and Hatpon village (Mai district, Phongsaly province)
contributed ῎ῐ stalls and ῍ stall, respectively. Stalls originating from the Muang Khoa
area are more numerous than those from inside the study area.
Because many people come to Pak Bout periodic market, it is held on both banks of
the Ou River at different times. The Pak Bout side on the west bank of the river holds themarket from around ῒ a.m. to ῔ a.m. It then moves to the Houay Nong side on the eastbank of the river and lasts from around ῔ a.m. to ῍ῌ a.m. The Phonsana periodic market
on ῎ῑ April ῎ῌῌ῍ was relatively small, with ῍῔ stalls from three villages. From the study
area, Hatsa village and Pak Luang village contributed ῍ῐ stalls and ῏ stalls, respectively;from outside the study area, Sop Khing village (Ngoi district) contributed one stall. In
Houay Chanum periodic market, which is held every ninth day (Hap), on ῔ March ῎ῌῌ῍,

῍ῐῌ The general store managers buy Thai and Chinese products from the Luang Phabang area,
and Chinese and Vietnamese products from the Muang Khoa area. Chinese products can bebought in both areas, so managers can choose to buy where the price is lower.
῍ῑῌ Regarding long-distance trade in northern Laos, Walker [῍῕῕῕: ῍῏῔ῌ῍ῒ῎] illustrates thatwomen traders known as Mee Kha play a central role in trading commodities. In the study
area, women traders also traveled to buy commodities in China.
῍ῒῌ The calendar of Khmu that has one cycle every ῍ῌ days is as follows; First day: Mung,
second day: Puk, third day: Kat, fourth day: Kot, fifth day: Huang, sixth day: Tao, seventh
day: Ka, eighth day: Kap, ninth day: Hap, and tenth day: Huay [Chazée ῍῕῕῕: ῒῐ].
383ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῐΐ῎ ῐ ῑFig. ῍ Stall Flows of Periodic Markets
Source: Surveyed by the author

Table ῌCharacteristics of Stalls in Periodic Markets

Commodity
Category

Commodity
Sub-category

Sundries

Daily Necessities
Clothes and Bedclothes
Lamp Oil and Gasoline
Medicine(Unit: Stalls)

Phonsana Market Pak Bout Market Houay Chanum Market
῎ῑ April ῎ῌῌ῍῎῕ November ῎ῌῌ῍῔ March ῎ῌῌ῎

ῒ
῔
ῌ
῍

῍῍
῎ῌ
῍
῎

῍῎
῍῍
῎
ῐ

Appliances Electrical Products
Tools
Watch Repairer

ῌ
ῌ
῍

῎*
῎*
῍

῍*
῍*
῍

Foods

῍
῍

ῐ
ῐ

ῐ
῏

῍῔

ῐΐ

῏῕

Noodles
Confectionary
Total

Source: Surveyed by the author
Note: * Chinese merchantsfour stalls originated from Hatsa village and three stalls originated from Pak Luang
village. The number of stalls in Houay Chanum periodic market was ῏῕, which makes it
the second largest periodic market along the Ou riverside, after that at Pak Bout.
Stalls deal mainly in small commodities such as sundries, appliances, and foods(Table ῎ ). Although the commodities are difficult to accurately categorize because of the384

YD@DN6B6 S. : The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the Northern Mountainous Region of Laoslarge variety present, many stalls primarily sell daily necessities and clothes. Additionally, there are noodle stalls and confectioners. Note that the general stores at Hatsa village
are not considered in Table ῎, where many kinds of commodity, though not electrical
products, can be bought.
Among the general store managers, a number of Chinese merchants have opened
stalls dealing in electrical products and tools at Pak Bout and Houay Chanum markets
since ῎ῌῌῌ. They run general stores in the Muang Khoa area. By the time that the general
store managers of Hatsa village had stopped traveling to China as mentioned above,
Chinese merchants had already reached the northern mountainous region of Laos.
IIIῌ῎ Purchasing of Agro-forest Products in the Mountainous Region
The function of these markets is not only to facilitate the selling of commodities, but also
to facilitate the purchasing of agro-forest products from individual people. Moreover,some people barter their products for commodities. The products traded in the study
area are mainly NTFPs: cardamom, benzoin, Puack Muack, paper mulberry, rattan fruits,galangal fruits, and tiger grass (Table ῏ ). In terms of agricultural products, cash crops
are limited to sesame and the opium poppy, while other crops including upland rice,maize, and cassava are grown for consumption, not for sale. Opium is sold directly toforeign traders and its distribution flows are difficult to follow: therefore, it is excluded
from the category of agro-forest product trading in this study.
Table ῌCharacteristics of Non-timber Forest Products in the Study Area, ῎ῌῌ῎Name (Scientific)

Type

SeasonDestination Buying Price Selling Pricefor Export(Kip/kg)(Kip/kg)

Cardamom(Amomum villosum)

Fruit

Aug.ῌSep.

China,
Vietnam,Korea

῍ῑῒῌῌῌ

῎ῌῒῌῌῌ

Medicine

Benzoin(Styrax tonkinensis)

Resin

Apr.ῌMay

France,Germanyῐῑῒῌῌῌ

ῑῑῒῌῌῌ

Flavor,Fragrance,
Medicine

Puack Muack*(Boehmeria sp.)

Bark

Year-round China

῎ῒῌῌῌ

῎ῒῑῌῌ

Glue forIncense StickPaper Mulberry
Bark(Broussonetia papyrifera)

Year-round Thailand

῎ῒῌῌῌ

῎ῒῑῌῌ

Paper

Rattan(Daemonorops sp.)

Fruit

Aug.ῌSep.

China

ῐῒῌῌῌ

ῑῒῌῌῌ

Medicine

Galangal(Alpinia galanga)

Fruit

Jul.ῌSep.

China

ῐῒῌῌῌ

ῑῒῌῌῌ

Medicine

Thailand

῎ῒῑῌῌ

ῑῒῌῌῌ

Broom

Tiger Grass
Flower Mar.ῌApr.
(Thysanolaena latifolia)

Use

Source: [Yokoyama ῎ῌῌῐ]Note: * In some regions, “Puack Muack” is called “Nan Nyao” or “Sapan.”385ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῐῑ῏ ῐ ῒAgro-forest product trading iscarried out at both the periodic markets and the traders’ houses.

Asshown in Fig. ῐ, three trading territories have been formed: there is an overlap between parts of trading territory
B and C. This means that people sell
products to both areas.

In trading

territory A, there are nine traders infive villages. Only one Level-῍ trader
exists at Pak Bout village, and theothers are Level-῎ and Level-῏ traders.
Level-῎ traders living in Pak Bout andHouay Nong villages sell almost all
their products to the Level-῍ trader.
However, Level-῏ traders living at Om
Mok,

CheangNeua(Upper),andCheang Kang villages on the east sideof the Ou River sell their products at
Pak Bout periodic market.

Level-῏

Fig. ῌ

Trading Territory of Agro-forest Productsin the Study Area, ῎ῌῌ῎
Source: Surveyed by the author

traders living in the mountain villages cannot transport their agro-forest products to Pak Bout village on the opposite
bank because they have no boat.
On the day of the Pak Bout periodic market centering on trading territory A, andPhonsana periodic market centering on trading territory C, many agro-forest producttraders with abundant funds living in other villages, such as Hatsa village and Pak Luang
villages, come to purchase products, and a competition for products occurs between the
traders. To facilitate this, Level-῍ and Level-῎ traders living in Pak Bout and Houay Nongvillages offer free accommodation to mountain people on the day before the periodic
market,῍ῑ) the traders then purchase products from the mountain people who have stayedat their home. This method of purchasing was introduced in ῍ΐΐῒ. Mountain people haveno obligation to sell the agro-forest products to the trader who offers the accommodation.
However, in most cases, a relationship of regular trading has been built between the
traders and the gatherers.

Consequently, although traders offer their houses at nocharge, this method is advantageous because of the easier access to agro-forest products.

῍ῑῌ People in Om Mock, Houay Lo Sung, and Khong Mone villages take about four hours toreach the Ou River on foot. In order to be on time for the periodic market, which is only
held in the morning, they have to leave the village at midnight and walk along a pitch
black road.
386

YD@DN6B6 S. : The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the Northern Mountainous Region of Laos

Moreover, a Level-῎ Khmu trader at Pak Bout village visited three Khmu villages,
Houay Lo Toung, Saouy, and Khong Mone, ten times in ῎ῌῌ῍ in order to purchase NTFPs.
He employs mountain people as porters to carry the NTFPs that he acquires.

Theadvantage in purchasing in the mountains is that products can be obtained at a cheaper
price than if bought at the Pak Bout periodic market, even with the extra porter charge.῍ῑ)
There are few traders who employ this method, but there are many who make contracts
with gatherers and pay cash in advance in order to ensure a reliable supply of NTFPs.
This method is particularly common for purchasing benzoin and cardamom because
these products generate larger profits for traders than the other products, as shown in
Table ῏.
Hatsa village, which functions as a center of trading territory B, is an importantcenter for the purchase of agro-forest products in the study area, even though a periodic
market is not held.

The main reason for this is that Hatsa village meets the daily

demands for both the purchasing of agro-forest products and the selling of commodities.
Hatsa village is very convenient in comparison to the periodic markets which are held
only once every ῍ῌ days. Meanwhile, Pak Luang village is not located in any trading
territory despite there being six Level-῍ traders and five general store managers in thevillage.

All Pak Luang merchants carry out most of their business at the periodic

markets, so no store is open in the village. Accordingly, mountain people do not trade in
Pak Luang village, but instead choose Hatsa village as the best location for agro-forest
product trading.
It has been clarified that both commodity sales and agro-forest product trading are
centered on Pak Bout periodic market, Phonsana periodic market, and Hatsa village.
These(Fig. ῐ ).

activities

areclosely

associated

The trader purchases agro-forest

products from mountain people, and pays
them cash.

Mountain people buy com-modities from the general store using thismoney. Thus, a circulation of cash as moneyis passed from the trader to the mountainpeople, and finally to the general store manager. The agricultural products, cash, andcommodities end up in the hands of the
trader, general store manager, and mountainpeople, respectively.

Fig. ῌ

Circulation of Agro-forest Products,
Commodities and Cash

῍ῑῌ Hmong people in the study area dislike reducing the price of their products so they do notsell forest products in the village. The Khmu trader could not buy any forest products in
the Hmong villages, although he went on buying trips in ῍ῒῒῒ.
387ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῐῒ῏ ῐ ῒThe spread of the agro-forest product trading resulted from the stimulation ofcommodity flows through local general stores and periodic markets, and vice versa. Oneof the noteworthy features of trade in the mountainous area is that buying and sellingtransactions occur concurrently. Selling commodities is the role of the ethnic Lao, andbuying them is chiefly carried out by the Khmu and Hmong people. A close relationshipbetween commodity sales and agro-forest product trading has been built up in market
places. Although it appears relatively simple, commodity dealing and agro-forest product trading in the mountains are part of a complex system influenced by transportconditions and ethnic relations based on regional history.
IIIῌ῏ Spatial Characteristics of Income from Non-agricultural Activities
In order to determine household income῍ΐ) from non-agricultural activities including
trading and general store management, the author conducted interviews with ῍ῑῌ households in ῍῎ villages in the study area.

To avoid gathering biased income data, thehousehold income was broadly classified into three levels based on the information of thevillage administration committee and randomly sampled households from each level.
The calculated results of income from non-agricultural activities are shown in Fig. ῑ.

Fig. ῌ Income from Non-agricultural Activities, ῎ῌῌ῍
Source: Suveyed by the author
Note: * ῍ U. S. dollar (US$) was equivalent to ΐ῔ῌῌῌ Kip as of December ῎ῌῌ῍.
**Number of sampled households was ῍ῑῌ settlements, ῍῎ villages.

῍ΐῌ The incomes listed in this paper refer to gross revenue, for which wholesale cost is
deducted from commodities sales.
388

YD@DN6B6 S. : The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the Northern Mountainous Region of Laos

Since four mountain villages, Cheang Neua (Lower), Mok Ouay, Houay Si, and Nyot Si,
were not involved in any non-agricultural activities, their income was zero. In addition,in other villages, income varies among households in the same village. In the case of
Hatsa village, six out of  interviewees were not involved in non-agricultural activities.
The difference between minimum and maximum income of non-agricultural activities
among those engaged in such activities in the village was about  Kip (about US$). This variation is not evident in Fig. , which only shows the village average.

However, differences between various geographical locations and ethnic characteristics
can be observed in the map.
It was found that residents of ethnic Lao and Lao-Khmu villages, Hatsa village and
Pak Luang village, obtained a large income and that the inhabitants of both villages
initiated non-agricultural activities at an early stage compared with the others in the
study area, and gradually expanded the scale of trading. The average household income
from non-agricultural activities was as follows: Hatsa village,  Kip (about  US$); Pak Luang village,    Kip (about   US$). The income included in the
Others component shown in the figure refers to public servants’ salary, drugstore sales,
and technical workers’ earnings.
Among the Khmu villages, the average household income of Cheang Kang village,
where only one Level- trader resided, was larger than those of Pak Bout village andPhonsana village where Level- traders resided.) The income of the trader in Cheang
Kang village came from three tons of benzoin trade even though the trader was onlyclassified as Level- . Furthermore, benzoin is the most profitable NTFP of the study area,
as shown in Table .
The income included in the Others component in the Khmu villages was as follows:a public servant’s salary in Khong Mone village and a Video CD show) in Pak Bout andPhonsana villages. The Video CD show was given by a trader who had a TV and a Video
CD set. It was provided for mountain people who stayed with the trader on evenings
before the day of the periodic market. In , the owner of the device earned a show feeof  Kip/person (about   US$) from the audience. Children were charged half-rate.
The Video CD show is a special activity which is found only in villages with a private
electric generator, as in the study area.

ῌ There is a Khmu trader in Houay Nong village, but data on his cash income could not be
obtained because he was absent when the survey was carried out. Therefore, data relevantto this could not be included in the data of Fig. .
ῌ Although Yokoyama [] reports on income from a VCR show in the rural village of
Oudomxay province, this show was not found in the survey of the study area as of . It
is thought that the VCR show changed to a Video CD show. Video CDs have becomecommonplace in Southeast Asia because of the ease with which people can burn Video CDs
on CD-Rs using their PCs. Video CDs, such as movies, are often bought in the Nong Khiaw
and Muang Khoa areas. The generator for a thresher is used as a power supply.
389

ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ῏ ῒIn the village of Hmong, income from non-agricultural activities comprised income
from the agro-forest product trade in Om Mok village and a pension in Houay Lo Sungvillage.
According to the second Lao Expenditure and Consumption Survey (LECS  ) carriedout for the ῌ fiscal year, the average household commercial income of sevennorthern provinces was  

Kip [GoL, National Statistics Centre ]. For compar-

ison, the commercial income in  was converted to the price level for   using theconsumer price index.) As a result, the commercial income in   was determined to beequivalent to  

Kip (about    US$). ) The commercial income of Hatsa village

was   Kip (about US$). Clearly, Hatsa village had a commercial income

higher than the average for northern Laos. This is surprising for a remote area with noroads.
IIIῌ

Ethnic Contrast and Trading System

It is generally ethnic Lao living in the Ou riverside who purchase agro-forest products,
and Khmu and Hmong people living in the mountains who sell them. This, in addition tocommodity dealing, may exhibit a clear ethnic contrast.
However, it is a mistake to believe that ethnic Lao are born as traders or merchants.
Ethnic traits must be created through a history of relations with other ethnic groups. In
northern Laos, the Khmu, a Mon-Khmer-speaking group, are regarded as one of thenative peoples that preceded the Lao [LeBar et al.  :  ]. Hmong emigrated fromsouthern China to the Luang Phabang area around  ῌ[Culas : ]. Although the

Khmu have a long history of living in northern Laos, their political position has beenvery low. Ethnic Lao referred to the Khmu as Kha, meaning “slave,” until the Pathet Laoera. It is not difficult to imagine that the ethnic Lao that ruled the country maintained
control over the Khmu in the northern region. Halpern also refers to the fact that “often
the Khmu lack sufficient goods to trade, and they are forced to work for the Laosettlements as coolies or servants” [ :  ]. This can explain the existence of the L£m
who made arrangements to force Khmu people to engage in farm work in ethnic Lao
villages without pay.
In this historical context, it is understandable that ethnic Lao engaged in trading inorder to control valuable NTFPs gathered by Khmu people. Few other options wereavailable for ethnic Lao, who arrived in the region more recently and were unfamiliar
with the natural environment in the study area. The ethnic contrast regarding commercial activities seen in the study area may have been inevitable given the history thatῌ When the consumer price index in  was set as  , the consumer price indexes in and   were   and   , respectively [IMF, Statistics Department  ].
 ῌ The LECS  survey includes the urban area. If it had included only rural villages as theobject of study, the average income might have been lower.
390

YD@DN6B6 S. : The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the Northern Mountainous Region of Laos

Laos, a complex multiethnic country, has experienced.

IV The Trading Flows of Agro-forest Products and Commodities
IV῍῍ Changes in Agro-forest Product Exports and Political Situation
Let us now attempt to examine the agro-forest product distribution channels between themountainous region of northern Laos and foreign countries. Export points of NTFPs
were greatly affected by the prevailing political regime. We have only limited information on trading of agro-forest products during the L£n X£ng Kingdom era. However, it
may safely be assumed that products were sent to the former capital Luang Phabang andthen shipped to Thailand or Vietnam, namely, to ports from which the products could beexported to European countries. In the days of French Indochina from the late ῍ΐthcentury, the products were initially exported to Saigon via Vientiane, but this shiftedfrom Saigon to Bangkok in the ῍ΐῐῌs because of the warehousing facilities constructedwith American aid at both Thadeua in Vientiane and Bangkok [LeBar and Suddard ῍ΐῑῌ:῎῎ῌ; Vercouttre ῍ΐῐΐ].
During the French Indochina period, the rivers played a central role in the transportation of people. LeBar and Suddard describe the transportation conditions at the time:“Throughout the centuries the natural waterways of Laos ῌ the Mekong and its
tributaries ῌ have been supplemented only by the most primitive trails and tracks, but
communication by boat is well developed and Lao villages are for this reason usually
located near water courses” [῍ΐῑῌ: ῎῍ῐ]. Areas with only river access are considered to beisolated from the outside world by present day standards. In fact, the opposite is true.
Areas with river access were geographically most convenient for communication withthe outside world. Roads were not involved in the transportation of products for traders
in northern Laos, as noted in more detail below: “Laos has about ῏῔ῐῌῌ miles of roads andtracks of which only about ῍῔῎ῌῌ were surfaced in ῍ΐῐῒ, mostly in the south.

Theremaining mileage which was unsurfaced could not be used in the rainy season” [ibid.:

῎῍ῒ]. In order to engage in trading in northern Laos, it was necessary for ethnic Lao
traders to be located in villages on the river.
Under the communist regime of the Pathet Lao, government-managed stores sent all
products they purchased in the mountains to Vietnam via Xamneua. After the establishment of Lao PDR. in ῍ΐῒῐ, the products began to be exported to foreign countries from
Vientiane, namely, a shift from Vietnam to Thailand occurred again.
During the Chintanakan Mai period, several borders with Thailand, Vietnam, andChina were opened in order to improve relations with neighboring countries in preparation for a decrease in foreign assistance from the former Soviet Union and the Eastern
bloc. In addition to this, the transport infrastructure was being improved by foreignassistance, as mentioned in Chapter ῌ. As a result, cross-border trade was re-established.
391ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῎῏῏ ῎ ῒThe question we have to ask here is how this cross-border trade made the mountains
change. In addition to the trade flows of agro-forest products, brokerages of private
traders and changes of natural resource gathering needs to be examined in detail. Theseare questions to be considered in this chapter.
IVῌ῍ The Export of Agro-forest Products from the Mountains
Agro-forest products from the study area are exported from four export points: Boten῍῎)on the Chinese border, Houay Xay and Vientiane on the border with Thailand, and Tai
Chang on the border with Vietnam (Fig. ῏ ). Among these, Tai Chang is a local borderFig. ῌ Distribution Channels of Agro-forest Products
Source: Surveyed by the author῍῎ῌ After the mid-῍ῌῌῌs, two local border checkpoints, Meo Chai (Namo district in Oudomxay
province) and Phang Hai (Muang Sing district in Luang Namtha province), were mainly
used for cross-border trading between northern Laos and southern Yunnan, instead ofBoten, which is an international border checkpoint.
392

YD@DN6B6 S. : The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the Northern Mountainous Region of Laos

which is used only by Lao and Vietnamese nationals. These borders were opened one
after another between the late ῍ῑῐῌs and the early ῍ῑῑῌs. The stimulation of humanmobility and information flow that occurred through the opening of the borders greatly
contributed to the formation of various agro-forest product trade flows.
Benzoin (a) is transported to the exporter in Vientiane over land, and then by plane
to France or Germany. Cardamom (b) is exported to China, Vietnam, and South Korea.
Cardamom is the agro-forest product with the greatest variety of channels in the study
area. All cardamom exported to Vietnam over land passes through a trader/exporter in
the Nam Bak area, and other products exported to China over land pass through a trader/
exporter in the Muang Khoa area. The trader/exporter in the Nam Bak area exports the
cardamom to South Korea in addition to China. This trader/exporter separates the
cardamom into two groups according to the fruit size; large fruits are sent to China andsmall fruits are sent to South Korea via Vientiane.
All Puack Muack, rattan fruits, and galangal fruits (c) are exported to China from
Boten over land. As for tiger grass and paper mulberry (d), the trader/exporter in the
Muang Khoa area directly exports them to Thailand using a combination of land andriver routes. On the other hand, the shipments dealt with by the traders/exporters in theNong Khiaw and Nam Bak areas are transported to an exporter in the Luang Phabangarea, who then transports them to a paper mill in Thailand by boat. Much of the tiger
grass is transported to Thailand without being processed, but some of it is processed by
the company in the Luang Phabang area. The company started operating a small-scale
paper mill in ῍ῑῑῑ after obtaining paper-making machines from Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Although the company purchased about ῏ῌῌ tons of paper mulberry bark, about ῎ῌῌ tons
was exported to Thailand without processing because the processing capacity of thepaper mill is only ῍ῌῌ tons a year.
Sesame (e) is exported without processing by the same route as tiger grass and paper
mulberry bark via the Luang Phabang area. Some sesame sent to Thailand is transported
to a sesame oil factory in Thailand, and the remainder is exported to Taiwan.
So far, the author has described the distribution channels and methods of trade ofagro-forest products from the study area to foreign countries. As for the actual routes
used for the distribution of the agro-forest products, the land transportation route wasused only by the exporter from Vientiane who transports benzoin and cardamom
between Luang Phabang and Vientiane where the road is paved, and over a shortdistance to China or Vietnam. All the other agro-forest products exported to Thailand or
by way of Thailand were sent on the Mekong river. In northern Laos where the roads areunderdeveloped, the river played an important role as a distribution channel of theagro-forest products, as described above.
IVῌ῏ Interconnection between the Mountainous Region and Urban Areas
The trading flows of agro-forest products from the study area to various destinations are393ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῏ῐ῎ ῏ ῑFig. ῌ

Trading Flows of Agro-forest Products and Distribution of Traders/Exporters

very complex, as illustrated in Fig. ῑ (a). On the one hand, we can see complex flows thatreach destinations via five brokerages; on the other hand, there are simple flows in whicha trader living in an urban area purchases products directly from traders on site in themountains. We will take the example of benzoin (b) to illustrate the flows. It is possible
to classify these flows into three types.

First, there is “Direct Trading,” in which

Exporter-A in Vientiane makes a trading contract with a Level-ῌ trader in the study area
and goes to purchase directly from that trader. Second, there is “Consignment Trading,”
in which Exporter-B in Vientiane entrusts the purchase of benzoin to a trader/exporterin the Muang Khoa area. Here Exporter-B does not go to the study area. Finally, there
is general “Phased Trading,” in which benzoin is transferred in stages from a Level-῍/
Level-῎ trader to Exporter-A in Vientiane via the Nong Khiaw and Nam Bak areas. In thecase of traders/exporters in district and provincial towns, the purchased NTFPs areexported to China using self-owned trucks. This trading system, which involves several
traders, is recognized as “Phased Trading.”
A method of trading similar to “Direct Trading” was observed for cardamom, Puack
Muack, galangal fruits, and rattan fruits. As shown in Fig. ῑ (b), there are four traders/
exporters in the Nong Khiaw area, and three of them trade directly with China. According to traders/exporters in the Nong Khiaw area, Chinese traders come to purchase394

YD@DN6B6 S. : The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the Northern Mountainous Region of Laos

NTFPs at regular intervals of two to three weeks from August to October, during thegathering period for cardamom, galangal fruits, and rattan fruits.

At other times,

traders/exporters in the Nong Khiaw area sell NTFPs to other traders/exporters in the
Nam Bak or Luang Phabang areas.
One can safely state that the agro-forest product trading on demand in foreigncountries is widespread across the country from the provincial towns to the remotevillages. The important point to note is that the cross-border trading made it possible for
Chinese traders and exporter in Vientiane to carry out “Direct Trading.” This is one of thecharacteristics of the NTFP trading after Chintanakan Mai.
IVῌ Income and Expenditure of Benzoin Trading
In the study area, income from agro-forest product trading was larger than retail income,such as that from general stores. It may be said that this is specific to this study area
where particularly valuable NTFPs such as benzoin are gathered.
In the case of agro-forest product trading, the income is large, but the costs are also
large.

Here, clarification of the realities of agro-forest product trading is provided

through an explanation of the relationship between the trading price and the cost at
every trade point from the gatherer to the exporter. Here, the benzoin trade is focused onhere as an example. It is comparatively easy to follow the trade flow of benzoin because
there are only three export companies in the country.
The trading price and the cost at every trade point in  are shown in Fig. . The
trading price of benzoin in the gathering area is set at a price in Laos Kip equivalent to US$ every year. However, sometimes the benzoin trading price fluctuates owing tocompetition among traders.) Even though the purchase price in the study area rises,
traders cannot increase the trading price accordingly because of pressure from foreign
customers. Therefore, the exporter’s profits) decrease when the local price increases.
The gatherer does not incur costs from gathering benzoin. There is no direct cost,
although the land tax for the swidden field might be considered as a cost because benzoin
is gathered in fallow swidden plots.
The Level- traders sell benzoin purchased at

 Kip/kg (about  US$) to tradersin the Nong Khiaw area or Exporter-A at   Kip/kg (about   US$). The profit
obtained is   Kip/kg (about   US$). However, it is necessary to pay a fee of  
Kip (about   US$) for an annual trading permit to the district office, which is theequivalent of income tax. If the trader deals only in profitable NTFPs such as benzoin,

ῌ In the study area, a group related to Exporter-A and a group related to Exporter-B competed strongly over the purchase of benzoin in . At the beginning of trading, the pricewas   Kip/kg (about  US$/kg) in March, but reached   Kip/kg (about   US$/kg) in May.
ῌ In this paper, family labor, which has an opportunity cost, is included.
395ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῏ῑ῎ ῏ ῑFig. ῌ Trading Price and Cost of Benzoin at Trade Point, ῎ῌῌ῎Note: * ῍ U. S. dollar (US$) was equivalent to ΐ῕ῐῌῌ Kip as of April ῎ῌῌ῎.

the balance becomes a deficit unless ῍῎ῐ kilograms (about ῐῌῌ US$, ῏῕ῑῐῌ῕ῌῌῌ Kip) of
benzoin are traded. If a trader deals only in less profitable NTFPs such as Puack Muack
and paper mulberry bark, and makes a profit of only ῐῌῌ Kip/kg (about ῌ῔ῌῐ US$), one tonof trade is needed. In the study area, only a few traders with sufficient financial resources
are efficiently purchasing agro-forest products by specializing in benzoin, and the majority of traders mainly deal in NTFPs with a low unit price. It seems that the net profit of
trading is not so great even though the amount of cash income is large. Of particular noteis that traders who deal mainly in heavy, low-profit NTFPs have to bear the costs oftransport, and so the profits decrease even further.
Traders in the Nong Khiaw area, which is the seat of Ngoi district office, are in almost
the same situation as the Level-῍ traders. Nevertheless, their trading permit fee is large
compared with that for a Level-῍ trader. In addition to this, the shipping charge foragro-forest products greatly affects the profit. The charge for transportation by truck
from the Nong Khiaw area to the Luang Phabang area is ῍ῌῌ῕ῌῌῌ Kip/ton (about ῍ῌ῔ῐ US$).
The period of benzoin trading is limited to three months, and the shipping charge is not
expensive because the product is lightweight. However, the traders transport three tonsof other products once a week on average. The annual shipping charge of all products
amounts to ῍῏῕῏ῌῌ῕ῌῌῌ Kip (about ῍῕ῐ῍ῐ῔ῒ US$).
Exporter-A in Vientiane exports the benzoin to France and Germany, at ῍ῐ tons to396

YD@DN6B6 S. : The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the Northern Mountainous Region of Laoseach country per year. When exporting, the benzoin is divided into five grades from A
to E according to the size of the resin. Little high-grade resin remains after cleaning andsorting. The trading permit fee that Exporter-A has to pay is ῍῕ῐῌῌ῕ῌῌῌ Kip (about ῍ῐῑ῔ΐUS$). Other charges in addition to this are the cost of transport between the mountainvillages and the Vientiane office, and the costs of packing and transport to foreign
customers in France and Germany. Moreover, many other costs are incurred comparedwith other traders, such as personnel expenses to pay workers for the benzoin grading,the cost of electricity for air-conditioning in a storehouse,῎ῑ) bank interest,῎ῒ) and exporttax.
For the NTFP gatherers in the mountains, the only cost is the land tax, so the moregathering that is done, the more the gatherer profits. On the other hand, the agro-forest
traders must process a considerably large amount of product to make a profit because
they have to pay high trading permit fees. The cost of trading in benzoin increases
exponentially from remote areas, to provincial towns, to large cities. The international
trading price of valuable NTFPs such as Siamese benzoin is also high, and the domestic
trader requires considerable capital to carry out the purchase.
In the study area, although there were ῎ῒ agro-forest product traders in ῎ῌῌ῍, only ῍ῐ
traders bought more than ῍῎ῐ kilograms of benzoin, which represents a value equivalent
to the trading permit fee. Three traders did not purchase benzoin because they had
insufficient funds, and a lot of benzoin was purchased by traders outside the study area.
The traders in the remote area cannot obtain loans from banks because they are unable
to obtain a mortgage. Exporter-A in Vientiane can obtain a bank loan, but the loan
amount is small. Moreover, even if Exporter-A purchases agro-forest products by taking
out a large bank loan, the high interest on the loan is prohibitive.
In a developing country such as Laos, agro-forest product traders and exporters faceconsiderable difficulty in the raising of funds. If the exporters reduce funds for purchasing agro-forest products from traders, the traders, who are at a subordinate level toexporters, must in turn reduce the quantity of products they purchase. Then, the NTFP
gatherer is forced to decrease the amount of products gathered. As a result, the cash
income of mountain people decreases drastically. A shortage in purchase funds among
the traders immediately results in a decrease in the income of the agro-forest productgatherers in the mountains.

῎ῑῌ Benzoin has a milk white color when gathered, then changes to brown when it oxidizes. It
is necessary to cool the product for dehumidification in storehouses to prevent oxidation
before export.
῎ῒῌ Bank interest is greatly affected by the exchange rate of the Lao Kip to the US dollar. The
Kip loan interest rate in ῎ῌῌ῎ was high, at about ῏ῌ῍.
397ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῏ῐ῎ ῏ ῑVChanges in Agro-forest Product Trading and Natural Resource Use

Changes in agro-forest product trading and natural resource use in the northern mountainous region of Laos are shown in Fig. ῍ῌ.

On the basis of the discussion in thepreceding section IV-῍, the patterns of trading and resource use can be classified into
three groups. During the colonial period, private traders and L£m purchased agro-forest
products from mountain people. These products were sent to traders in the former
capital Luang Phabang and shipped to Thailand or Vietnam. Under the communist
regime, the agro-forest products were purchased by governmental traders stationed in
the governmental-managed store. These NTFPs were then exported to Vietnam via
Xamneua during the Pathet Lao government period and to Bangkok via Vientiane during
the Lao PDR period.

Then, during the Chintanakan Mai period, the borders withThailand, China, and Vietnam began to be opened from the late ῍ῒῑῌs, and cross-border
trade was re-established. Private trading was revived in both urban and rural areas.
The gathering of the NTFPs shown in Table ῎, excluding benzoin and cardamom,
started being gathered after the opening of the borders. Information about demand inforeign countries received through the domestic traders led to the gathering of new
NTFPs in the mountains. A network of private domestic traders has been expanding
throughout the country, and has played an important role in the transmission of
information to the northern mountainous region of Laos since the Chintanakan Mai
period.
The trading flows of agro-forest products from the study area to various destinations
are very complicated. Agro-forest product traders appeared in various urban areas after
the Chintanakan Mai period. It has been clarified that traders in smaller urban areas haveengaged in “Direct Trading” with Chinese traders, and have thereby gathered new typesof NTFPs in the mountains. These agro-forest products started to be exported directly to

Fig. ῍ῌ Changes in Agro-forest Product Trading and Natural Resouce Use in Northern Laos398

YD@DN6B6 S. : The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the Northern Mountainous Region of Laos

China from mountainous areas.
For the time prior to the colonial period, and because the functions of mountains andlowlands differed, it is considered that the social structure of northern Laos in that period
can be represented as a dichotomy between the mountain people as gatherers and thelowland people as traders. This structure is explained by the relations between ethnic
groups that were historically established by the L£m, who had strong ties with mountainpeople, especially the Khmu, who were used for manual labor by the lowland people.
Mountainous regions experienced commercial activities, such as periodic markets, general
stores, and agro-forest product traders, under the communist period, and were directly
affected by the Chinese economy after the Chintanakan Mai period. As a result, it has
become more difficult to understand the social structure of northern Laos in the context
of this dichotomic typology.

Additionally, from a spatial viewpoint, the northern

mountainous region of Laos has not been isolated but connected with the lowlands by alongstanding and well-established river transportation system. The social structure in
northern Laos, therefore, must now be considered within the context of the globalizationof agro-forest product demand, and beyond local ethnic relations. Such changes in thesocial structure have been triggered by the opening of borders that accompanied theChintanakan Mai period.
Regarding the challenges of globalization for the northern mountainous region of
Laos, the sustainable use of natural resources is a key issue. Although mountain people
traditionally used natural resources mainly for subsistence before the Chintanakan Mai
period, their use has sometimes been disordered when related to trading. None of the
newly gathered NTFPs, which have been exported to China since the ῍ῒῒῌs, are traditional
goods used as food or medicine. These NTFPs are plants that had previously beengathered in China, but are not any more. It is particularly surprising that gatherers andtraders do not know the intended use of the newly gathered NTFPs. Local people,
especially the Khmu people who know a lot about NTFPs, had little interest in the species
until they started to gather them for sale. Therefore, they know little of the resource
potential and reproductive power of the plants. Although newly gathered NTFPs in the
study area are not precious species, there is a possibility that excessive gathering willlead to their drastic decline. All surveyed farm households, except those engaged incommercial activities, are gathering the NTFPs for export. Even though local gatherers
and traders do not know how these NTFPs are used in China, they unquestioningly
accept the information provided by foreign traders on this issue.
The government prohibits the gathering of certain natural resources such as Chinese
cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia) [GoL., NAFRI, NUoL and SNV ῎ῌῌῑ: ῏῏ῌ], and the exportof certain ornamental plants such as orchids is regulated by quotas set by district andprovincial offices [ibid.: ῏ῑῐ]. Regulation, however, has yet to be effectively enforced.
Effective local governance regarding natural resource management will be needed in the
future. A field study on natural resources in the northern mountainous region of Laos399ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῌ῍῎ ῌ ῑand a survey of foreign demand for NTFPs, especially with regard to China, might berequired.

VI Conclusion
This paper has introduced the history of agro-forest product trading in the northern
mountainous region of Laos showing how trading can be traced back to the L£n X£ng
Kingdom era. In this era, L£m collected agro-forest products from mountain people astax. In addition, private traders were involved in the purchase of products from them.
However, during the Pathet Lao period, government-managed stores located along the Ou
River replaced the private traders, and purchased agro-forest products and sold commodities at the same time. During the Chintanakan Mai period, the government-managed
stores were closed and private traders re-emerged from ethnic Lao households located on
the river. Agro-forest trading spread to the Khmu households along the river, thenfinally to the Khmu and Hmong households in the mountains. However, general storesare currently only operated by ethnic Lao households on the riverside. In addition to this,agro-forest product traders who trade outside the study area are found only in riversidehouseholds.
Even in areas without road access, people in the study area could initiate commercial
activities using navigable rivers as Laos has had a developed river transportation system
for a long time. In northern Laos where there are many mountainous areas, major roads
are being constructed with foreign aid, but many roads remain in a poor condition.
Therefore, traders still rely on rivers to export products.
After the closure of the government-managed stores, two periodic markets were heldon the Ou riverside, and permanent general stores are located in an ethnic Lao village.
These provide the opportunity for mountain people to buy agro-forest products and tosell commodities. The supply of natural resources from the mountains to lowlands once
began with a brokerage form via L£m, before transforming into private traders including
Chinese merchants. Although the mountains of northern Laos seem to face the powerfultide of globalization at the present stage, as pointed out in Chapter ῌ of this paper, thetrading between the mountains and lowlands has always existed for a long time and theform of trading has varied across the ages.
The trading networks are in the process of spreading throughout the country, andthe flows of agro-forest products and commodities are increasing. It seems reasonable tosuggest that the private traders serve as an important driving force in the developmentof agro-forest product trading. They obtain information regarding demand of foreigncountries and encourage the mountain villages to gather NTFPs on demand from foreigncountries. Although it was conceivable that the ethnic minorities such as the Khmu andthe Hmong did not engage in commercial activities before Chintanakan Mai, the traders400

YD@DN6B6 S. : The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities in the Northern Mountainous Region of Laos

were always the ethnic Lao. However, after Chintanakan Mai, the Level-῎ and Level-῏traders started to cover remote villages without road access. In addition to this, in somecases, Chinese merchants are also engaged in trading in the study area. This paper has
also shown that not only road maintenance and improvement led to the transformationof the nation from being “land-locked” to “land-linked-,” after Chintanakan Mai but it has
also made clear that private traders, regardless of national and ethnic distinctions,appeared. As a result of these ongoing changes, the mountains of northern Laos havebeen and continue to be further pulled into the global market at a rapid speed and as suchrequire more scrutiny in further studies.

Acknowledgements
This survey was made possible through the support of the people of Ngoi district, Luang Phabang
province. I received excellent advice from the forest and agriculture team of the project entitled “A
Trans-disciplinary Study on the Regional Eco-History in Tropical Monsoon Asia: ῍῕ῐῑ῍῎ῌῌῑ,” headedby Professor Tomoya Akimichi, the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Japan. The author
would like to express sincere thanks to all these people.
This study was partly funded by the Toyota Foundation, Grant No. Dῌ῍῍A῍ῌῐῒ, and Grants-inAid for Scientific Research, Scientific Research-C, No. ῍ῒῑ῍ῌ῍῔῔ (῎ῌῌῐ῍ῌΐ) from the Japan Society for
the Promotion of Science.

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402

Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. ῏ῑ, No. ῏, March ῎ῌ῍ῌCan Paper Mulberry Contribute to Building Sustainable
Rural Livelihoods in Northern Laos ?

Andreas N::;*, Pornsiri SJ:7EDC<H6C<**, Chanhsom M6CNI=DC<***
Wirachinee T68=::C6῎ and O<6I6 Kazuo῎῎Abstract
Most ethnic minority villages in northern Lao PDR continue to rely on non-timber forest
products (NTFPs) for much of their subsistence and cash economy. Paper mulberry(Broussonetia papyrifera) is an important NTFP in many parts of northern Laos, providing
opportunities for earning cash income, particularly for women. Since the plant has beensuccessfully domesticated by local people, it has also been widely proposed as the basis fora sustainable agroforestry system. The major objectives of this article are to investigate
the production, processing and marketing system of paper mulberry and to assess its
potential to contribute to building sustainable rural livelihoods in northern Lao PDR. We
also elucidate how this perennial plant has been affected by recent government policies,changes in resource management ῍ from gathering to domestication ῍ and current land
use transitions, drawing on a case study from Pha Oudom district, Bokeo province,
northern Laos. Whether a sustainable production and supply-chain management systemfor paper mulberry can be developed that provides a reliable ῍ albeit modest ῍ source ofincome for many ethnic minority villagers in northern Laos will largely depend on thecapacity of local producers to enhance product quality and to become more active andequal actors in the value chain, but most of all on the political will of the Lao government
to rethink its controversial agriculture and forest policies that aim at reducing agricultural
diversity and restrict access to NTFPs through resettlement of formerly forest-dependentcommunities.
Keywords: paper mulberry, non-timber forest products, agroforestry systems, rural livelihoods, northern Lao PDRῌFaculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Corresponding author’s e-mail: aneef῍agr.kyushu-u.ac.jp
ῌῌDepartment of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University,
Chiang Mai, ThailandῌῌῌGraduate School of Bioresources and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University,
Fukuoka, Japan῎ University of Hohenheim, c/o Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai
ῐῌ῎ῌῌ, Thailand῎῎ ῐῒ῏ῑῌ Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan403ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῏ῒ῏ ῏ ῒIIntroduction

Forests play a central role in the livelihoods of ethnic minorities in northern Laos.
Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in particular are crucial resources for both thesubsistence economy and for cash income [Yokoyama ῎ῌῌ῏; Rigg ῎ῌῌῑ; Akimichi ῎ῌῌ῔].
Based on studies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Rigg [῎ῌῌῐ] reports that between ῑῌ and ῒῐῌ of poor villages in
Laos depend on the forest for most of their non-rice subsistence needs and for at least halfof their cash income.
Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) is an important non-timber forest product(NTFP) in northern Laos, providing opportunities for earning cash income, particularly
during the dry season, where the collection of the bark does not compete with otheractivities. Mulberry paper is durable and can be further processed into various highvalue products. In Chiang Mai, Thailand and in Luang Prabang, Laos, paper mulberry is
manufactured into a wide variety of products for the booming tourist industry. Paper
mulberry is also considered for its potential to improve upland rice-based fallow systems
because of its rapid growth, its relative resilience to fire and its capacity to suppress
weeds and improve soil fertility [Watanabe et al. ῎ῌῌ῏; Sakurai et al. ῎ῌῌῐ]. Studies suggestthat nutrients in deeper layers of the soil are absorbed by the trees and then returned tothe soil in form of organic matter by the tree’s biomass, which can benefit other cash
crops and rice production [Forsen et al. ῎ῌῌ῍].
The objective of this paper is to investigate production systems, processing activities
and the degree of commercialization of paper mulberry and to determine how this crop
affects rural people’s livelihoods and resource management. The paper also aims at
eliciting the impact of current government policies on the future contribution of NTFPs
to rural development.

II Study Sites and Methodology
The overview of the contribution of NTFP-based value chains to household cash revenues and livelihoods in three northern provinces of Lao PDR (Section ῌ) is based on
information gathered during a brief consultancy conducted in February/March ῎ῌῌΐ forthe Institute of Project Planning (IP-Consult), Stuttgart, which has been implementing
project components of a large-scale Lao-German rural development project (Rural Development in Mountainous Areas of Northern Lao PDR ῌ RDMA) instigated by the German
Agency of Technical Cooperation (GTZ) in the provinces of Bokeo, Luang Namtha andSayabouri (Fig. ῍ ).
The study villages were chosen after discussions with the local agricultural or404

Aῌ N::; et al. : Can Paper Mulberry Contribute to Building Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Northern Laos ?

Fig. ῌ Map of Surveyed Provinces, Districts and Study Villages
Source: Map by Peter Elstner

natural resource management advisors of RDMA. In all ῎῏ selected study villages, groupinterviews with the village headman and members of the village committee were conducted. Interested villagers were also invited to join. Participation in the group meetings
ranged from ῐῌ῏῍ persons, with an average of ΐῌ῕ participants. Additional information
was gained from unstructured interviews with NTFP traders in Sienghone district andfrom a local manager of NTFP nurseries in Pha Oudom district. Direct observation wasapplied in the case of NTFP processing and trading. Relevant project documents, monitoring data and journal articles were collected and reviewed as secondary information.
The in-depth analysis of the paper mulberry value chain (Chapter ῌ) was done inthree villages of Pha Oudom district, Bokeo province, during an interdisciplinary study
project conducted from March-May ῏῍῍῔ and coordinated by Dr. Andreas Neef and Dr.
Pornsiri Suebpongsang. Primary data were obtained from field surveys, observations
during harvesting and structured interviews with ῑῒ farm households of three different
ethnic minority groups (Lamet, Khmu, Hmong) and three Lao traders in Pha Oudom
district, Bokeo province, northern Laos, and a Thai processor in Sankampaeng district,
Chiang Mai province, North Thailand. Additional secondary information was used to405῔῕῎῏῎ῒῑ ῏ῑῐ ῏ ΐanalyze the marketing system.

III Contribution of NTFP-based Value Chains to Rural Livelihoods inThree Northern Provinces of Lao PDR
The purpose of this section is to present recent trends in the contribution of non-timber
forest products (NTFPs) and their value chains to household income and rural livelihoods, with a major focus on plant-based NTFPs.
III. ῍Naturally Occurring NTFPs and Contributions to the Rural Cash Economy

Naturally occurring NTFPs have long been an important supplement for rural people’s
diet in northern Lao PDR. Due to enhanced accessibility of villages and rising demand inneighbouring countries, particularly Thailand and China, they have also become a major
source of cash revenues (Table ῍ ).
The figures presented in Table ῍ are only rough estimates by members of the village
committees during the group interviews based on data of the entire village. Thus, they
only present the average contribution of NTFPs to household cash revenues and do notconsider labour costs and other input costs (this also applies to the figures and calculations in Chapter ῌ). Due to difficulties in estimating cash revenues from livestock andhunting, only the “plant-based” household cash revenues were calculated. Yet, the figures show a clear trend: in those areas that have been only recently connected to markets
for NTFPs and where farmers are primarily subsistence-oriented, the average contribution of plant-based NTFPs is still relatively high, particularly in Nalae and Meung, two
districts that have remained fairly isolated until ῎ῌῌῐ. In more market-oriented districts,
such as Khop district in Sayabouri, bordering Thailand with good market opportunities
for Job’s Tears, maize and sesame, the contribution of NTFPs to plant-derived household
cash revenues has already declined to less than ῍ῐ῍ on average. In Khop district, thediversity of commercial NTFPs is also diminished. The lowest economic importance of
NTFPs can be witnessed in Sing district, Luang Namtha province, mainly as a result of
rubber expansion into former forestland and swidden cultivation areas.
Table ῌMain Plant-based NTFPs and their Contribution to Household Cash Revenues

Districts
Nalae (Luang Namtha)
Meung (Bokeo)
Pha Oudom (Bokeo)
Khop (Sayabouri)
Sing (Luang Namtha)

Main Commercial Plant-derived NTFPs

Average Contribution to
Plant-based HH Cash
Revenues in Percent ῍ )Sugar palm, incense bark, mushrooms
Sugar palm, rattan shoots, incense bark
Paper mulberry, incense bark, sugar palm
Paper mulberry, incense bark, broom grass
Broom grass

῎ῌῌῐῌ
῍ῐῌ῎ῌ
῍ῐῌ῎ῌ
ῐῌ῍ῐ
ῌῐ

Note: ῍) Village committees’ estimate; main author’s survey ῎ῌῌῒ406

A N::; et al. : Can Paper Mulberry Contribute to Building Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Northern Laos ?

III. 

Current Pressure on NTFPs Due to Government Policies

The government of Lao PDR is getting increasingly serious in its fight against swidden
cultivation, with the target of eliminating this practice ῌ deemed unsustainable byagricultural and forest officials ῌ by the year . Relocation of villages from uplandforest areas ῌ causing a doubling of the population in some lowland and midland regions
ῌ and various types of ‘encouragement’ to establish commercial tree plantations haveconsiderably reduced fallow periods within only a few years, a process that has taken
several decades in neighbouring countries, such as Thailand and Vietnam, where swidden cultivation also has been branded as a backward and unsustainable practice bypolicy makers and extension workers who tend to ignore scientific evidence in favour ofswidden agriculture in certain environments. A number of recent studies have foundthat some types of swidden cultivation, such as rotational swiddening and composite
swidden systems can be fairly sustainable practices, even under rising population pressure [cf. Rigg ; Tran Duc Vien et al. ].
Closely related to the shortening of fallow periods in swidden fields is the reduced
availability or complete disappearance of a range of NTFPs that can only develop after
a sufficiently long fallow period. Table  shows some of the problems related to NTFP
availability that villagers in the  study villages reported in the group meetings. The
trend towards shorter fallow periods induced by government policies and rising populaTable ῌ

Shortening of Fallow Periods and Related Problems for NTFP Availability in theSurveyed Districts

District

Fallow Length

Reported Problems

Nalae (Luang Namtha)῍ years

Sugar palms have disappeared from swidden fields,
villagers have difficulties in protecting their NTFPs
against outsiders

Pha Oudom (Bokeo)

῍ years

Cardamom can only be found in protection forest,
paper mulberry and peuak meuak (for incense bark)need to be planted

years

No time for rattan to reach maturity, the occurrence ofsugar palms is drastically diminished

Sienghone (Sayabouri)῍ years

Rattan shoots are sold (at lower prices) instead of themore profitable rattan canes, sugar palms havedisappeared

Khop (Sayabouri)῍ years

No sugar palms in the entire area since , bong bark
disappeared in  , paper mulberry mostly
harvested from plantations

Sing (Luang Namtha)῍ year

Broom grass remains the only naturally occurring
NTFP with some commercial value, bamboo shoots
need to be planted

Meung (Bokeo)

Source: Main author’s survey 
Note: Sample of two villages per district; information based on statements made in groupmeetings407ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῐῒ῎ ῐ ῑtion pressure significantly reduces the diversity of NTFPs. Fig. ῎ depicts the close link
between swidden fallow periods and the availability of selected NTFPs.

While therelatively low-value NTFPs, such as broom grass and paper mulberry, can thrive in short
fallow systems, high-value NTFPs like cardamom, rattan and sugar palm need much
longer fallow periods to reach maturity.
The current dynamics of extraction and cultivation of naturally occurring NTFPs
are visualized in Fig. ῏. While broom grass is in a rapid expansion phase, the extractionof bamboo and rattan shoots appears to be relatively stable, while natural stands of paper
mulberry and sugar palm and ῌ in particular ῌ rattan canes are currently on the decline

Fig. ῌ

Link between Swidden Fallow Periods, Major Driving
Forces and Availability of NTFPs

Source: Based on Yokoyama [῎ῌῌῐ] and main author’s survey ῎ῌῌΐNote: Quantity gathered: small ῌ, moderate ῌ

Fig. ῍

The Dynamics of Extraction and Cultivation of Major NTFPs in
the Three Target Provinces

Source: Draft based on Homma [῍῔῔ῑ] and Ribeiro and Darnhofer [῎ῌῌῒ];main author’s survey ῎ῌῌΐNote: The curves depict trends for individual NTFPs only.
408

Aῌ N::; et al. : Can Paper Mulberry Contribute to Building Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Northern Laos ?

Fig. ῌ

Types of Access and Tenure Regimes for NTFPs in theTarget Provinces
Source: Main author’s survey ῎῍῍ῐNote: !Unregulated property’ refers to communally managed resources without established rules and regulations regarding extraction; !regulated property’ refers to resources whose extraction is subject to rules and regulations devised by a communal
authority and generally accepted by community members.

due to over-exploitation. Cardamom could either be about to disappear in most areas
and/or on the brink of a slow domestication process in other regions, while incense barkand particularly paper mulberry have already been successfully domesticated in Pha
Oudom, Bokeo province and in most parts of Sayabouri province.
In this dynamic environment, the types of access and tenure regimes for NTFPs arealso quickly adapting to new realities (Fig. ῏ ). While until recently natural stands ofpaper mulberry used to be considered as an unregulated common property by many
ethnic groups [cf. Yokoyama ῎῍῍῏], its extraction has now become more regulated inseveral locations. In some villages, such as Panghai in Khop district, Sayabouri, paper
mulberry stands are regarded as individual property within the production forest inwhich each family knows the boundaries, since the area had been used for swidden
cultivation of upland rice prior to the land use planning process.
The extraction of sugar palm seeds is also regulated: mobile traders would arrange
an appointment a few days in advance with the village headman, who then announces toall villagers that they can start to harvest palm seeds. During this very short period,
villagers are allowed to extract as much as they can find on a ‘first-come, first-served’basis. Only in a Black Lahu village in Meung district, the village committee reported thatvillagers can claim individual use rights to sugar palms by marking them with a special
sign. In all communities outsiders are not allowed to harvest sugar palm, paper mulberry
and incense bark. Broom grass, on the other hand, is regarded in all villages as an open
access resource, as it now grows nearly everywhere in short-fallow fields and alongroadsides. This finding contrasts with an earlier study of Yokoyama [῎῍῍῏] who foundthat broom grass could only be gathered on individual swidden fields.
409ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῏  ῒIV NTFP Value Chains: Paper Mulberry in Pha Oudom District,Bokeo Province
The successful domestication of paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) suggests thatnew opportunities are arising for developing sustainable agroforestry systems in northern Laos, particularly as farmers are under intense pressure to reduce their fallow
periods. Paper mulberry is a particularly interesting perennial crop as it can be used for
multiple purposes (soil improvement, weed suppression, animal feed, cash income frombark, fuel wood) and its production and management system is very flexible, making itsuitable for a variety of socio-economic conditions [Aubertin ; Watanabe et al. ;Fahrney et al. ; Manythong ; Ogata et al. ; Saito et al. ].
IV. 

Characteristics of the Farm Households

Demography. On average surveyed farm households can be characterized as a large
family that consists of around eight people. Yet, ethnic differences are considerable. In
Huay Paen (Lamet/Khmu) the medium family size is around five persons, while in Tam
Pha Kae (Hmong) the family size is much larger, with about nine persons slightly higher
than in Huay Sang (Khmu). About three family members work on the farm, and nearly
all of them are involved in the paper mulberry production system (Table).

Cropping systems. Most farm households practice multiple cropping systems, with rice,

Table ῌDemographic Characteristics of the Farm Households
Mean Number of Family Members

Variable

Huay Paen(nῌ  )

Huay Sang(nῌ  )Tam Pha Kae(nῌ  )

Total(nῌ  )

Family size
Total family members
Male
Female
















Age structure
under  years oldῌ  years oldolder than  years





Average number of family member
work on farmFamily members involved in paper
mulberry production
Male
Female

Source: Authors’ survey 
410




















A N::; et al. : Can Paper Mulberry Contribute to Building Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Northern Laos ?

Fig. ῌ

Contribution of Major Crops to Total Crop-based Cash
Revenues
Source: Authors’ survey maize, chili and sesame being the most important crops. Maize, upland rice and chili areplanted in June, while sesame is planted in July. The cropping systems in Huay Paen are
more diversified than those in Huay Sang and Tam Pha Kae (Fig.  ). This is probably
due to the fact that Huay Paen is located closer to the center of Pha Oudom district andtherefore has better market access.
IV. Socio-economics of NTFPs

Contribution of NTFPs to the household economy. The most important NTFPs in the
study area include paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera), sugar palm (Arenga westerhoutii), broom grass (Thysanolaena latifolia) and incense bark from peauk meuak (Bochmeria malabarica). Most households are involved in paper mulberry production especiallyin Tam Pha Kae and Huay Sang (Fig.  ).
Farm and household economy. The average family cash revenues from cropping and
NTFPs for all households in the sample was  Kip in /. Households in Huay
Paen generated the highest average cash revenues with   Kip, while Huay Sang
had the lowest with only   Kip per year (Table). Considering the source of cash

revenues, the village with the highest average cash revenues had the lowest contributionof paper mulberry cash revenues in total cash revenues. The correlation between cash
crop revenues and paper mulberry revenues is negative which means that for poorer
households paper mulberry provides a crucial supplementary source of cash revenues(Fig.  ).
As confirmed by other studies, poorer households collect significantly more plantbased NTFPs compared to more affluent households.

In households with average

plant-based cash revenues of less than  million Kip, NTFPs provided between  ῌ (inHuay Paen) and nearly ῌ (in Tam Pha Kae) of the total plant-based cash revenues. This
underscores the importance of NTFPs as a safety net for the poor and as a crucial411ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῏  ῒFig. ῍ Contribution of Major NTFPs to Total NTFP Cash Revenues
Source: Authors’ survey 

Table ῌCash Revenues from Various Activities

Cash revenues
Revenues from cash crops(Kip/year)

Huay Pean(nῌ ) 

Huay Sang(nῌ  )

Tham Pha Kae(nῌ  )

   

Total(nῌ  ) 

Cash revenues from NTFPs(Kip/year)

 

 



Cash revenues from paper mulberry(Kip/year)   

 

 

Contribution of paper mulberry tototal cash revenues



 







  Source: Authors’ survey provider of cash revenues during food insecure periods. Families endowed with enoughagricultural land can derive relatively high cash revenues from crop production and rely
much less on NTFPs including paper mulberry production and harvesting.
We also found a positive correlation between the number of female family members
and family cash revenues from paper mulberry (data not shown) which implies that
paper mulberry is predominantly an income opportunity for women.
IV. 

Production and Collection Systems of Paper Mulberry

IV. .  Production
In northern Laos, ethnic minority groups have collected paper mulberry bark from theforests surrounding their villages for decades. Paper mulberry prefers moist alluvial soils[Aubertin ; Fahrney et al. ; Saito et al. ]. River and stream valleys or lowland
moist areas are the best places for this perennial plant to grow.

However, due topopulation pressure, decline of forest resources and over-harvesting, today villagers have412

A N::; et al. : Can Paper Mulberry Contribute to Building Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Northern Laos ?

Fig. ῍

Relationship between Revenues from Paper Mulberry and Total CashCrop Revenues
Source: Authors’ survey 
Table ῌContribution of Cash Revenues Classified by Source and Wealth Class of Farmers

Huay Paen
Wealth Class of Farmers(nῌ )by Total Plant-based Cash
Revenues (Kip)
Cash crops
NFTP῍     ῌ  ῎  



 



 

Huay Sang(nῌ )Tam Pha Kae(nῌ )Cash crops

NFTP

Cash crops

NFTP





 



 
 


 
 


Source: Authors’ survey to spend more time and labor to collect the same amount of bark as before. In addition,
the product collected from the forest is often of inferior quality since villagers harvest
whatever bark of paper mulberry trees they can find because of competition with othercollectors and the lack of management and harvesting regulations. As a result, some
farmers have started to grow paper mulberry in their home gardens, upland rice fields
and fallows [Fahrney et al. ]. Growth rates on the upland fields are considered lower
than in lowland areas where it is possible to reap the first harvest ῌ months after
planting the trees. In contrast, in the upland fields farmers may need to wait ῌ
months for the first harvest.
Forsen et al. [] reports that in the Lao PDR paper mulberry is grown in threedifferent ways, namely in natural stands, cultivated stands and inter-cropping systems.
413ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῐῒ῎ ῐ ῑPaper mulberry bark harvested from natural stands is considered as a NTFP and mainly
found in secondary hillside forest.

The determination of the source of the bark isimportant since traders who want to export bark that is classified as NTFPs need toobtain a quota from the government and pay a ‘natural resource tax.’ Paper mulberrybark that stems from cultivated stands is exempted from the quota and tax system. Yet,
we could not find out how tax collectors would determine ῌ or how traders can provide
evidence ῌ whether mulberry bark comes from cultivated or natural stands.
Harvesting from natural stands does not require any capital investment and little
labor input in terms of management such as planting and pruning. However, since theprice for paper mulberry bark increased and more people have begun to collect the barkin Pha Oudom district, it is becoming harder to find natural stands of paper mulberry.
This can be described as the problem of an open access resource that becomes degraded(see Chapter ῌ. ῎ ). Another disadvantage with collecting bark from natural stands isthat the yield is often low and the quality is poor compared to bark harvested fromplantations.
As paper mulberry is among the NTFPs that can be easily domesticated, moreland-rich farmers in Pha Oudom district have started to cultivate paper mulberry in theirfields.

The most entrepreneurial villagers have even set up small nurseries, partly

supported by external development assistance (see example in Box ῍ ). Some farmers are
growing paper mulberry trees on upland rice fields. This system can be considered asinter-cropping: in their upland rice field, farmers would plant rice in the second half of
May and then transplant paper mulberry seedlings in July. In some rice fields youngshoots and seedlings of paper mulberry grow from roots and seeds from the previous
generation that was cut and burned before planting rice; in this case farmers just keep theshoots and seedlings and add more seedlings into the field if needed.

The GTZ-funded project RDMA Bokeo supported the establishment of a private NTFP and fruit
tree nursery in Huay Paen, a village with Lamet and Khmu population. The village does nothave any wet-rice area, but the upland agricultural area is relatively large and during the land
use planning process big areas of conservation, protection and production forests have beendelineated. Mr. Kammanh, the manager of the NTFP and fruit tree nursery, is the village’s
vice-headman and member of the village committee, responsible for land use planning. He
obtained a credit from the Village Development Fund (VDF) of ῐ῔ῌῌῌ Baht and contributed his
own budget of ῏῔ῌῌῌ Baht. Last year he sold ῍῔ῑῌῌ seedlings of paper mulberry, ῍῔ῑῌῌ seedlingsof peuak muak (for production of incense bark), ῐῌῌ῍ῑῌῌ seedlings of agarwood and around ῎ῒῑseedlings of mango and jackfruit to farmers from Huay Paen and neighbouring villages. His
net benefit after paying back his loan to the VDF was around ῏ million Kip (ca. ῍ῌ῔ῒῌῌ Baht or῏῏ῌ US-$) in ῎ῌῌῒ.
Despite his success he will reduce the area of the nursery this year from ῏῔ῑῌῌ m῎ to ῒῌῌ m῎. Hestated that he lacks the labour force to manage such a big nursery. He will grow rubber on oneof his two upland plots next year, along with ῍ῑ other farmers in his village, and needs toinvest a lot of labour into this new activity.
Box ῌ

Successful Domestication of NTFPs: The case of Mr. Kammanh in Huay Paen Village,
Pha Oudom District, Bokeo Province
Source: Own survey, February ῎ῌῌΐ414

Aῌ N::; et al. : Can Paper Mulberry Contribute to Building Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Northern Laos ?

Fig. ῌ

Types of Paper Mulberry Production Systems

The example in Box ῎ shows how external project support in Pha Oudom helped toestablish a village nursery for various NTFPs. Yet, it also shows the challenges that suchinitiatives face with the current expansion of rubber plantations.
Hmong farmers in Tam Pha Kae appear to be particularly keen on securing cash
income from mulberry bark production and benefitting from the various other byproducts of paper mulberry trees. The majority of the respondents in this village statedthat they have established paper mulberry plantations in recent years (Fig. ῔ ). Some
farmers reported they have been growing paper mulberry on more than ῎ hectare andharvest around ῒ῍῍ kg per season.
In sum, the particular appeal of paper mulberry cultivation is that the crop requires
relatively little management and that farmers can use it very flexibly, i.e. they can adjust
plant densities, growing periods, harvesting times and plant parts used according to their
specific needs [Aubertin ῏῍῍ῑ; Fahrney et al. ῏῍῍ΐ].
IV. ῐ. ῏ Harvesting and Post-harvest HandlingWithin one day a farmer can collect between ῎῍ and ῐ῍ kg of fresh bark.

Farmers

harvested bark from whatever paper mulberry trees they found, which usually are oldtrees (two to three years old). Farmers reported that they had been informed by local
traders to collect primarily the bark from young trees (around one year of age) and to
separate the bark from the young and old trees to obtain different grades and prices. Yet,most of the respondents collected the bark from older trees to get more weight per unitof labor. Usually, the collectors mix the bark of different qualities and sell it to the trader
as one grade, which then yields the lowest price (referred to as grade C). Most of the
farmers harvest the bark from the main stems, only occasionally bark is collected also
from the branches. Debarked stems and branches are left to dry and then used forfuelwood if the harvesting areas are not too distant from the residential area.
When paper mulberry bark is harvested, the stems of the trees are cut about ῑ῍415ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῐῑ῎ ῐ ῑcentimeters above the ground. The bark is pulled from the stems and occasionally fromthe branches. Then farmers carry the bark back to the village where they have to strip
the outer bark off as soon as possible; otherwise it would be very difficult to peel once thebark becomes dry. After peeling, the inner bark would be dried for two to three hours
and kept in a dry place until the local trader arrives.
Some studies report that harvesting of paper mulberry bark is done all year round,while others suggest two main periods, namely late February to the beginning of April
and September to October [Forsen et al. ῎ῌῌ῍; Fahrney et al. ῎ῌῌῑ; Saito et al. ῎ῌῌῒ].
However, from our study site, farmers harvested only from February to April due toavailable labor in a time where they do not need to work in the rice fields or are occupied
with other agricultural activities. In addition, respondents indicated that this time ῌ thehot dry season ῌ is very suitable for debarking and drying the bark.
A village trader in Tam Pha Kae (Hmong) reported that including bark from natural
stands and cultivated stands, he collected more than ῎ tons a year from the villagers. He
also indicated that on average a family in this community got a harvest of around ῍ῌῌ kg

Photos ῌῌ῍ Debarking Paper Mulberry Stems (Photo ῍), Carrying the Fresh Bark
from the Field to the Homestead (Photo ῎), Stripping the Inner Bark
(Photo ῏), and Sun-drying the Cleaned Inner Bark (Photo ῐ).
416

A N::; et al. : Can Paper Mulberry Contribute to Building Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Northern Laos ?

of dry bark annually. By contrast, in Huay Paen village (Lamet and Khmu) the average
harvested bark per family was reported to be only  kg per year.
In order to assess the time spent for post-harvest handling and determine the weight
loss, we recorded the entire process in several occasions. We found that the farmers spent
one hour for peeling  kg of the bark. On average, one farmer got  kg of the bark sothey spent three hours in the afternoon for peeling all the bark. After the peeling process,farmers would sun-dry the inner bark for ῍ hours. During the process ῌ from the freshbark to the dry inner bark ῌ around ῍ of fresh weight was lost. Hence, in one day, thefarmers got  kg of dry inner bark from  kg of the fresh bark, indicating a conversion
ratio of fresh bark to peeled and dried bark of  .
From an average of  kg of fresh bark collected in one day,  kg of dried inner bark
can be obtained after labor-intensive, manual cleaning and sun-drying. The price for  kg
of dried bark was around   Kip in  , which implies a total gross margin of   Kip(  US-$) per day. When the opportunity costs of time for the farmers are calculated at US-$ per day, the net profit of   US-$ per day appears attractive, particularly as theharvesting period of paper mulberry is flexible and does not compete with agriculturalactivities.
Since stripping of the inner bark is a time-consuming activity, the RDMA project incooperation with the Uplands Program tested the efficiency and economic viability ofmachine-stripping of the inner bark in comparison with manual stripping. Fig.  showsthat the machine ῌ a prototype developed by Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand
ῌ is mostly superior to manual cleaning in terms of time needed, except for two rangesof diameter (ῌ  and ῌ ).

The machine has been successfully used by an

innovative farmer in Huay Paen who stated that farmers in neighbouring villages haveexpressed their strong interest in using the machine. Yet, before promoting the use ofmachines on a wider scale, the gender impact needs to receive attention since manual
stripping is traditionally women’s work and machine-stripping tends to be done by men

Fig. ῌ

Time Requirement of Manual vs. Machine Stripping of Inner Bark ofPaper Mulberry
Source: Authors’ experiment 417ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῏ῒ῏ ῏ ῒPhoto ῌKhmu Woman Stripping the Inner
Bark of Paper Mulberry

Photo ῍Testing the Labour Requirementand Economic Viability of Machine
Stripping(Photos ῐ and ῑ ).
IV. ῏Commercialization of Paper Mulberry Bark

Paper mulberry has been harvested and processed into paper in Laos for many decades.
In earlier times, for example, mulberry paper was used for wrapping opium. Recently
new markets have opened up through tourism and exports [Forsen et al. ῎ῌῌ῍]. In a firststep, the dried inner bark is further processed into pulp which is the main material for
producing paper. This type of paper (commonly known as saa paper in Lao PDR and
Thailand) is used for making a variety of products, such as boxes, envelopes, picture
frames, paper strings, lamps, and umbrellas. Yet, none of the respondents in our sample
in Pha Oudom district processes either pulp or paper. Only ῏ΐ῏ ῌ of the respondents knewthat the final product of their bark is paper.
IV. ῏. ῍ Marketing channels in Lao PDR
The inner bark is marketed by three types of traders: village collectors, district collectors
and provincial traders. Each trader plays a different role in the marketing channel andoffers various services in the value chain, such as transport, credit and storage.
Village collectors. The village collector buys the bark and/or other cash crops from thefarmer in the village and from the nearby village. In the study area there are ῍ῌ῎ village
collectors in each village and they pay the farmers in cash. There is usually a farmer inthe village who acts as the village collector. The village collector will mainly transport
the bark to district traders in Pha Oudom.
District traders.

The district traders buy cash crops from the village collectors ordirectly from farmers, store them and then transport them to provincial traders, forexample in Bokeo province or in Luang Prabang province. Selling to the provincial
trader in Bokeo province is the preferred destination, as the trader would get lower profit
418

A N::; et al. : Can Paper Mulberry Contribute to Building Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Northern Laos ?

from selling in Luang Prabang owing to the higher transportation costs. Moreover,
Luang Prabang provincial traders prefer to buy the bark in a compressed form in order
to be able to take a larger quantity. The provincial traders would give only one grade forthe entire bark in the truck and then offers the price related to the estimated grade. The
main reason for not exporting the bark directly to Thailand indicated by district traders
was that they fear the complexity of the export process and the high export expenses,
including shipping cost by boat and customs tariffs. The costs and net profits of farmers,
village collectors and district traders are shown in Table .
Yet, village collectors do not operate in every village, many district traders collectthe dried bark directly from individual farmers or farmers may bring their produce to the
district trader with their own means of transportation (e.g. on foot). Hence, the entire
marketing chain within Laos is characterized by a simple, linear structure with various
profit-taking stages (Fig. ).
Table ῎Costs and Profits of Different Actors in the Value Chain (per kg of dried bark)

Item

FarmerVillage Collector

District TraderPrice (Kip)
Gross margin
Opportunity costs
Transportation costs
Taxes and duty
Net profit




ῌ
ῌ




ῌ

ῌ



 
ῌ




Source: Authors’ survey Fig. ῍ῌ Linear Marketing Channels for Paper Mulberry in Laos and the Main
Importing Country Thailand419

ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῐῒ῎ ῐ ῑProvincial traders. The bark from Pha Oudom is mainly sold to two provincial traders
without any quota. The traders would buy all the bark from Pha Oudom which shows
the potential of increasing paper mulberry production. The trader transports the bark toa border point in Huay Xai. The bark is transported by boat to the border traders in
Chiang Khong in Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand. The freight-space of the boat
ranges from ῑῌ῏ῌ tonnes, depending on the vessel. The bark is sold in a pre-graded form
to Thai traders. Most of the time the payment is done in cash, but during the period ofoversupply the provincial trader has to give Thai buyers a credit for up to one month[Forsen et al. ῎ῌῌ῍].

The average purchasing price of the provincial trader at the

beginning of ῎ῌῌῒ was ῍ῐῌ῍ΐ baht per kg depending on the grade.
IV. ῐ. ῎ The Thai Part of the Supply Chain
The total national consumption of paper mulberry bark in Lao PDR is estimated at not
more than ῍ῌῌ tonnes per year [Helberg ῎ῌῌῑ], while most of the bark harvested by theestimated ῎ῒ῔ῌῌῌ Lao bark collectors is destined for export to Thailand. The final gradingof the dried bark is also done in Thailand which effectively blocks imports of processedmulberry bark (e.g. in the form of pulp or paper sheets) through a high import tariff
system. In the entire commercialization process of paper mulberry, Thailand turns animported raw material worth less than ῍ million US-$ annually into paper products
worth around ῑῌ million US-$ [Midgley et al. ῎ῌῌῒ].
Thai border traders. Forsen et al. [῎ῌῌ῍] reported that there are many different border
traders buying cash crops from local traders in Laos and selling them to manufacturing
companies in Thailand. Some Thai border traders buy ungraded bark and grade itthemselves. The lack of storage facilities is a major problem for Thai border traders
forcing them to sell it to Thai paper manufactory without being able to stock-pile it intimes of oversupply and lower prices.
The information transfer between the bark’s origin and the end market of the bark
can be classified as insufficient and non-transparent. Thai border traders do not know
the origin of the bark from Laos, while Lao farmers do not know the final users of thedried bark and which types of products the bark will be processed into.
Trade flows at the Thai-Lao border. According to the report of the Customs Office at
the Thai-Lao border in Chiang Rai and Loei provinces, the import quantity of paper
mulberry bark from Laos has fluctuated since ῎ῌῌ῎ due to the instability of Thai domestic
supply and demand for imported paper mulberry bark and the variability of supply in
Laos (Table ῒ).
Manufacturers in Thailand. Paper mulberry bark has been used in Thailand as raw
material for handmade paper for a long time, especially in the northern part. Traditionally the paper has been used for Buddhist scripts, temple decorations at festival times,
umbrellas, fans and kite making. In former times it was also used as a filter in the
manufacture of lacquer ware.
420

Farmers also used to make strings and ropes from

A N::; et al. : Can Paper Mulberry Contribute to Building Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Northern Laos ?

Table ῌQuantity and Value of Paper Mulberry
Shipped from Laos to Thailand at the
Chiang Khong Border from ῍Year

Quantity (in tonnes)

Value (Baht)







 





      


mulberry fibers prior to the introduction of substitute materials, such as
sisal

and

nylon

[Aubertin].

Today it is used for a wide variety ofdomestic and industrial purposes, including paper towels in hospitals,
wrapping and gift paper, wallpaper,lampshades,

Source: Authors’ survey ; data from Chiang
Khong border office 

bookmarks,

picture-frames and greetings cards.
The largest processing factorywith an annual capacity of 

tonnes of bark is located in Sukhothai province [Fahrney et al. ]. Paper mulberrybark in Thailand is produced both with machines and by hand. Approximately  ῌ ofthe paper is processed with machines and the rest by hand [Forsen et al. ].
Exports from Thailand to other countries. While low-quality paper is processed into
domestic paper products, high-grade mulberry bark and processed mulberry paper fromThailand is exported primarily to Japan and South Korea. The highest quality ῌ superA ῌ is exported without further processing to Japan where the bark is reportedly
processed into special paper for banknotes, liturgical objects, lanterns and luxury stationary [Aubertin ; Fahrney et al. ]. Demand in South Korea appears to be similarly
fluctuating as domestic demand in Thailand: according to Kang and Kohroki [ ]imports of paper mulberry increased from tonnes in  to   tonnes in and then dropped sharply to  tonnes in  .
IV. Impact of Government Policies and Land Use Change on the Future of Paper Mulberry
Production Systems

According to Aubertin [] the Lao government has not shown much interest in paper
mulberry production. She reports that the plant neither was included in the national
agricultural census of /

nor did it appear in the list of plants for which the

Ministry of Agriculture issued production forecasts for the /  harvest. This lackof interest contrasts sharply with the great deal of local innovation as regards paper
mulberry domestication and farmers’ experimentation with a variety of mixed cropping
systems based on paper mulberry which appears to have not been actively supported by
the District Agricultural and Forestry Offices in northern Laos.
The legal framework that may affect the further development of paper mulberry
production ῌand other NTFPs ῌ has been described as fragmentary and inconsistent[Rigg ; Ribeiro and Darnhofer ]. The Lao Forest Law differentiates between
customary use of NTFPs for subsistence purposes and the commercial use of NTFPs, thelatter being regulated by quotas and taxes [GoL 
ofer ].

; Helberg ; Ribeiro and Darnh-

While groups with long-standing forest use rights are entitled to collect421

ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῏ῒ῎ ῏ ῑNTFPs and firewood in production forests, they can only do so without causing damage
to the forest ῌ which is open to varying interpretations [cf. Rigg ῎ῌῌῑ].

Frequent

resettlements also contribute to insecurity of land use and prevent villagers fromdeveloping sustainable management systems for NTFPs.
The Land and Forest Allocation policy is driven by the government’s goal toeradicate shifting cultivation and to stabilize agriculture. In sloping land, farm households can only receive up to three plots, which reduces the fallow period to a maximumof two years. Permanent land titles ῌ LTD ῌ῍ or bai ta din ῌ are allocated by the District
Land Office (DLO) for permanent types of land uses, such as housing land, home gardens,
paddy land and tree plantations. In rare cases such LTD ῌ῍ would also be issued for paper
mulberry plantations, as stated by one DAFO officer in Sienghone district (Sayabouri),
but this could not be verified in the surveyed villages in Pha Oudom district (Bokeo)
where the land allocation process has been marked by particularly strong legal ambiguities and severe land use conflicts between and within local communities. Secure land use
titles are definitely not issued for long-term land use on the basis of annual crops, and it
is unclear whether they are issued for agroforestry systems, e.g. paper mulberry or teaktrees intercropped with upland rice. One officer of the DLO in Meung district (Bokeo
province) stated that the Land Law of ῎ῌῌῐ does not clearly indicate whether combinations of annual crops and perennial crops or trees would classify as permanent land use
systems. Hence, while paper mulberry plantations in mono-culture do not appear to be
sufficiently supported by the official tenure policy, the more flexible integration of paper
mulberry trees in multiple cropping systems seems to be even more bypassed andundermined by current government policies.
The natural occurrence of paper mulberry in Pha Oudom district appears to beparticularly doomed if current trends of land use change from swidden farming to rubber
monoculture continue. Rubber plantations promoted by foreign investors and the Laogovernment alike have not only reduced the area of production forests and swidden
agriculture, but are also increasingly entering into paddy fields and protection andconservation forests. In this process, thousands of land-poor ethnic minority villagers aregradually losing a significant source of income and a crucial buffer against seasonal foodand cash shortages.

V

Conclusions: Potential and Constraints of Developing Paper Mulberry
Value Chains in Support of Sustainable Rural Livelihoods

While Foppes and Ketpanh [῎ῌῌῌ: ῍ῐ] expressed optimism that “Lao PDR has a remarkable
opportunity to build a strong NTFP sub-sector as a basis for sustainable economic
development in the Southeast Asian region, Rigg [῎ῌῌῑ: ῍῎ΐ] holds that “the best outcomein the medium term is that NTFPs will become a niche livelihood activity undertaken by422

Aῌ N::; et al. : Can Paper Mulberry Contribute to Building Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Northern Laos ?

the few, rather than the many”. With regard to naturally occurring paper mulberry the
position taken by Rigg seems to be the more likely scenario. Collection from natural
stands will decline with negative implications for the poor and landless ῌ and for ethnic
minority women in particular, while more management-intensive systems and monocultures of paper mulberry may expand in the medium term, with potentially negative
consequences for biodiversity. Whether paper mulberry can become a profitable component of sustainable agroforestry systems depends strongly on the willingness of the Laogovernment to support more diversified upland production systems rather than promoting rubber and other tree plantations as the single model for resource-based poverty
alleviation in northern Laos.

Recent studies have amassed sufficient evidence thatagronomic performance and economic productivity of properly managed paper mulberry
ῌupland rice rotations can be superior to traditional swidden systems [Watanabe et al.

῎῍῍῏; Fahrney et al. ῎῍῍ῑ; Saito et al. ῎῍῍ῒ].
The value-chain analysis for paper mulberry conducted in Pha Oudom has confirmed
the typical weaknesses of the NTFP sector in northern Lao PDR; village-based processingof paper mulberry is limited to very early stages of the value chain (stripping the innerbark, cleaning, drying). There are currently few attempts by villagers to improve thequality of paper mulberry bark, although the trend towards bark collection from cultivated stands is likely to indirectly contribute to quality improvement. To date, villagers do
not actively seek for marketing channels and due to the absence of producer or marketing cooperatives trade conditions and market prices cannot be negotiated, but are set byother actors, such as district and provincial traders and ῌ in particular ῌ by Thai
importers. Lessons learned from various internationally funded projects in northern Lao
PDR suggest that NTFP marketing groups can be successfully established with sufficient
external support [e.g. Ingles et al. ῎῍῍ῐ]. Yet, there is no sufficient evidence that suchmarketing groups are viable beyond the project duration and whether such initiatives
are taken up spontaneously in neighbouring villages.
Although overall demand for high-quality paper mulberry bark appears to remainstrong, the nearly entire dependency on export markets (directly from Thailand andindirectly from demand in South Korea and Japan) makes paper mulberry production
systems vulnerable to changes in foreign demand and the introduction of alternative
fibres. To conclude, the future of paper mulberry value chains and their contribution torural livelihoods depends on a variety of domestic and external factors, but above all on
the political will of national decision-makers to rethink their controversial agricultural,
forest and rural development policies.

Acknowledgements
The financial support of the Centre for Agriculture in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of
Hohenheim, Stuttgart, the Eiselen Foundation Ulm and the Institute of Project Planning, Stuttgart,
for conducting the field research is gratefully acknowledged. Bernhard Mohns, team leader of423ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῐΐ῎ ῐ ῑRDMA, Bokeo, and his Laotian counterparts gave us invaluable logistic support during the fieldstudy in Pha Oudom district. The quality of the paper benefitted greatly from the constructive
comments of three anonymous referees.

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425

Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. ῐῑ, No. ῐ, March ῎ῌ῍ῌTime-geographic Analysis on Natural Resource Usein a Village of the Vientiane Plain

N>H=>BJG6 Yuichiro*, O@6BDID Kohei** and Somkhit BDJA>96B***

Abstract
This study aims to describe the spatio-temporal aspects of rural daily lives based onnatural resource use. We developed new research methodologies using GPS and GIS tocollect person-trip data in regions where it is difficult to use questionnaires. By applying
the methodology to research conducted in the Vientiane plain, Laos, we have found that
this new methodology makes it possible to obtain detailed information about people’s daily
activities, specifically: what activities were carried out, at what time, where, and withwhom. The research site was Dongkhuwaai Village, Xaithany District, located about ῏ῌ km
by road from Vientiane. The villagers live traditionally, depending on rice crops in therainy season and use various natural resources. We analyzed their daily activities both in
the rainy season and in the dry season. As a result, we found that the daily activities of thevillagers had nature-related constraints. They spent all their time in the settlements andthere were no modern forms of time discipline (synchronized activity by household
members).
We also investigated the influence of urbanization on rural lives. In recent years, a
growing number of foreign companies have begun investing in Vientiane and the vicinity,
hoping to take advantage of low labor costs. Commuting to such factories has started fromDongkhuwaai Village. However, the number of commuters is not increasing because
villagers already have other sources of income from selling natural resources such as
aquatic products, mushroom, bamboo shoots, insects, firewood and so on.
Keywords: daily activity, natural resource use, time-geography, urbanization, LaosI

Introduction

In recent years, Vientiane municipality has been experiencing the rapid penetration of
the market economy and urbanization. As a result of this, village economies in thesurrounding areas have been seeing a shift from a subsistence based economy to a
cash-oriented one as the chances to explore emerging opportunities of income generation
have arisen. Although the potentiality and risks of this shift are often discussed from an
economic perspective [Nonaka et al. ῎ῌῌῒb], the shift in itself is affecting the social life ofῌ Aichi Institute of Technology
e-mail: nishimuraaitech.ac.jp
ῌῌ Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya Universityῌῌῌ
National University of Laos426

N>H=>BJG6 Y. et alῌ : Time-geographic Analysis on Natural Resource Use in a Village of the Vientiane Plainvillagers in Dongkhuwaai village where our study was carried out. Villager’s daily life
consists of working, commuting, consuming and enjoying leisure with their family,
relatives, neighbors, and friends at home, within the village territory, and outside thevillage. This study focuses on the daily life of peri-urban village people and examineschanges in their lives induced by the penetration of the market economy based on a
spatio-temporal analysis of their behavior. In order to collect the necessary information
including where, when and how long each individual’s activities continue for various job
activities such as farming, hunting and gathering, fishing, housekeeping social interaction and communication such as shopping, sales, and visiting friends or relatives, thisstudy adopted a time-geography approach. Special attention is paid to natural resources
use because it has and will characterize Laos’ development [Kono et al. ῏῍῎῍].
Time-geographic, which was originally developed by the Swedish geographer Torsten Hägerstrand, describes the relation between individuals and natural and social
environments as an interaction among “matters” in time and space [Hägerstrand ῎ῒῐ῍;῎ῒῑῒ]. That is to say, an individual’s daily life is structured through their relationships
with various things in nature and other individuals in society.

By using a time-

geography approach, matters such as human beings, animals, plants and things can be
described as “paths” in time and space, and the interactions between these matters can be
represented as connections of paths. Furthermore, paths themselves are under a varietyof constraints which can be classified into the following three types [Hägerstrand ῎ῒῐ῍;῎ῒῑῒ; Gregory ῎ῒῑ῎].
( a ) Capability constraints, which limit the activities of individuals through theirown physical capabilities and/or the facilities they can command.
( b ) Coupling constraints, which define where, when and for how long the individual has to join other people, and use tools and materials in order to produce,transact or consume.
( c ) Authority constraints, which impose certain conditions of access on particularspace-time domains.
The paths of matters change under various temporal scales, being subjected to daily,
monthly, seasonal and annual rhythms and furthermore, they are constrained temporally
as well as spatially.

Matters can exist or act only within specific places that arechangeable in various temporal scales. As such, spatio-temporal change and constraints
come not only from nature but also from society [Hägerstrand ῎ῒῐ῍; ῎ῒῑῒ].
Pred has described how workers in nineteenth-century U. S. cities who were employed in factories and large-scale shops, were forced to follow a time discipline that they
had not experienced previously during the early stages of industrial capitalism. “Factoryand large-scale shop work inculcated a sense of time that was greatly different from thesense of knowing, for example, when cows were to be milked or when fires were to be fed
in order to maintain a smelting or heating process” [῎ῒῑ῎: ῒῌ῎῍]. This was the emergenceof nine-to-five work, and such work is described in the time-geographic notion as the427ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏῎ ῑ

trajectory of a worker’s path which must meet that of a factory machine located in a
specific place. However, paths choreographed by the modern factory mode of production
are very different from paths in agriculture or hunting and gathering. Paths in production directly using natural recourses are swayed by the influence of nature, but are more
flexible and impromptu.
This paper presents an analysis of time-space allocation in the daily lives of thevillagers in the Vientiane plain, Laos, from a time-geographic perspective. Previous
time-geographical studies have focused on the quality of life of urban residents indeveloped countries. This study tries to bring a time-spatial perspective to the studies ofrural life depending on natural resource use.
In order to fully understand people’s daily lives, precise and detailed data is needed
about people’s paths in time and space, but it has been almost impossible to get such datain Laos using previous survey methods. Therefore, we first develop a new methodology
to collect information on people’s daily lives then analyze the differences in daily
activities between the rainy season and the dry season. Under the tropical monsoon
climate, the natural environment in the Vientiane plain drastically changes from therainy season to dry season, which places constraints on villager’s natural resource use. In
this paper, we focus on social change. In recent years the penetration of the market
economy and the spread of urbanization into the suburban area of Vientiane has been
influencing people’s daily lives which had previously been dependent on the subsistencecomplex of agriculture, hunting and gathering, fishing and so on. In focusing on these
dynamics, this paper examines the actual circumstances of influence as observed in thefield.

II Research Area and Methodology
Research Area
The area we researched was Dongkhuwaai Village, Xaithany District, located about km by road from Vientiane, the capital city of Laos (Fig.  ). The number of households
was  as of October , all of which stood close together, centered around a Buddhist
temple, and surrounded by rice fields and forests. The village’s main economic activity
was rice cultivation in the rainy season, primarily for self-consumption. Various natural
resources were utilized in securing cash income: fishing in the rivers, ponds, or rice fields,
the hunting and gathering of plants, insects and small animals in the forests, and the
production of charcoal, salt, and the grazing of cattle and buffaloes [Ikeguchi andNishimura ].
The village had one car,  motorbikes,

bicycles, and  hand tractors as of .

For public transportation, a bus called a songteo (“two-row coach” in Lao) connected thevillage to Vientiane with journeys twice a day, which took about   hours on the428

N>H=>BJG6 Y. et alῌ : Time-geographic Analysis on Natural Resource Use in a Village of the Vientiane Plain

Fig. ῌ
Source: Nishimura et al. [῏῍῍ΐ]Research Area

one-way trip along the long unpaved road. Because of the limited transportation means,
there were very few who commuted outside the village.
Survey Method
Many time-allocation studies have adopted questionnaires (activity diaries) or direct
observation of informants [Noma ῎῔ΐΐ]. However, it is difficult to use questionnaires in
the rural areas of developing countries due to problems such as illiteracy, the fact thatfew people possess watches, and the lack of detailed place names in these areas. Direct
observation also has limitations, as it is not possible to obtain information from many
informants simultaneously. We developed a new survey method combining interviews
with the use of GPS and GIS [Nishimura et al. ῏῍῍ΐ].
The procedures were as follows. ( ῎ ) Each informant was asked to carry a wristband
GPS receiver for an entire day.

The GPS unit recorded information relating to thespatio-temporal aspects of the informant’s activities. ( ῏ ) After ῏ῑ hours of GPS recording
was completed, the data was stored and represented visually using GIS software (ArcView ῔῕῎). The investigator worked out the shape of the spatio-temporal path of each
informant through the mapping of track points with time information. ( ῐ ) Subsequently, as GPS data reveals almost nothing about the content of activities, the investigator
interviewed each informant to clarify the details of the activities; what activity was
carried out, at what time, where, and with whom.
By carrying out a pilot survey in May ῏῍῍ῒ in which four households in Dongkhu429ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῐΐ῎ ῐ ῑwaai Village participated, we verified that the new survey method had the following
merits. ( ῍ ) The use of GPS improved the accuracy of the spatio-temporal data. ( ῎ ) GPS
data could be easily correlated with satellite images and map data, which enabled us toconsider people’s daily activities in combination with various geographical phenomena.
( ῏ ) Investigators could obtain information outlining an informant’s movements fromGPS data before conducting interviews, thereby improving the efficiency of interviews.
The investigation required three days per household. On the first day we visited
each survey household and explained the methods of investigation, and obtained consent
for the survey. On the second, we visited the household surveyed when the household
members woke up, and asked each of them to put a portable GPS on his/her wrist or
waistband.

On the third, we visited the households surveyed in the morning andretrieved the GPS devices from them. We took the GPS to the research station, andextracted the track log and displayed the location and time of tracks of each surveyed
person on satellite images of Dongkhuwaai Village using GIS. After this, we worked out
each person’s chart of travel of the day surveyed (the second day) and visited theinformant’s home again in the afternoon or evening interviewing them in detail about
their movements while showing them their GPS track logs on the laptop PC display.
This method required three investigation days for each household. If we staggered
the survey schedule (i.e. on the second day, begin the first day for another household), we
could investigate ῍ῌ households in ῍῎ days. Because we investigated four households
concurrently, we were able to collect data from ῐῌ households in ῍῎ days. We prepared ῐῌ
portable GPS devices for the survey (for each day we used ῐῌ GPS for eight households,
considering the average number per household is about five in the village).
The main surveys were both conducted in the rainy season (August ῎ΐ to Septemberΐ, ῎ῌῌῒ) and the dry season (March ῐ to ῎῎, ῎ῌῌ῔) with ῐῌ households participating. The
households surveyed were the same in both seasons and all of the members of thehouseholds except infants who were living in these homes at this time were surveyed.
The ῐῌ households for the survey were chosen so that each of the following fivehousehold types were represented: ῍ ) Households engaged in fishing, ῎ ) Households
engaged in grazing, ῏ ) Households engaged in retail or brokerage work, ῐ ) Households
receiving wages from manual labor, ῑ ) Households engaged in neither fishing, grazing,retail, brokerage nor wage labor.
The number of participants in the rainy season was ῍ῑῐ, and there were ῍ῐ῕ in the dry
season. Five of the ῐῌ households were excluded in the rainy season survey since all of
the members were living in a hut in the rice fields in the eastern area of the village.
Therefore the data included ῍῏῔ persons from ῏ῑ households for the rainy season survey.
Table ῍ shows the number of informants by sex and age.

430

N>H=>BJG6 Y. et al : Time-geographic Analysis on Natural Resource Use in a Village of the Vientiane Plain

Table ῌNumber of Informants by Sex and Age

In Rainy Season 
Age

Male

FemaleTotal

under  y
 yῌ
 yῌ
 yῌ
 yῌ
 yῌ
 yῌ
























Total





In Dry Season 
Age

Male

FemaleTotal

under  y
 yῌ
 yῌ
 yῌ
 yῌ
 yῌ
 yῌ
 yῌ
 yῌ



























Total











Data: activity survey

III Data Construction
Debugging GPS Data
A GPS device records the informants’ “track log” which contains information about aseries of track-points along routes that the informant travels, including latitude, longitude and time. This study used Garmin Foretrex 101 as GPS devices and set the mode of
track-point recording interval on “automatic.” In this mode, the device records many
track-points while an informant is moving and no track-points when there is no movement.
GPS devices might record mistaken track points when the conditions for receiving asatellite signal are weak.

Generally, acquiring a signal tends to be difficult insidebuildings and in the jungle. In Dongkhuwaai Village, devices easily picked up satellite
signals almost everywhere because the houses were wooden and ventilated and theforests were not dense. Since data was recorded with high precision, deviate data could
be identified easily. Based on verification of the track logs, we removed a track-point as
mis-recorded if it was located over  m away from the point recorded just before.

431ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῏ῐ῏ ῏ ῒMerging GPS Data with the Data from Activity Diaries
As mentioned above, on the third day of the investigation, the researcher interviewed
informants about their behavior for the preceding day.

A laptop PC displayed theinformants’ tracks on satellite images of Dongkhuwaai Village, which enabled them torecall their actions more easily. While interviewing, the researcher wrote down theinformation from the interview and completed the activity diary of each informant. The
sheets of the activity diary gave details of the informants’ behavior in chronologicalorder, together with the behavior of other members of the household (Fig. ῎ ).
A form of person-trip data was made from these activity diaries. In the case of aperson-trip survey in urban areas,῍) the destination of the trip is generally a facility and
it is not hard for the traveler to recognize the arrival time. But in rural villages such as
Dongkhuwaai, especially in areas where hunting and gathering or grazing is carried out,
it is not that easy to clarify the trip or activity for the traveler and to identify the arrival
time at the destination place. Therefore, this study presumes that a unit of outdoor

Fig. ῌ

An Example of Activity Diary by Interview

῍ῌ In Japanese metropolitan areas, large-scale person-trip surveys have been conducted every
῍ῌ years by administrative organizations for transportation planning.
432

N>H=>BJG6 Y. et alῌ : Time-geographic Analysis on Natural Resource Use in a Village of the Vientiane Plain

Fig. ῌ

Person-trip Data in Dongkhuwaai Village

behavior began with the departure from a certain site and ended with the departure fromthe next site that the informant traveled to, without dividing the time between the trip
and the activity, as seen in Fig. ῏.
Next, various activities which the villagers performed outdoors were classified into
seven categories; i.e. work, shopping, leisure, social communication, attending school,other activities, and returning home. In addition, “work” activities were divided into
subcategories; fishing, hunting, gathering, agriculture, grazing, trade, wage labor, lumbering/making charcoal. In regards to the classification of activities, the internationaltime budget study by Szalai [῍ῑῐ῎] is well-known. As its classification has too many
categories, mainly based on daily lives in industrial cities, this study employs its own
classification of activities.
Finally, person-trip data made from the activity diary was merged with the GPS data.
Categorized activity codes were assigned to all outdoor track points of GPS data bycomparing the time information of both data.
Merging GPS Data with Land Use Data
Land-use data was polygon data which divided Dongkhuwaai Village into seven categories such as settlements, paddy fields, vacant lands, forests, artificial forests, riparian
forests and water areas. Settlement means a housing area. Since the housings of the
Dongkhuwaai Village were agglomerated, the settlement was included in one polygon. A
vacant area was an uncultivated grass field mainly used for grazing. Riparian forest is a
low-dense forest that is flooded in rainy seasons. For all of the track points a judgment
was made about whether they were located inside the boundaries of the village, and also
the track points inside the village were assessed to decide which land-use polygon they
belonged to using ArcView ῑῒ῍.

433ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῐΐ῏ ῐ ῒIV Analysis
Number of Trips
Table ῎ shows the number of trips by kinds of activity. The average number of trips ina day was ΐ῕ΐ in the rainy season and ῔῕ῑ in the dry season. These figures are extremely
high in comparison with the results of other surveys conducted in the urban areas ofdeveloped countries. In surveys conducted in Japanese metropolitan areas, the number
was approximately two to three in the person-trip survey and two to four in the activity
diary survey [Arai et al. ῍῔῔ῒ]. Even in Japan, the average number of trips was relatively
high in rural areas. According to the activity diary survey conducted by Arai in Kiyomi
Village in Gifu Prefecture [Arai ῎ῌῌ῍], the average number of trips amounted to more thansix. Especially in the case of full-time farm households, the average number was aroundnine. Thus the number of trips in rural areas is high both in Laos and Japan.῎)
According to the activity diary surveys conducted on weekdays in Japanese cities,
the number of trips by married females was considerably higher than those by marriedmales because of the frequent outdoors activities the women engaged in for housekeeping and child rearing. When the married females had jobs, the number of trips increased
further [Arai et al. ῍῔῔ῒ].

A similar result was obtained among part-time farmers’

households and non-farmers’ households in Kiyomi Village in rural Japan. On the other
hand, among full-time farming households, the number of trips by both males andfemales was high as full-time farmers managed to carry out multiple farming activities invarious sites in the village, for example rice fields, vegetable fields, livestock barns, etc.
which were located separately to each other. That made the number of their daily trips
high.
Moreover, most full-time-farmers went back home for lunch and went out again forfarming after lunch, which was also the reason why daily trips by Japanese full-time
farmers were more frequent than those by both office workers and part-time workers. In
Dongkhuwaai Village, farmers were engaged in various kinds of jobs related to natural
resource use. Also, they returned home for lunch and a nap around lunchtime. Almost
all adult villagers in Dongkhuwaai could be regarded as full-time farmers, excluding a
few exceptions. The total number of trips was high, with a small gender difference,
which is consistent with the result in Kiyomi Village in rural Japan.
Table ῎ shows the contents of the outdoors activities (purposes of trips) by the῎ῌ The average trip number in metropolitan areas of Southeast Asia like Phnom Penh andJakarta was two to three. These are similar results to those for urban areas of Japan.
(EASTS ICRA Project Report ῌA Comparative Study on Urban Structures and Transportation Systems in Asian Metropolitan Citiesῌ ῎ῌῌ῏῍ῌῑ http: //www.easts.info/activities/icra/
῎ῌῌ῏/ICRA-Hyodo.pdf)
434

N>H=>BJG6 Y. et alῌ : Time-geographic Analysis on Natural Resource Use in a Village of the Vientiane Plain435ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῐῒ῎ ῐ ῑpeople in Dongkhuwaai Village.

Work trips dominated over returning home trips.

Although there were more work trips by males than females on the whole, a genderdifference was seen according to the kind of work. The gender difference was striking in
the field of fishing in the rainy season. On the other hand, trading (vending of natural
resources, operating small shops and so on) and shopping/household work were highamong females in the dry season.
More trips were counted in the dry season than the rainy season, which means thepeople are more active in the dry season. The total number of trips by males and females
were not so different. Fishing activity decreased among males and increased amongfemales in the dry season. Social communication increased among females in the dry
season. Lumbering/charcoal making was very popular among children in the dry season.
Such work sometimes means play for children.
Spatial Distribution of Trips
Figs. ῐa and ῐb show the spatial distribution of all the GPS track points of the surveyed
villagers. The white dots represent the tracks of ῍῏ΐ persons in the rainy season and theblack ones represent the tracks of ῍ῐ῔ persons in the dry season. The base map exhibits
the land use classification that Professor Ono of Niigata University produced from theFig. ῌa

Spatial Allocation of Activity by All Informants and Landuse of Dongkhuwaai Village in the Rainy Season (῎ῌῌῑ)
Data: GPS survey by authors, land use and village border data, Dr. Eisuke Ono, roaddata (outside of village) form Mekong GIS data, JICA
436

N>H=>BJG6 Y. et alῌ : Time-geographic Analysis on Natural Resource Use in a Village of the Vientiane Plain

Fig. ῌb

Spatial Allocation of Activity by All Informants and Landuse of Dongkhuwaai Village in the Dry Season (῏῍῍ΐ)
Data: GPS survey by authors, land use and village border data, Dr. Eisuke Ono, roaddata (outside of village) form Mekong GIS data, JICA

satellite image taken on February ῏῍῍ῒ with ground truth.
The track points have concentrated on the settlement area located in the west of thevillage. Many white points are distributed near the northeast edge of the village. Thatis the area called Nakhok where many tienna exist. A tienna is a villa used for cultivation.
It is a raised flooring type of house, and below the floor level is a feeding area for cattle
and buffaloes. Village people live within a settlement area in the dry season and some ofthem live in the tienna or commute there in the rainy season. Tiennaes are scatteredamong the rice fields in the village, mainly in the Nakhok area several kilometers
northeast away from the settlement.

In the rainy season, the region between thesettlement and Nakhok is submerged so the people go via Route ῎ῐ in the north of thevillage by tractors, taking a very roundabout way to get to their tienna, Some walkstraight there, chest-deep in water.
The southern part of the village along the Makhyo River, where land use is riparian
forest in the dry season, floods and becomes a fishery in the rainy season. Many whitedotted lines reach there in Figs. ῑa and ῑb. Most of them are tracks made by for middleaged and old-aged males going fishing in the rainy season. Waters move to the south in
the dry season, so black-dotted lines stretch to the south to find the fishery. As for the central southern region of the village called Naseen, dry-season rice cultivation is possible437ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῏ῐ῏ ῏ ῒbecause the Makhyo River is near there. Some villagers visit Naseen for agriculture in
the dry season. The rice fields in Naasen are completely submerged in the rainy season.
Outdoor Activity and Land Use
Table ῎ shows the duration of outdoor activities for each land use. It indicates therelationship between land use and activity from the combination of GPS data, land use
data and activity information from the interviews. The activity time in Table ῎ shows
the total time for travel to the destination and time spent at the destination. For example,
the activity time for fishing includes the time the person spent traveling to the fisheryand the time spent fishing there. So the activity time for fishing is distributed not only
in water land use but also in settlement land use and so on.
Table ῎ shows that the total time spent on fishing, hunting and gathering was morethan the time for the agricultural tasks in both the rainy season and the dry season. It is
supposed that agricultural tasks do not consume much time except during the season fortransplanting and harvesting. The rainy season starts from the beginning of May andends at the beginning of October.

Transplanting of the paddy fields starts at the

beginning of May, and finishes at the beginning of August in Dongkhuwaai village[Nonaka et al. ῍ῌῌῑa]. The research period was from the end of August to the beginningof September and it did not correspond to the busy season for rice cultivation.
The activity time for fishing is longer than the time spent on agriculture time in therainy season. Fishing activity is carried out in the rice fields or riparian forests flooded
by the river near the southern village boundaries in the rainy season.
As for grazing and taking care of cattle and buffalo, the method of pasturing differs
between the rainy and the dry season. In the rainy season, villagers take the cattle andbuffalo to the forest to graze them and ensure that they do not eat rice in paddy fields. On
the other hand, cattle and buffalo are pastured without guard in the dry season because
there is no such danger. However, the villagers wait for their cattle and buffalo to comeback at the end of the settlement for a long time every evening and they sometimes go tolook for their animals. According to Table ῎, the main land used for grazing is paddy
fields and forest in the rainy season, while about ῑῌῌ of land used for grazing issettlements in the dry season, which means the villagers spend a long time within theirsettlements after leaving their home to wait for their cattle and buffaloes to return. Thus,
the activity time for grazing is longer in the dry season than in the rainy season.
Lumbering and charcoal production also occupies most of the time in the dry season.
Activity time for wage labor is not long compared with fishing and agricultural
tasks. The opportunities for wage labor are very limited within the village and mostwage labor is conducted outside the village, and some villagers commute to Vientiane.
Although the working hours are long for a person who engages in wage labor, theaverage activity time is shortening because few people engage in wage labor. The
average working time is longer in the rainy season due to long overtime work in the438

N>H=>BJG6 Y. et alῌ : Time-geographic Analysis on Natural Resource Use in a Village of the Vientiane Plain439ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῏ῒ῏ ῏ ῒfactory where some villagers worked to produce Christmas goods, as will be mentioned
later.
Both males and females stayed within the village most of the day and spent morethan ῒῌῌ of the time surveyed in the settlement. The percentage of time spent in thesettlement was six percentage points higher among females than males (table omitted).
This shows that females are more involved in housekeeping jobs, child rearing, and social
activities in the settlement. On the other hand, males are relatively more involved in thejobs of hunting, gathering, and cultivating outside the settlement. So the time spent in
the riparian forest, water area, and the paddy fields was longer among males.

V

Seasonal Changes of Natural Resource Use

Most villagers spent time inside the village, and natural resource-based activities without
employment were common in the village. We focused on one of the households whose
members have a direct connection to the natural environment. We drew the daily pathsof the household members and analyzed the time-spatial relationship between humanactivity and the natural environment. Figs. ῐa and ῐb shows the daily paths in which theFig. ῌa Daily Paths of One Household (Rainy Season, ῎ῌῌῑ)Note: a: husband (ῐ῎), b: wife (ῐ῍), c: daughter (῎῍), d: daugher’s husband (῎ῐ), e: granddaughter ( ῑ ), f: son (῍ΐ)
Data: activity survey (῎ῌῌῑ)440

N>H=>BJG6 Y. et al : Time-geographic Analysis on Natural Resource Use in a Village of the Vientiane Plain

Fig. ῌb Daily Paths of One Household (Dry Season, )Note: a: husband ( ), b: wife ( ), c: daughter ( ), d: daugher’s husband ( ), e: grand daughter ()Data: activity survey ()time-space movement of each household member is arranged. The vertical line indicates
the time of day, while the horizontal line represents each different location in which
outdoor activities were practiced and the relative distance from the home [Carlstein ;Arai et al. ]. Fig. a shows household members’ activities in the rainy season, while
Fig. b shows them in the dry season.
The activities of the household indicate that the human behavior of this village isadjusted to the seasonal change of the natural environment. The water area and riparian
forest becomes a fishing spot in the rainy season, and the forest and riparian forest
become grazing spaces in the dry season. The people’s livelihood changes seasonally to
fit the ecological setting.
Here, we present example data from one household, which consists of six members.
The husband ( years old in ), the wife ( years old), the daughter ( years old), thedaughter’s husband ( years old), the granddaughter (six years old) and the son ( years
old) spent most of their time inside the village in the  rainy season. The husband inparticular used the natural environment for fishing, hunting or grazing. The husband
woke up very early in the morning aroundam to prepare for fishing. The reason forgoing fishing very early in the morning was to get a big catch of fish. His activity was
adjusted to the ecological cycle of fish activity. The fisherman set the fishing net theprevious evening. In the heat of the day, the fish hid in the shade of the trees and they441ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῎ῐ῎ ῎ ῑbecame more active at nighttime as they searched for food. In the early morning, thefisherman drew in the net to catch the fish before they lost freshness [Akimichi et al.

῍ῌῌῑ].
Fig. ῏ displays his GPS tracks. The black dotted line indicates his travel in the rainyseason. He went to the river located to the south of the village; he checked the fishing net
and caught fish at five places (around Point A in Fig. ῏ ). After that, he delivered theseFig. ῌ Detailed Spatial Allocation of the Activities
Data: GPS survey by authors, QuickBird satellite image (October, ῍ῌῌ῏)442

N>H=>BJG6 Y. et alῌ : Time-geographic Analysis on Natural Resource Use in a Village of the Vientiane Plainfish to his wife. The husband and the wife met at point B and he went to the tienna inpoint C. At the tienna he took care of his cattle and after that he went to the forests near
the tienna to catch insects to feed to the cattle. He spent some time at the tienna to graze
the cattle and took some rest, returning back home around ῑ : ῐ῍ pm. His son also cameto the tienna to graze cattle at around ῎῍ am and they worked together and rested forabout four hours.
In the dry season of ῏῍῍ΐ, the activity of the husband changed to fit the seasonalchange of the natural environment. He did not go fishing in the early morning because
the volume of river water became very low and they could not catch any fish in the river.
The husband went to the forest and the riparian forest (he could not go there in the rainyseason because the river water covered that area) to feed his cattle (around point a. Fig.

ῒ ). He returned home and went to a pond for fishing in the afternoon (around point b.
Fig. ῒ ).

In the dry season he could catch fish at several big ponds located to thesouthwest of the village.
As seen from this example, the seasonal changes of the natural environment influenced the changes in the daily paths of the people. This situation is analyzed from thetime-geographic concept of the constraints.
The daily path of the husband in the rainy season was affected by several related
constraints. Fishing in the very early morning meant that if he took the chance to get agood catch, he had to fit his daily path to meet the activity patterns of the fish. Their
activity patterns followed the daily, seasonal and ecological cycle of the river environment. The morning is when the fishermen can make the time-space bundles with thepath of the fish, and most fishermen in the village wanted to go to the river very early onin the morning. The end of August is the main growing season of the fish that come from
the Mekong River from May to July, and this was why the fishermen spent a long timeat the river during our research period.
The fishermen had another coupling constraint. The selling of fish has to be done at
an appropriate time. Small cyprinid fish caught with tangle nets have to be sold quickly
because they have already died when they are caught [Ikeguchi and Nonaka ῏῍῍ΐ]. Many
fishermen in this village sold the fish in the research period, and freshness and adjusting
to market demand were important for selling them at a good price. The selling of fish is
assigned to the women as part of the gender division of labor in the village. Thissituation, the coupling constraint between the husband and wife, affects the daily
time-space path. The wife went to the meeting point near the river to sell the fresh fishin the village, and this was the time-spatial peg of the activity of both husband and wife.
It was the strategy of the family to meet the market demand and this was one of the main
constraints on the husband’s daily path.
The daily life of the villagers in the natural environment is not like the slow, calm
village life. The rainy season was a busy time for the fisherman because his daily path
had several constraints related to the natural environment and the economic environ443

ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῐΐ῏ ῐ ῒment, and he needed to adjust and coordinate his daily activities.
On the other hand, such constraints were not shown in the dry season. The husband
went fishing in the late afternoon because there was not a severe coupling constraint
with fish. The activity patterns of the fish were not affected by the daily ecological cycle
and the husband had the flexibility to be able to time his fishing activity.
The environmental setting also constrained the capability of human and buffaloes’
activities. The water and riparian forest areas lost water in the dry season and thevillagers had no barrier to their activities. They could easily enter these areas and use theland as a grazing area. The paddy field also changed to vacant land and they used it asa place for feeding buffalo. These changes indicate that the capability constraints werereduced and the flexibility of activities was increased in the dry season.
The analysis indicates that the daily activities of the villagers were still closely
related to the seasonal/daily ecological cycle of the natural environment. The activitiesof the household members are separated from each other and the rigid constraints did notexist with other members inside both the settlement and/or home. The home was not atime-space peg of the daily activities and the settlement or activities outside of it weremore important than the home. Such loose coupling constraints between villagers shape
the character of their daily living.

VI Influence of Urbanization
Recently, many labor-intensive industries have been established in Laos.

They areexport-oriented, and some of them are financed by foreign capital. Most employees inthese factories are young women. Since the ῍῕῕ῌs, there have been an increasing numberof such factories located in Vientiane municipality. Sewing factories are typical of suchindustries. According to the member list of Lao association of textile industries in ῎ῌῌῐ(῕῎ member companies), ῎ῒ members (῎῔ῌ) are direct foreign-invested and ῍ῌ members(῍῍ῌ) are joint corporations of Lao and foreign companies. Eighty-eight members (῕ῒῌ)
are located in Vientiane municipality [Nishimura and Okamoto ῎ῌῌΐ].

There are a

growing number of employment opportunities in and around Vientiane. However, theareas within commuting distance of the factories are restricted due to the poor transportsystem. Dongkhuwaai Village, which is located about ῏ῌ km from Vientiane, was beyond
the commuting distance of the factories. Small-scale commuting started in February ῎ῌῌῒin this village. A factory near Friendship Bridge, which connects with Thailand, offeredcommuting jobs to the village. Founded in ῎ῌῌῑ by Thai direct investment, it makes ῏-Dpicture books for children. Moreover, commuting to a French garment-washing factory
started in February ῎ῌῌΐ. These factories run commuter buses (songteo). Dongkhuwaai is
the furthest village that the buses reach and it takes approximately one hour and a halfeach way to the factories.
444

N>H=>BJG6 Y. et al : Time-geographic Analysis on Natural Resource Use in a Village of the Vientiane Plain

Monthly basic pay is ῌ US$ in the factories. Allowances for overtime work areadded. Regular working hours are  : ῌ : , but workers often come back to thevillage at midnight to do overtime work to meet the market demand for Christmas in the
US and European countries. Almost all the commuters are young females. Commuting
to the factory has brought cash earnings to young women in the village. However, theturnover rate of these young women is relatively high for the following reasons: ) Wages are so low that they cannot regard work at the factory as a rewarding job.
 ) There are alternative ways to get cash in this village, such as fishing, hunting andgathering. The selling price of natural resources is relatively high (Table).

 ) They are burdened with long overtime work, a long commuting time, and work on
the weekends.
) They have to spend weekdays in a different place and on a different schedule fromother members of their household.
The last reason is very time-geographic. To clarify the time-space constraints in thedaily lives of factory workers, we provide an example of one household in Dongkhuwaai
Village in which one member commutes to the factory.
Fig.  shows the daily path of the household in the rainy season. This household
consisted of the mother ( years old), the eldest son ( years old), the daughter ( years
old), and the second son ( years old). The daughter was a worker at the picture bookfactory. She left the village by commuter bus before:  in the morning, and worked

at the factory all day long. The time she returned home was usually around  pm when
her mother and brothers had already gone to bed. She came home later than usual at :  pm on the day surveyed. Other members of the household were staying in thevillage. The eldest son went to a tienna in Nakhok to take the cattle to the forest in themorning. The mother in the household surveyed also went to the tienna, and collected
firewood and nuts called Makbokk near there in the afternoon. The second son comTable ῌProducts

Income by Hunting/Gathering
HouseholdIncome (/month, US$)(  kip῍  US$)

Aquatic products
Mushroomῌbamboo shoots
Wild edible plants
Insects
Mammals
Firewood
Salt










 
 


 

Vegetables
Rice




 
  (/year)

Note: Most active month of households whose members engaged in hunting/gathering. Incomes from vegetables and rice were not deducted from the
cash cost.
Data: Socio-economic survey (all households in DK village in )445ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏῎ ῑFig. ῌ Daily Paths of the Wage Worker and Her Household Members (Raing Seeson,  )Note: a: mother (), b: son ( ), c: daughter ( ), d: son ( )Data: activity survey (  )muted to the junior high school in Huaxien village neighboring Dongkhuwaai Village.
He went to catch frogs after school on the day surveyed, and after supper he visited a
middleman in the village to sell Makbokk that his mother had collected that afternoon.
He sold Makbokk weighing  kilograms for  kip ( cents).
Thus, the household members other than the daughter spent the day with nature in
the village; hunting and gathering and cattle grazing. On the other hand, the daughter
worked far from the village from the early morning to midnight. This shows how thetime-space of her daily life was quite different to the other household members.
The reason for the time-spatial distinction between the daughter and the otherhousehold members was that there was a severe coupling constraint on the daughter’s
daily activity. The daughter’s daily path and the path of the facility of the factory makethe bundle [Hägerstrand  ] that restricted the daughter’s activity. The long timecommuting and the lack of her-own transport removed the possibility of flexible use of
break time. She had very limited possibility for activities with members of the village on
workdays because the most of the villagers’ activities did not have such a severe coupling
constraint (Table  ).
What we can see from the above example is how globalization is introducing a new
446

N>H=>BJG6 Y. et alῌ : Time-geographic Analysis on Natural Resource Use in a Village of the Vientiane Plain

Table ῌThe Change of Livelihood and Work Place, Timing of Work and Use of Space

Kind of Work

Working Place

Timing of Work

Living Space

Social Communication

work related
naturalenvironment

mainly working
inside village

seasonal cycle
ecological cycle

seasonal cycle
ecological cycle
contiguous use of
ecotoneclosely
connected,
longterm

paid work

working outside
villagefactory and global
market demand

segmental
use of space

limitedopportunity, short

type of wage labor to Dongkhuwaai Village. It ties up the laborers with the worktable ofthe factory for long hours and forces them into the same work routine day after day; aroutine that sees them leave the village early in the morning and return late at night. The
time-space paths of factory laborers are simple and stiff depending on the commuter bus
schedule, which are very different from the diverse and flexible paths of other villagers.
In the time-geographic diction, laborers have to be riveted to the factory (a coupling
constraint) under the supervision of a manager (an authority constraint) without theirown means of transportation (a capability constraint).
Thus factory labor outside the village creates severe constraints and makes communication with family members and neighbors almost impossible on weekdays. Wages are
too low to be an incentive for them to continue this unhappy labor. Low wages brings
about a high turnover rate. Factories try to hold employees more than the necessity tocope with a high turnover rate. In the case of the factory making picture books, they kept
about ῐ῍῍ laborers for ῏῍῍ persons workload in ῎῍῍ῐ when we interviewed the personnel
director of the factory. Over-employment depresses the wage. Turnover rate is higher inthe farmers’ busy season. In Dongkhuwaai Village, not a few females were absent for rice
planting from factories before quitting their factory job. The factories are subject to theseasonal fluctuation of the workforce and the management have to coordinate theirproduction not only in changes in the demand of the global market but also to theseasonal changes of the workforce and their relation to the natural environment of theVientiane plain [Nishimura and Okamoto ῎῍῍ῑ].

VII Conclusion
This study aimed to clarify the spatio-temporal aspects of daily lives based on natural
resource use on the facing market economy. We have analyzed the spatio-temporal
structure of rural daily lives based on natural resource use, and examined the influenceof urbanization on rural daily lives.
We developed new research methodologies using GPS and GIS to collect person-trip447

ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῐῑ῎ ῐ ῑdata in a region where it is difficult to use questionnaires. By applying the methodology
to research in the Vientiane plain in Laos, we found this new methodology made it
possible to gain detailed information about people’s daily activities, namely what activities were carried out, at what time, where, and with whom. The research field was
Dongkhuwaai Village, Xaithany District, located about ῏ῌ km by road from Vientiane
where the villagers lived traditionally, depending on rice crops in the rainy season anduse of various natural resources. We analyzed their daily activities both in the rainyseason and in the dry season.
We found that the villagers spent most of their day in the village, and their activity
paths were closely connected to each other in a narrow settlement space. However, there
were a small number of synchronized activities among the household members and thecoupling constraints on them were not clear. The settlement was more important thanhome for their activities. The home was not time-space pegs of the daily activities. The
villagers spent much time in other places in the settlement apart from their own houses
as the starting and ending points of activities. There seemed not to exist a modern time
discipline in which all of the household members had dinner or watched television
together at a fixed time. The loose coupling constraints between villagers affected their
daily activities.
The daily activities of the villagers were still closely related to the seasonal changeof the natural environment. At present, the activities related to natural resource use suchas fishing, hunting and gathering still continue to occupy a considerable part of thetime-spatial allocation of rural daily lives. There were also some important constraints
with the natural environment, land use, animals, or plants.
On the other hand, the penetration of the market economy has increased theopportunity for various types of wage earning near Vientiane. In recent years, a growing
number of foreign companies have invested in Vientiane and the vicinity because of low
labor costs. Dongkhuwaai Village has found itself become a source of laborers commuting to factories. That might be a cause of the radical changes in the rural lives inVientiane plain which can be summed up in the three following points: first, theintroduction of wage work means not only a change in the income generating method,
but also transitions of the activity patterns and living time-space. Secondly, the daily
lives of the household members doing wage jobs are in sharp contrast to the daily livesof other household members who depend on natural resource use even though they livein the same household. In such households, the daily paths of the members have severe
coupling constraints and there is a lack of daily communication time. Finally, thesechanges imply that the penetration of the market economy could cause changes in thesocial relationships in the village and change how a household/family ought to be.
At the turn of the ῎῍st century, “global factories” have finally reached Laos forcheaper labor. Laos is the one of the latest developing countries to be pulled into theglobal economy. Today, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam are replacing the former cheap448

N>H=>BJG6 Y. et al : Time-geographic Analysis on Natural Resource Use in a Village of the Vientiane Plain

wage countries of Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia in Southeast Asia.
The cheap-labor-oriented enterprises newly established in these countries haveabsorbed unskilled workers not only from urban areas but peri-rural areas. In the s,many factories including the foreign invested were located in local cities in Thailand.
According to the long-term observation studies in Don Daeng Village in northeast
Thailand, the villagers’ daily lives have been dramatically changed since the s due tothe increase of commuting to the factories in and around Khon Kaen city [Fukui ].
Farmers in Don Daeng Village were split into many part-time rice farmers and few
full-time vegetable farmers. In Funahashi’s study, the proportion of the off-farm income
in annual household income of all the villagers has increased from  ῌ in the s toῌ in the s to ῌ in  [Funahashi ]. What this indicates is as thevillagers became commuters, their living space are segmented into workplace and home,
and their living time are segmented into working hours and non-working hours.
Is Dongkhuwaai village following the same road as Don Daeng village ?

The

beginning of small-scale commuting to the factories could be a symptom in Dongkhuwaai. Although many villagers experienced factory work from , most of them stop
going to the factories. It implies that the villagers are showing anxiety in the face ofsocio-economic change that such work brings, reacting against the risks and undesirable
influence to family/ village life.
On the other hand, the wage labor is not the only way to earn cash in this village.
Fishing, hunting and gathering bring the villagers respectable income (Table). These

activities are flexible in space and time. Unlike factory labor, they do not bind people toa certain place for long hours of the day. These activities are also initial-cost-free, unlike
vegetable production that needs the irrigation facilities.
The marketing of fish, insects, small animals and wild plants have increased since thes, along with the introduction of a cash economy into rural areas showing that many
villagers, including children, have become involved in fishing, hunting and gathering forcash-income.

The construction of social relationships between the family or otherpersons in the village through natural resource use remains important activities. However, if too many people become engaged in these activities, this may lead over-exploitationand the deterioration of bio-diverse habitats. We would have to further think about how
to balance the natural resource use, the villagers’ activities and these risks.

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450

Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. ῐΐ, No. ῐ, March ῎ῌ῍ῌ

Conflict between Water Buffalo and Market-Oriented
Agriculture: A Case Study from Northern Laos

T6@6> Yasuhiro* and Thanongsone S>7DJC=:J6C<**

Abstract
This paper is a case study of the decline of water buffalo husbandry under the pressure ofland use change in contemporary northern Laos. Since ῎ῌῌῌ, with the spread of marketoriented agriculture and the implementation of land use zoning, fallow areas suitable forgrazing have been squeezed leading to a conflict between grazers and cultivators. Local
government has prohibited the former from allowing their livestock to graze freely in theareas designated for commercial agriculture, encouraging them to establish fixed pastureareas. These grazing lands have experienced a number of problems stemming from thedifficulty of implementing co-management, and after several trials many of the grazers
sold off their water buffaloes to traders. This is compounded by another incentive thatpushes them to sell off their buffaloes: the development of buffalo meat distribution
mechanisms. The demand for meat has risen steadily in densely populated areas where
many the new migrants from rural areas have started to show a tendency to purchasefoods such as buffalo meat. Commercial dealings in water buffaloes seem to have hit theirpeak around ῎ῌῌῑ. However, after the peak, the boom has been on the decline due to thenumber of water buffaloes falling sharply in rural areas leading to difficulty for villagers
to continue to graze water buffaloes in both traditional and innovative ways.
Keywords: water buffalo, grazing, fallow, land use, conflict, distribution, migration

I

Introduction

In recent years, market-oriented production systems have started to replace customary
subsistence-oriented diversified livelihoods in contemporary Laos which has seen it
become a land-linked country in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

People living in

northern Laos near the Laos-China international border have been experiencing thischange on a daily basis and are presently faced with options about whether to take a riskof pursuing short-term benefits to adjust to the market economy or to maintain theirrural lifestyles including water buffalo grazing. Having these options at hand, theireconomic interests have divided and this differentiation has become a source of conflictῌῑ῎῏ῐῌ Faculty of Letters, Otani University, Koyamakamifusa, Kita, Kyoto ῒῌ῏῍῔῍ῐ῎,Japane-mail: takaiyas῍res.otani.ac.jp
ῌῌInformation and Documentation Center (IDC), Lao National Academy of Social Sciences(NASS)451ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏῎ ῑamong them especially when concerned with their common resource land use management used previously for both swidden agriculture and water buffalo grazing. This
paper aims to describe the processes of change of the local economy and its impacts onwater buffalo grazing practices, to identify consequent conflicts among rural societies,
and to examine the emerging vulnerability of the livelihood.
According to official statistics data, the number of water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)in Laos has ranged from about  to  head between  and  [NSC

:  ; MAF  : ], while the national population estimates numbered   
persons in  [NSC : ]. Thus, on average, there is approximately one water
buffalo kept per five persons in Laos. In the northern provinces, where this case study
was undertaken, the number of water buffaloes was fewer than the central and southern
provinces.

Nonetheless, water buffaloes were commonly grazed by villagers as animportant component of their livelihoods, particularly in the lowland areas along rivers
and streams, until around  .
This paper introduces data collected in three provinces in northern Laos. First, we
describe why and how villagers graze water buffaloes, focusing on grazers’ decisionmaking processes. Secondly, we pay attention to the rapid decrease in the number ofwater buffaloes in the lowland areas of northern Laos.

This paper explores these

dynamics within the socio-economic background of the study area.
Official figures for the national and provincial water buffalo population have notshown any drastic changes over the past  years. However, information provided by
local people, including village headmen, officers and traders, suggests that the number ofwater buffaloes has fallen sharply in the rural villages near the main roads between local
cities and towns of northern Laos, starting around  .
The analysis presented here focuses on the growing conflict between grazers andcultivators and how this has brought about a decline in water buffalo numbers. The
essence of this livestock-agriculture conflict is centered on a lack of grazing areas, as theimplementation of land use zoning and the rapid expansion of commercial agriculture
have squeezed the fallow lands previously used for grazing. Since the s, there has
been an expansion in the area under rainy-season cash crops in lowlands and foothills
along the main roads.

For example, hybrid corn provided by Thai and Vietnamesemerchants has become popular in Oudomxay province. This corn is purchased by themerchants and sold at either Chinese markets by way of Mo Han or Vietnamese markets
accessed through Dien Bien Phu.

During this same period, dry-season paddy andvegetable cultivation has also expanded in the irrigated lowland areas.
On the other hand, since the end of the s, the local government has started to
implement land use zoning and land use planning based on the  Forest Law. The
intent of these policy directions was to promote both forest conservation and thedevelopment of a market economy in agriculture. In order to do this, a clear distinction
between forest conservation areas and agricultural development areas was deemed452

T6@6> Y. and T. S>7DJC=:J6C< : Conflict between Water Buffalo and Market-Oriented Agriculturenecessary. According to plans, forest lands are divided into several categories but noforest is allocated for swidden agriculture [Yokoyama ῎ῌῌῐ: ῍῏῏]. As will be discussed in
more detail below, young fallow in the swidden cycle is a suitable place for grazing water
buffaloes. Fallow areas have decreased as swidden agriculture has been severely limitedby land zoning and land use planning, and villagers have chosen to graze their water
buffaloes and cattle in areas adjacent to agricultural fields resulting in a conflict withfarming activities.
The analysis presented here is based on primary data gathered during the authors’
field research in Oudomxay, Luang Phabang and Luang Nam Tha provinces, conductedfrom ῎ῌῌ῏ to ῎ῌῌῑ. Figs. ῍ and ῎ show the locations of studied villages, towns and cities.
The next two sections introduce grazing practices in one of the study villages during theperiod of low conflict, and how those practices changed as conflict increased.

Fig. ῌ Cities and Towns in Northen Laos
Source: Created by the authors453῔῕῎῏῎ῒῑ ῐ  ΐFig. ῌ Research Sites
Source: Created by the authors

II Use of Water Buffalo in the Study Village
Na Savang, an administrative village in Na Mo district of Oudomxay province, is our
main field research site in this study.) The village, also known locally by its former name,Ban Ay, is located in the Nam Phak River basin near the border between Laos and China.
Most of the villagers identify themselves as Yang or Tai Yang, an ethnic category within
the Tai-Kadai ethno-linguistic group that includes the lowland Lao and other Tai-Laogroups. The Yang have been heavily influenced by the culture of the Tai Lue, the Yang
adopted Theravada Buddhists traditions, who have inhabited the area for generations.)ῌ Official data on the composition of households in terms of ethnic group show that theethnic Lao are not the majority group in most of the provinces of northern Laos. In
Oudomxay province, for example, ῍ of the /  population was Khmu, while Lue,
Hmong and Lao were   ῍,  ῍,  ῍ respectively [NSC  ].
ῌ According to ethno-linguistic classification, the Yang is a small group of the Tai family.
They inhabit northern Laos, northern Vietnam and southern Yunnan. Na Savang villagers
came more than two hundred years ago from northern Vietnam to their present location,
which was an ancient Lue territory that had been abandoned [Chazée  : ].
454

T6@6> Y. and T. S>7DJC=:J6C< : Conflict between Water Buffalo and Market-Oriented Agriculture

Na Savang (or Ay) has a comparatively large area of flat lands, so most of thevillagers cultivate paddy in the rainy season and many of them can produce enough rice
to satisfy their own consumption needs. Besides agriculture, they go fishing, hunting for
insects and wild animals and gathering edible plants in the surrounding area for daily
dietary needs.
Villagers had limited opportunity to exchange agricultural or forest products withoutsiders for money or other articles until the s. Since around , when the roadbetween Na Mo district town and the Meo Jay border crossing was completed, interactions with small traders or peddlers from other places in northern Laos and China haveincreased.
Domestic animals, including large livestock and poultry, were an important part ofvillage livelihoods throughout the period of transition from a more self-sufficient peasanteconomy to a mixed commercial-subsistence economy after completion of the road.
Villagers preferred not to slaughter and consume their animals for several reasons. First,
large livestock and poultry offered opportunities for exchange with outsiders for moneyor other articles. Second, buffalo meat, pork and chicken were valuable in preparing
feasts for guests that formed the basis of mutual exchange in Lao peasant society. These
feasts were held on such occasions as agricultural labor exchanges, life passage rituals
and village festivals. Furthermore, buffalo meat, pork or chicken were also offered tovarious spirits such as the guardian spirit of the village.
Na Savang villagers used to raise water buffaloes, cattle, pigs and chicken mainly inor around their village or fields. According to Matsuura’ s field survey data in , thevillagers owned water buffaloes more than cattle or pigs and the number of water
buffaloes was more than double the number of households (see Table  ) [Matsuura ].
About  percent of the surveyed households possessed water buffaloes, at about  headper buffalo owner’s household.
In addition to Na Savang, livestock data from Na Mo Tay village, located in a
Table ῌNa Savanga)

Village







The Number of Livestock in Studied Villages (῍ )(unit: head)

Na Mo Tayb)

BuffaloCattlePig

BuffaloCattle

Pig


 

 








 
ῌ
 







ῌ



ῌ

ῌ
ῌ


ῌ



Source: The Data of Na Savang () were surveyed by Miki Matsuura (Graduate School of Asianand African Area Studies, Kyoto University at that time) [Matsuura ]. The others
were from the village-head men of each village.
Note: a)Na Savang village was composed of   households in .
b)
Na Mo Tay village was composed of  households in . Most of the villagers were thenon-Buddhist Yang.
455ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῐΐ῏ ῐ ῒriverside area along the main road is presented (see Table ῍ and Fig. ῎ ). Na Mo Tay isalso a Tai Yang village that grows wet rice, yet in comparison to Na Savang, Na Mo Tay
villagers were less well-off, with smaller residential sites and agricultural fields. The
villagers owned many water buffaloes but no cattle in ῎ῌῌῐ.
Among the large livestock and poultry, Na Savang villagers looked upon water
buffaloes as the most valuable and useful livestock. First, water buffaloes were necessary
for most of the villagers for cultivating paddy fields before hand tractors started to be
used in the second half of the ῍῕῕ῌs. Water buffaloes were also used for transporting
agricultural products. Second, even after hand tractors became popular, the villagers
continued to keep water buffaloes as their most valuable fungible asset, as they can beexchanged for either a large amount of money or goods if necessary. The males were soldor slaughtered by the villagers at feasts as the most valuable and tasty dish.῏) The
females were kept, because the full aged animals produce offspring each year or two,
thereby increasing the villages’ assets. Third, villagers could reduce weeding labor in andaround the fields and the village because water buffaloes efficiently grazed on the weeds,
and additionaly their dung could be used as an effective manure for their paddy crop.
Water buffaloes were multi-functional livestock essential in maintaining thevillagers’ way of life. Until around ῎ῌῌῒ, the younger generation of village members
maintained these animal husbandry practices in accordance with their cultural andeconomic norms.
Na Savang villagers used to inherit water buffaloes and cattle from their parents,
who would normally pass on their animals to their sons and daughters equally. This canbe best illustrated by the story of a ῑ῔-year old man and his family in ῎ῌῌΐ. He had
inherited a water buffalo from his foster parents who had eight water buffaloes, while hiswife inherited no water buffaloes from her parents. After the inheritance, they grazed theanimals which subsequently produced offspring. They bought small Lao native cattle
and grazed them, as well. Male offspring were sold when there was a need, and one malewater buffalo was slaughtered for a feast for their first son’s and the second son’s
marriages respectively. By the time the informant had turned ῑῑ, they owned ΐ water
buffaloes and ῍ῌ cattle. They divided them among his seven children, as can be seen in
Table ῎. In the next section, we describe how the villagers graze water buffaloes.
῏ῌ For example, Na Savang village and Khwang Kham village have a custom that the twovillages slaughter a water buffalo jointly and villagers share the meat and drink liquors
with their friends and neighbors on each precept day’s eve called mue hang or mue daduring the Buddhist Lent. Besides this custom, Na Savang villagers eat water buffalo meatat wedding parties and housewarming parties. They also eat it after sacrificing to theguardian spirits of Mueang Ay and the village every year. (In the old meaning, the mueang
was a ritual or political unit binding local communities as villages.) They customarily haveparties to eat the meat also during the kin tiang new year and the Mahasat Jataka Festival.
Several villagers told us that it was a taboo for Na Savang villagers to eat beef during theBuddhist Lent because a cow was a foster mother of the Buddha in their local Jataka tales.
456

T6@6> Y. and T. S>7DJC=:J6C< : Conflict between Water Buffalo and Market-Oriented Agriculture
Table ῌInheritance of Water Buffalo, Cattle and Paddy Field: A Case of a Villager in Na
Savang in ῎ῌῌῐChildren Sex Age
M
῍
M
῎
F
῏
F
ῐ
M
ῑ
F
ῒ
F
ΐ
parents

῏ῒ
῏῎
῎῔
῎῔
῎ῐ
῍῔
῍ΐ

MaritalStatusFeast atMarriagemarried῍ male buffalo
married῍ male buffalo
marriednonmarriednonunmarried ῌ
unmarried ῌ
unmarried ῌ

Residence

Inheritance Inheritance Inheritanceof Buffalo
of Cattle Paddy Field

with parents ῎ females
married out ῎ females
married out ῌ
adopted out ῌa)with parents ῍ female
with parents unfixedwith parents unfixed
῍ femaleb)῍ female῍ female῍ femaleῌ῍ femaleunfixedunfixedῒ females

inheritinheritῌῌ
inheritc)
ῌῌ

Source: Surveyed and interviewed by the authors
Note: a) The third and fourth children were twins, so the latter was handed over to the adoptive
parents. She already received a female buffalo and a female cattle from the adoptive
parents.
b) The parents kept a female water buffalo and six female cattle with them at the divisionin ῎ῌῌῐ. They told us they would like to give the sixth and seventh children two female
cattle each in the near future but the inheritance was unfixed. They also told us theywould give water buffalo’s calves to their younger children when a water buffalo gavebirth.
c) The parents held one hectare of paddy fields which were not divided among their threesons in ῎ῌῌῐ. The parents told us they would give the fields to their sons after the third
son’s marriage.

III Water Buffalo Grazing and Fallow LandIn rural areas of northern Laos, land remaining fallow after the harvest of both paddy
and swidden agriculture is used for grazing water buffaloes.
In ῎ῌῌῒ, many of Na Savang villagers cultivated paddy in the rainy season only andafter the rice harvest in November or December, whereby villagers allowed their water
buffaloes to graze in and around their own fallow paddy fields during the daytime.
Before it got dark, water buffaloes returned to their owner’s remote seasonal cottage or to
nearby their paddy fields, where they were hitched to the pillars underneath the cottage,and given rice straw which was stocked there.ῐ)
Water buffaloes were allowed to move together freely across each owner’s field, andthe animals tended to move in groups. Each group had a few leaders which had reachedfull age.ῑ) In February, the owner let male buffaloes mate with the females naturally.

ῐῌ For example, the rice straw of a popular traditional breed called Khao Ta Kiat is about ῍῎ῌcentimeters long and a traditional breed called Khao Hok’s straw is about ῍ῒῌ centimeterslong.
ῑῌ The villagers call the leaders huana hung khway (the leader of water buffalo group), mae
phueng (the mother of group) or mae nyai (big mother) in Tai or Lao. In most cases, theleaders are females about five to twelve years old. According to the villagers, the females ῌ457ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῏ῑ῏ ῏ ῒEven if an owner has females only, he could expect his females to get pregnant because
there were always a few males in or around his water buffaloes’ group.ῐ)After half a year’s grazing on the fallow paddy fields, they plowed, harrowed
and leveled the fields using their water buffaloes in May, June or July until the middleof the ῍ΐΐῌs.

However, most villagers cultivated their fields with hand tractors in῎ῌῌῐ.
When rice transplanting had started, the owners, their sons or sons-in-law lettheir water buffaloes move from the paddy fields to the forest area (poy pa).ῑ) According
to villagers, pa lao ῌ grass field, bush or young woods that have been fallowed
for between one and four years after swidden cultivation ῌ are appropriate forgrazing lands. ῒ ) The grazers selected points near streams or ponds where plants suchas Panicum notatum (nya nyung), Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv. (nya kha) or bamboos
grew in bunches and let their water buffaloes graze in these areas during the wet rice
planting season.
Na Savang villagers’ cattle grazing practices differ from water buffalo. Although thevillagers allowed Lao native cattle to graze on fallowed paddy fields during the dry
season, they do not release cattle into the forest during the rainy season. Rather, theychoose to keep cattle near the village throughout the year, as they believe it is bad for
cattle to get wet. Furthermore, cattle require less grass than water buffaloes, so they canbe kept nearer to the house where villagers can keep a closer watch on them. This is incontrast to water buffaloes, which are believed to be well-adapted to the more naturalenvironment of the forest.
Since the ῍ΐΐῌs, people grazing water buffaloes have formed several small, informalgroups in order to manage their livestock during the rainy season when they move intoῌare able to move in a group, though the full aged males have difficulty living together. So
the groups tended to be composed of full aged females and calves.
ῐῌ In some villages, we were told that they did not castrate the males at all, though in othervillages, including Na Savang the males aged over about six years old were castrated
because the villagers perceived un-castrated elder males tended to become thin and hottempered trouble makers. Na Savang villagers told us that they kept the males underabout five-year-old un-castrated because the younger males are useful for breeding.
ῑῌ The word poy is used in contrast with the word liang which carries the meaning to feed,take care, keep, and domesticate. The former means to set the water buffalo free all day
long, while the latter includes part-time grazing during the dry season, as mentioned above.
The word pa means forest, woods, bush and grass fields in contrast with the word na(paddy field) and hai (swidden). The former is land left under semi-wild or fallow conditions, while the latter is land that is managed by humans, and kept under artificial conditions.
ῒῌ The word pa lao is used in opposition to the words pa kae and pa dong. Pa kae means aged
fallow forest, of more than about five years after swidden harvest. Pa dong means naturalforest and deep fallow forest many years after the last swidden agriculture. In many cases,
water buffaloes do not enter into these kinds of forest, because of a shortage of edible
under grass and young trees.

458

T6@6> Y. and T. S>7DJC=:J6C< : Conflict between Water Buffalo and Market-Oriented Agriculture

the forest.῔)
As mentioned above, the water buffaloes grazing in the adjacent plots of a fallow
paddy area tended to form groups naturally during the dry season in ῎ῌῌῒ. In many cases,
the owners of the water buffaloes grouping together in the dry season formed a rainyseason buffalo management group. The core members of this group tended to be a closepartilineal descent group members who often have paddy lands and residential sites close
to each other, as according to local practice, these lands were passed on from parents tosons, which contrasts to the more equitable inheritance of livestock among both sons anddaughters.῍ῌ) There were, however, several cases in which daughters inherited plots fromtheir parents when the parents had large land or the daughters’ husbands had little hopeof inheriting land from their own parents.῍῍)Each grazing group used the forests of the upper or lower reaches of a stream near
the grazers’ paddy field and moved along the stream. Each group was thus known by thestream’s name, such as the Hoy Stream Line Group (khum say huay hoy), and the Nam Lao
River ῌ Mixay Line Group (khum say nam lao mixay), and so forth. The Nam Phak RiverLine Group (khum say nam phak) is introduced below.
In ῎ῌῌῒ, the Nam Phak River Line Group was composed of nine water buffalo’ owners
with all members residing in the same settlement in the village. Each owner had ῍ to ῑ
water buffaloes with a total of ῏῍ water buffaloes in the group.
During the dry season, the members allowed their water buffaloes to graze in thefallow paddy fields called Na Ma and Na Luang (see Figs. ῏ and ῐ ). The eight members
had their plots in these fields (Fig. ῐ ). Fig. ῑ represents their kin relationships.
Among the members, Mr. S had no plots in the Na Ma- Na Luang fields but owned
two plots in other paddy fields. One of his plots was located near May Na Tao (a Khmu
village) and the villagers allowed their animals to graze in the plot with his consent.῍῎)Another plot belonging to Mr. S was used by the owner of a neighboring plot for grazing.
The field where these plots were located were not large enough to accommodate a large

῔ῌ The members told us the local government officers advised them to organize the co-grazing
groups, but they also explained to us that their groups were organized customarily before
the advice was given.
῍ῌῌ The members who descended from the same patrilineal ancestor called each other takun
diao kan. They tend to use their surname which include the same word showing thisrelationship.
῍῍ῌ For example, Mr. D inherited no pieces of land from his parents, so the parents of Mr. D’swife gave a plot of them to her. Mr. K’s mother also inherited land from her parents for thesame reason (see Fig. ῑ ).
῍῎ῌ The Khmu, Kmhmu’, Kamhmu or Kammu belong to the Mon-Khmer family of theAustroasiatic speakers, according to the ethno-linguistic classification. The Khmu are oneof the original inhabitants of the Indochinese region, having lived here since before thearrival of other non-Mon-Khmer people. In old times, the Lao and Thai people called themby the name Kha which meant slave [Simana ῍῔῔ΐ: ῍῍῎].
459ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῍῎῎ ῍ ῑFig. ῌ Water Buffalo Grazing Routes
Source: Created by the authors

number of buffaloes grazing jointly, so Mr. S grazed his five buffaloes in the Na Ma field
during the day and hitched them to the posts on the mountainside nearby during thenight. This was done with the owners’ consent, and demonstrates a case of the cooperation and compromise in using paddy fallow among the grazers during the dry season.
When the villagers started paddy transplanting, some or all members of the Nam
Phak River Line Group encouraged a few water buffalo leaders to walk out of the paddy
fields toward the eastern forest area along the Nam Phak River (see Fig. ῌ ). The rest of
the water buffaloes followed the leaders. The grazing area was located around the village
border between Na Savang and Huay Lak (a Khmu village). Group members followed
their water buffaloes and guided them to a suitable grazing area. After reaching thispoint, an elder male member performed an offering to the local spirits to ask for help
ensuring the safety and good health of their buffaloes. After the offering, the members
left their animals and returned home.
During the rainy season, the members walked into the forest area usually once every
several days in order to check their water buffaloes. This was done by rotating groupmembers, and they usually took a handful of salt in order to catch their interest. After460

T6@6> Y. and T. S>7DJC=:J6C< : Conflict between Water Buffalo and Market-Oriented Agriculture

Fig. ῌ

Paddy Field Plots of Nam Phak River Line Group’s Members in
Na Ma-Na Luang area in ῍ῌῌ῎
Source: Created by the authors using Takashi Kotegawa’s Field Data
Map

Fig. ῍ Kin Relationship among Nam phak River Line Group’s members in ῍ῌῌ῎
Source: Field survey by the authors461ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῏ῐ῏ ῏ ῒthey found them, they inspected their bodies carefully and treated any injuries orillnesses with medicinal plants in the forest as necessary.῍῎) In any case, the person on
duty had to report the conditions of each water buffalo to its owner. Before water
buffaloes ate all the grass in the area, they were moved to a new spot. During the days
when rice plants were in flower and they began to seed, the grazers moved water
buffaloes to an area far from paddy and swidden fields and after the rice was harvested,water buffaloes were allowed to go back to paddy fields.
Na Savang villagers customarily graze water buffaloes as a component of theirtraditional livelihood, together with farming, fishing, hunting and gathering using boththe fallow of both paddy and swidden fields for grazing. In this way, they are able toreduce the time and labor needed for feeding and weeding. Villagers prefer to graze
water buffaloes and cattle freely, rather than resort to other options for more productive,
low-risk grazing, despite damage they sustain from parasites, poisonous plants, wild
beasts and injuries incurred during forest grazing.

This is partially based on thethoughtful and restrained interactions among the members of local communities, where
villagers, including both grazers and cultivators, cooperate closely with kin and neighbors to translate generalized norms of reciprocity into specific arrangements for managing natural resources.

IV Selection of Grazing Area and Latent Conflict
The annual calendar of water buffalo grazing mentioned above, however, shows thelatent conflict between agriculture and livestock. Grazers must control water buffaloes
to avoid damage to paddy rice and swidden crops as when conflict points flare up, thegrazers are urged to change their grazing areas. This happened in Na Savang several
times in the ῍ῒῒῌs, which will be described in the following section below.
Until the ῍ῒῑῌs, Na Savang villagers used to let all of their water buffaloes move out
to the southern areas called the Pa Nong Yueng Forest and the upper reaches of the Huay
Khway Stream during the rainy season, because the fallow areas near Na Savang were
not large enough to cater for the needs of their water buffaloes (Fig. ῎ ).῍῏) The grazing
areas were located in the territory of the White Hmong village named Phou Li. During
grazing, Na Savang grazers used to go into forest grazing areas to check their water῍῎ῌ For example, a Na Savang grazer told us that he mixed Mercurochrome, lime and hot
pepper and applied the concoction to the bite from a venomous snake. In addition to thegrazers’ daily care, veterinarians of the local government visit Na Savang to vaccinate
water buffaloes against parasite diseases twice a year, for the buffaloes grazing in theforest are at high risk of getting the diseases.
῍῏ῌ Nong Yueng means swamp or damp ground which never dries up. Huay Khway meanswater buffalo stream.
462

T6@6> Y. and T. S>7DJC=:J6C< : Conflict between Water Buffalo and Market-Oriented Agriculturebuffaloes once every week or two. After the paddy rice harvest, they would let theirwater buffaloes back into their fallow paddy fields.
In contrast, Phou Li villagers used to let their water buffaloes and Lao native cattle
move to the Mt. May Ko area during the rainy season, and let them move to the upper
reaches of the Huay Khway Stream or the Huay Phou Li Stream during the dry season(Fig. ῏ ). However, Phou Li villagers had no paddy fields and cultivated swidden fields in
the Pa Nong Yueng Forest during the rainy season.
In those days, it appeared that Phou Li villagers were tolerant of the Na Savang
grazing in their village territory.

They gave permission to allow about ῏ῌῌ water

buffaloes from Na Savang to move into the Pa Nong Yueng Forest and the upper reachesof the Huay Khway Stream every rainy season. In addition to Na Savang grazers, Khmu
people from Huay Hok village also grazed about ῍ῌῌ water buffaloes in the Pa Nong
Yueng Forest and the upper reaches of the Huay Phou Li Stream (Fig. ῏ ).
But many of Na Savang grazers have shifted their grazing points back to their own
village lands in the early ῍῕῕ῌs when Phou Li villagers became intolerant to Na Savang
villagers’ grazing. According to the ex-village headmen of both Na Savang and Phou Li,
the village-border was delineated in the early ῍῕῕ῌs. Villagers related some trouble cases
whereby Phou Li cultivators shot at water buffaloes owned by Na Savang villagers to
express their discontent when their animals ate their agricultural products. The exvillage headman of Phou Li commented on the troubles that it was natural that thecultivators had a right to get meat if the grazer did not pay any form of compensation.
What this scenario suggests is that the growing consciousness of the exclusive ownership of village territory and the commercial value of agricultural products might havemade the villagers intolerant.῍ῑ)
After the withdrawal from the Pa Nong Yoeng Forest, most of Na Savang villagers
continued to allow their water buffaloes to graze in several areas around their village
during the rainy season between ῍῕῕ῌ and ῎ῌῌ῔ as mentioned above. Each area was notlarge, so they had to subdivide their water buffaloes’ group into smaller sizes.
Additionally, it has also become more difficult to graze animals in the fallow paddy
during the dry season every year, as since the ῍῕῕ῌs, farmers have started growing
off-season vegetables after the rice harvest. Several land owners in the Na Ma ῌ Na
Luang fields have also being trying to grow various kinds of market-oriented agricultural products, such as watermelon, in the fields during the dry season. They have had
to fence their plots to keep the animals out.
῍ῑῌ In ῎ῌῌῐ and ῎ῌῌῑ, most Phou Li villagers moved to a new site near the Nong Yueng pond,
following the local government’s advice, because the new site was located near their agricultural fields and on the new road through this area. Cash-cropping has become popularamong them since ῎ῌῌῐ. They left about ῎ῌ water buffaloes and ῑῌ cattle in their pasturesite near their old settlement in ῎ῌῌΐ. According to them, they reduced the number by half
after migration. In ῎ῌῌΐ, the population was ῎ῒ῔ persons in total ῐ῎ households.
463ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῐΐ῏ ῐ ῒIn ῎ῌῌΐ, a member of the Nam Phak River Line Group told us that he kept his plot in
the Na Ma field in order to let his water buffaloes graze during the dry season. He grewwatermelons in his remaining plot in another field. However, another member of thegroup told us it became difficult for water buffaloes to graze in the Na Ma field. He
subsequently moved his dry season grazing area out of the field.
Despite the Na Savang grazers’ constant attempts to adapt to the changing conditions by shifting their grazing areas around, in the end many of them would abandon
their husbandry efforts. In the next sections we describe how the growing sense of
conflict led to a prohibition against free grazing in Luang Nam Tha and Oudomxay
provinces, which ultimately brought about a decline in the number of water buffaloes inthese areas.

V

Deepening Conflict and the Decline in Water Buffalo Grazing

The conflict between grazers and cultivators has been a real problem since around ῎ῌῌῌ.
Damages from grazing animals are regularly reported to the village headman, whotypically acts as a mediator between the grazer and the cultivator who sustained damage.
A set of mediation rules has emerged and is regularly applied. In cases where the victim’s
guard fence was prepared well, the grazer must pay the same amount of rice as thedamage. If the fence was not well-prepared, the grazer would be partly excused fromcompensation.῍ῒ) Around ῎ῌῌῌ, many village headmen began to advise villagers to set up
barbed-wire fences around their agricultural fields to keep the animals out.
The above-mentioned prohibition of swidden agriculture and the spread of cashcropping have been a source of tension with regards to livestock management. However,in more recent years, the boom in rubber planting in the hillside areas along the main
roads has served to exacerbate these tensions. In northern Laos, rubber planting started
in Luang Nam Tha province in the middle of the ῍῔῔ῌs. Some of the pioneer planters havealready begun to reap large benefits in the form of cash income from latex sales. These
success stories spread rapidly among the communities of the area, offering farmers an
attractive alternative crop. Since around ῎ῌῌῑ, rubber planting, both in plantations andsmall holder plots, has reached unprecedented proportions.
In many cases, the upland rice and other cash crops are planted among the young
rubber saplings that have been planted in the swidden fields. But in the third year, as thetree canopy begins to close, the fields give way to rubber mono-cropping. Planters can
expect to start tapping the trees for latex in the eighth year, and can normally sustain
collection for approximately ῏ῌ years.
῍ῒῌ In cases whereby a group of water buffaloes or cattle owned by several grazers havedamaged the crops, each of them should share the burden of compensation according to thenumber of the holdings.
464

T6@6> Y. and T. S>7DJC=:J6C< : Conflict between Water Buffalo and Market-Oriented Agriculture

Water buffaloes like to eat the rubber saplings, which has made the task of controlling grazing animals all the more difficult. For example, in Phou Li village, five households started to plant the rubber saplings in . In , the villagers told us that if awater buffalo had eaten a two-year-old rubber sapling, the planters would demandcompensation of  kip (about US$  or   YEN). The compensation for athree-year-old rubber sapling was  kip (about US$ ) and the compensation for a
four-year-old tree was  kip (about US$  ). These penalties were high enough todiscourage grazers from releasing their animals in the area of rubber gardens.)In addition to these local solutions, the provincial and district governments havedeveloped several measures to resolve disputes between grazers and cultivators. On one
hand, higher levels of government observed the success of local village headmen’s
prohibition against free grazing in populated areas and agricultural promotion zones.
The Luang Nam Tha provincial government supported such regulations in the Luang
Nam Tha basin around .
For example, in Done Khoune village, located in the old populated area of Luang
Nam Tha, the villagers had already fenced their paddy fields in the  s. They allowed
their water buffaloes and cattle to graze freely outside of the fenced fields during therainy season and then moved the animals into the fallow paddy fields during thepost-harvest season. In addition, the provincial government gave notice of the prohibition policy and the village committee decided not to allow their animals to graze freely
near the village in . The government did not compensate the grazers for their loss ofgrazing land, but pledged to improve the traffic and educational conditions of the village
in return.
Since , the government of Oudomxay province has also carried out this policy inmost parts of the basin and hillside areas around roads. The following case of Huay On
village near Na Mo market (see Fig.  ) illustrates how this was done. Since the  s,both cash-cropping and commercial activities developed constantly in this area. According to the villagers, the soil of this area was fertile, so many migrants arrived to cultivate
the fields and paddy, corn and rubber saplings were planted intensively by  . The
district government and the village committee jointly prohibited the villagers fromgrazing their animals freely in the area since  when the planting of rubber saplings
started to gain momentum in the area. Since  , grazers had to pay  kip fine perwater buffalo or cattle when it was found that animals were grazing in the prohibited
area, even if they did not cause any actual damage to the crops. As a result of thisregulation, the cultivators no longer need to fence their fields to keep water buffaloes andῌ The daily wage for physical labor was about  kip (about US$ ,  YEN) in Xay
city and Na Mo market’s area in . The wage was  kip in  . The daily wages ofrice transplanting and harvesting in Na Savang village were as follows: ῌ kip( ),  kip () and ῌ  kip ( ).
465ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῐΐ῎ ῐ ῑcattle out, because the grazers are responsible for the damage caused by their animals in
the prohibited areas, even if the damaged fields were not fenced.
On the other hand, the local government has been advising village headmen to fix
the grazing areas and encouraging grazers to graze their animals together in groups.
Starting in ῎ῌῌῌ, the government has left it to each village to decide whether it will
establish designated areas for grazing or not. The villages are free to determine thegrazing areas in their village, but government officers have recommended that thevillagers establish these grazing areas in mountainous areas far from the residential andagricultural areas, where rivers and thick forests provide a natural ‘fencing’ for the
animals.
In the Done Khoune village case mentioned above, the villagers decided to movetheir ῎ῌῌ water buffaloes and ῏ῌῌ cattle to a bamboo forest located about ῍ῌ kilometers
south of the village. This site was used collaboratively with two other villages for four
years. In ῎ῌῌῑ, however, villagers lost access to this forest because the provincial anddistrict governments granted a long-term lease over the area near this forest to a Chinese
rubber planting company. By ῎ῌῌ῕, the village had no fixed pasture areas, thus water
buffaloes started to disappear and only about ῑῌ cattle remained.
In Huay On village, the grazers sold about half of their animals after the prohibition
against free grazing. The number of water buffaloes decreased from over ῍ῌῌ to ῒ῎, while
the cattle decreased from ῔ῌ to ῐῌ in these five years, as well. The grazers moved most of
their remaining water buffaloes into fenced pasture sites in the mountains located inother villages and entered into collaborative land use arrangements with the local
villagers.
The cases of Yao Yay and a neighboring village named Lak ῏῎ in the eastern
mountainous area of Xay district, Oudomxay province (see Fig. ῍ ) provide more detail
information on the impact of these restrictions. Yao Yay is a White Hmong village that
migrated from Nga district in ῍῕ΐ῏ when Route No. ῍ of Oudomxay province was paved.
After settling, they allowed their animals to graze around their village freely. But thegrass around the village ran out by the end of the ῍῕῔ῌs. They consequentially moved
their animals to a hill area named Phu Nya Kha where Imperata cylindrical (L) Beauv. (nyakha) grass grew abundantly. Lak ῏῎ is also a new village along Route No. ῍ establishedin ῍῕ΐῒ. This village is composed of migrants from various ethnicities around the areasand villagers here allowed their animals to graze freely in the southern riverside areas.
But grazing became difficult as the population rapidly increased and the reclamation of
paddy land in the riverside areas progressed. Lak ῏῎ villagers and Xay district government asked Yao Yay villagers for permission to let a part of the Lak ῏῎ animals move into
the Phu Nya Kha area in ῎ῌῌ῎ and as a result of this the two villages started to jointly use
the pasture. However, after trouble arose between the herds of two villages in ῎ῌῌῐ, Yao
Yay villagers built a fence to divide their pasture area off from Lak ῏῎’s area.
Rubber planting has also become popular among the villagers since ῎ῌῌῒ. Lak ῏῎466

T6@6> Y. and T. S>7DJC=:J6C< : Conflict between Water Buffalo and Market-Oriented Agriculture

grazers moved the majority of their animals into the pasture land of Phu Nya Kha. The
implementation of the Forest Land Allocation Program, carried out with assistance fromthe Oudomxay provincial Agriculture and Forestry Division and the Xay district Agriculture and Forestry Office, helped villagers begin planting rubber saplings in ῎ῌῌῐῌῌῑ.῍ῒ)
Under the leadership of the village committee, fallow forest located in the non-protected
zones was allocated to villagers. However, rights to use plots of allocated land are
forfeited by farmers who leave the plot fallow, which provides a strong incentive forfarmers to do intensive cash crop farming or planting rubber. This also provides themwith cash to pay land tax.
As water buffalo and cattle grazing increased the pressure on the pasture area in Yao
Yay, villagers began to sense the coming crisis of grass shortage through the increase inwater buffaloes and cattle grazing on the pasture. At the same time, it seems that Lak ῏῎villagers did not grasp the actual number of animals grazing in this pasture. It seems
probable that, with different socio-cultural backgrounds, these villages were not able tocreate the type of relationship necessary for effective rules for co-management.
In contrast to these cases where villagers set out clearly defined grazing areas, Na
Savang, Na Mo Tay and Done Khoune villages already mentioned above decided not to
set fixed pastures. In these villages, villagers tended to select from the following options.
First, some of them stayed with the animals to watch over them during the day in allseasons so that they could continue grazing in the prohibited areas. The animals weretied to the post of the owner’s cottage during the night. Second, some of them tied theiranimals to poles in fields or forests with a rope long enough for them to graze widely
during the day. The animals were then tied to the poles of the cottage during the night.
This was practiced throughout the year. And third, others made an agreement to leave
their female livestock with grazers of their acquaintance in the mountainous region
outside of the prohibited area under the agreement in which grazers receive the first calf
while owners get the second one. The grazer and the owner share the offspring equallyand the mother livestock is taken back to the owner after the end of the agreement.
These arrangements were used by some villagers even in villages where grazing lands
have been established.
However, many of the animal owners expressed displeasure with the outcomes. With
the first option, grazers complained that they do not have enough time to watch over the

῍ῒῌ According to Takayuki Namura, the Forest Land Allocation Program is a set of policies asfollows: (῍) land zoning according to both the natural conditions and the purpose of using
each area, (῎) specification of management rights for each plot, (῏) definition of land use andappropriate land management practices for each plot. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, one of the purposes is to make full use the latent resource and todevelop cash cropping, afforestation and livestock grazing. Another purpose is to allow
villages to manage the forests for conservation. This program has been in operation since
the beginning of the ῍ΐΐῌs in Luang Phabang and Sayabury provinces [Namura ῎ῌῌῒ: ῎ῌῐ].
467ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῏ῒ῎ ῏ ῑanimals. This is especially because both household heads and spouses have experienced
an increase in workload with the rapid growth of cash-cropping and other economic
activities. Younger members of the family attend school, so in reality animals are cared
for by young children and the elderly, who are not appropriate for following animals into
the mountainous forests for grazing. This has meant that grazing areas have contracted
into the smaller available areas nearer to the village.
In the first and the second arrangements, villagers have to spend time on cutting andtransporting grasses which were previously eaten by water buffaloes themselves. They
must cut and carry fodder for the animals during the period of August to October, when
there is no rice straw available. This physical labor is often more strenuous than the new
economic activities. And considering that water buffaloes need more fodder than cattle,
water buffalo husbandry has become a less attractive option, as it is increasingly difficult
to meet the grazing and feeding needs of the animals. Water buffalo husbandry has
become such a burden that many have chosen to stop.
Table ῍ shows the rapid decrease in the number of water buffaloes in Na Savang and
Na Mo Tay over the period covering ῎ῌῌ῏ to ῎ῌῌΐ. In ῎ῌῌΐ, most of the members of Nam
Phak River Line Group sold their water buffaloes. Na Savang villagers have continued
raising cattle and pigs, which is done in small contained areas near the village, although
the total number of water buffaloes and cattle have decreased significantly in the past
five years. Na Mo Tay villagers now have no large domestic animals.
In the third arrangement, we witnessed several tense situations between grazers andowners. A man in Done Khoune village had ΐ water buffaloes and ῐῌ cattle in ῎ῌῌῌ. But
after the loss of pasture land in ῎ῌῌῐ, he sold all of his water buffaloes and some of his
cattle to traders. He left ΐ cattle with his friend in a village located in the mountains andleft ῔ cattle with another friend in another village. The cattle with the former friend
bred ῑ calves but all died and the ῎ female cattle also died because of the shortage of
fodder grass in his friend’s village, where rubber tree planting had become popular. Aftera year and a half, he brought his cattle back from his friend. His friend requested ῒῌῌ῕ῌῌῌ
kip as a fee for grazing the animals. The owner felt the fee was unreasonable but paid it
nonetheless so as to avoid destroying the relationship with his friend. The cattle with thelatter friend also lost weight, and two died because the water of the stream was not goodfor cattle. After two years, he took his female cattle back and equally divided the four
new-born calves with the grazer.
This kind of conflict between grazers and cultivators is reflected within the district
government as well. According to an officer of the Livestock and Fisheries Section (ofthe Department of Agriculture and Forestry), the policy direction of his section was inconformity with that of the Agriculture and Forestry Section’s direction until ῎ῌῌῌ, as the
agriculture and forestry officials appreciated livestock’s production of manure for agricultural fields. However, since ῎ῌῌῌ, the two sections’ directions have parted ways. The
Agriculture and Forestry Section’s efforts have promoted market-oriented crops that use
468

T6@6> Y. and T. S>7DJC=:J6C< : Conflict between Water Buffalo and Market-Oriented Agriculture

chemical fertilizers while excluding grazing livestock. The department supported thelatter’s direction because the increase in export revenues is important for the government
and foreign markets hold the highest potential for exporting Lao cash crops. Comparedto the cross-border trade in agricultural products, livestock trade is troublesome becauseof the concern for disease and parasites.
The Livestock and Fisheries Section is well aware of the possibility of meat shortages, in the near future and has been promoting local varieties of livestock since the s,in an effort to increase meat supply.) Some farmers responded to this by leasing cattle
to graze on land provided free of charge by the government while other farmers areexperimenting with new hybrid fodder grasses in or around their pasture areas.) These
innovations indicated farmers’ adaptive capacity, but despite advances in management
practices farmers still face serious constraints in accessing sufficient areas of land.)In the rural areas, the villagers have taken up the shift to market-oriented agriculture
with great enthusiasm, and their limited labor resources are increasingly dedicated to
cash cropping work and small-scale trading. There are wide-spread perceptions thatwater buffalo husbandry with the tasks of feeding and careful control is not a good useof precious time, and many have begun to sell off their herd. Villagers who liquidate their
herd often purchase hand tractors.) According to these people, the people dealing in thewater buffalo trade tend to act as mediators between the villagers and the shops in theῌ The Livestock section started to encourage villagers to graze Lao native cattle varieties
instead of water buffaloes since the end of the s because of the following points: ()water buffaloes are not suitable for group farming on a large scale. () The breeding of
cattle is faster and more productive than water buffalo. () Water buffalo meat poses ahigher risk of parasitic disease than beef. () Beef is more preferential than water buffalo
meat by the consumers in central Laos and foreign countries. () It is difficult for thevillagers to graze foreign hybrid cattle in the natural environment of northern Laos.
ῌ Various breeds of grass such as Panicum maximum (kinni), Paspalum, Stylosanthes
guianensis have been introduced by Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) in
Luang Phabang province since the middle of the s. The project was also started in
Oudomxay province in . But according to the officer, the grass planting did not becomepopular among the villagers because they tended to suspect the grass made the soil poor.
ῌ For example, a Tai Lue farmer from Hat Pang village, Phak Ou district, Luang Phabang
province has rented  hectares of land from the government and started to grow varieties offodder grass provided by the government since  (see Fig.  ). He was the only innovator in his village. His trials were successful and he had a number of well developed livestock. But shortly after that, he found that the fodder grass supply was insufficient and hecould not find new land to expand his pasture. In  , most of the surrounding lands wereconverted to rubber tree plantation. So, he started to graze goats in his pasture, leaving his
cattle and water buffaloes to his friends who lived in the mountainous region. According
to him, the government has promoted the rubber planting rather than livestock husbandry.
ῌ Villagers of Na Savang and Na Mo Tay sold a full-aged water buffalo for   ῌ  
kip and purchased hand tractors for  ῌ   kip in ῌ . The hand tractors
they preferred to purchase had Thai-made bodies and China-made engines. According to
the village-head man of Na Savang, there were ῌ  hand tractors in the village in  .
469

ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῎῏῎ ῎ ῑmunicipal areas of Xay or Luang Nam Tha.
In summary, it has become increasingly difficult for villagers to continue keeping
water buffaloes by either grazing freely in fallow fields or other ways. This is particularly
so in villages located near roads with no fixed pasture areas. Local authorities havetightened regulations over land use in order to reduce livestock-agriculture conflicts, but
priority is given to market-oriented agricultural development over the customary rightsof grazers and potential for livestock development.
The land zoning policy has functioned to encourage and legitimize a restructuring ofland use from water buffalo grazing based on customary land use management toward
cash cropping by farmers who assert their exclusive rights on the land in which they
have invested their money and labor intensively.
The decline of water buffalo grazing indicates the break-up of customary mutual
agreement systems within a process shifting from previously diverse production systems
to a more simplified cash-cropping one proceeded by both rural villagers and governments orientating toward a market economy and international trade in the current
land-linked conditions.
In the following section, we turn to the local traders who deal in fresh buffalo meat,to highlight how the development of these distribution mechanisms is another incentivethat pushes villagers to sell off their water buffalo herds.

VI Trade in Water Buffalo and Changing Life-style
The Lao government’s policy on commercial trading has changed drastically in the past

῎ῌ years. In the early years of the socialist regime, the government dealt directly in the
trade of livestock, though after a few years, state companies took over this role from thestate, even if policy still formally recognized the government as having the central role.
Since the beginning of the ῍ῐῐῌs, private traders have reassumed an officially recognizedrole in the trade of livestock in Laos. After the open door policy was adopted, the numberof traders rapidly increased in both urban and rural areas.

Meanwhile, many statecompanies ceased their activities.
The rural villagers of northern Laos are able to choose where and to whom they sell
their livestock, based on the consideration of price differences between traders insurrounding towns and cities. For example, Na Savang villagers have sold their water
buffaloes and cattle to traders from an adjacent village named Khwang Kham, Huay On
and the municipal area of Xay district (Xay city). Traders also come from Luang Nam
Tha province and villages on the other side of the Lao-China national border. The
following discussion introduces the role of traders from Huay On, Xay city and China.

470

T6@6> Y. and T. S>7DJC=:J6C< : Conflict between Water Buffalo and Market-Oriented Agriculture

VI. ῍ Huay On Village and Na Mo Market
A few Huay On villagers started to sell water buffalo meat at Na Mo market in ῍ΐΐῌ. In

῎ῌῌῐ, there were three co-business groups (ju) of the traders. The groups increased to fivein ῎ῌῌῒ. Each group was also a formally authorized unit (nuay) under an obligation to pay
taxes with each group composed of four or five small traders. Many of them werepart-time traders who also engaged in paddy cultivation. The members of a group pooled
their capital in order to purchase water buffaloes or cattle.
Huay On is located near Na Mo market along Route No. ῍ which connects Xay citywith Luang Nam Tha and Bo Ten (Fig. ῍ ). The market is developing into a new tradecenter for Na Mo district.

A small shop belonging to the district government wasestablished in the early ῍ΐῒῌs, and Na Mo market was formed later throughout the ῍ΐῒῌsand ῍ΐΐῌs.῎῏) Huay On was composed of ῐῌ Khmu families in ῍ΐῒῌ, and increased to ῎ΐῑ(῍῔ῐΐ῎ persons) in ῎ῌῌῒ. Huay On and two neighboring villages have become a relatively
densely populated area over the past ῏ῌ years. Some of the villagers have engaged insmall-scale trading at the market, while cash-cropping spread throughout this area, as
described above.
There are five groups selling water buffalo meat or beef at Na Mo market.῎ῐ) The
groups use a five-day rotational system whereby on a group’s designated day, a water
buffalo or cattle is slaughtered in the slaughter house at two o’clock in the morning, andthe meat is sold at the morning market from five o’clock. During the four interim
off-days, members of the group visit villages in Na Mo to purchase animals for the next
market day. According to one of the traders, none of the group members has a car or
motorbike, so they have to walk or take a mini-bus to their destination and bring thepurchased animals home with them on foot. In ῎ῌῌῒ, he told us that water buffaloes andcattle have become fewer in villages near traffic roads, so he had to spend longer timethan before to approach their owners in the distant mountainous areas from roads.
In ῎ῌῌῒ, the local demand for water buffalo meat and beef was not very high. But the
emergence of the sellers itself shows that the local inhabitants have begun to purchasemeat even on regular days, outside of their festival-days. This may be partially explainedby the fact that it has become difficult for the people living in the densely populatedareas to catch fish or insects in the surrounding environments. The local people indicatedthat fish in the Nam Xae River have decreased because of over-fishing and waterpollution. They now purchase fish and meat from traders, though some people maintainfish ponds for self-consumption.
Besides selling at Na Mo Market, each group of local traders also sold water buffaloes῎῏ῌ Besides small stands, there were about ῑῌ shops, including clothing stores, daily necessities’
shops, pharmacies and restaurants in Na Mo market area in ῎ῌῌῑ.
῎ῐῌ Some traders of Nam Xae village have taken charge of the sale of pork at Na Mo market
since the middle of the ῍ΐΐῌs. Most of the Nam Xae villagers are White Tai.
471ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ῏ ῒand cattle to traders in Xay city which is  kilometers east from Na Mo Market. In
contrast to Huay On traders, the traders from Xay City transport the livestock theypurchase in pickup tracks. They also use mobile phones to communicate with theirbusiness counterparts.
VI. 

Xay City and the Traders

Xay city is the center of trade and transportation in Oudomxay province. There were
only several Lue villages in the basin before the s, but migrants from various ethnic
groups started arriving from the surrounding mountainous areas in Oudomxay and otherprovinces in  when the Lao P. D. R. was established. The total population increased
to about   by  . Through a rapid development process, many of the swamps andforests have been reclaimed, so water buffaloes and cattle have decreased in the city area.
Until the  s, water buffaloes were sold officially by the state company of theprovince. The purchase clerk was a black Tai man, who walked to villages in and aroundthe Xay basin in order to purchase water buffaloes. When the clerk was able to procure
water buffaloes, the company slaughtered a few head each day. When he procured nowater buffaloes, there was no more meat available yet, according to ex-workers, theinhabitants had few complaints about this because local people purchased meat in few
amounts at that time.
In the first half of the s, three Khmu men built a private slaughter house andstarted to deal in buffalo meat. Twelve Khmu traders who used the slaughter houseformed an authorized unit. In , a black Tai family from Luang Phabang built anotherslaughter house in the army station and formed another unit.) The two units dealt inboth water buffaloes and cattle.

But the former were more frequently slaughtered,because northern Lao local people preferred buffalo meat to beef. In  , an average offour to five buffaloes would be slaughtered on any ordinary day.)This number increased to six or seven head in  . The two units slaughtered morethan  head on each of the four big festival days in  .)In the case of the Khmu traders’ unit in  , each trader brought water buffaloes orcattle to the private slaughter house on the determined day of a twelve-day rotation.
After the slaughter, he sent the fresh meat to saleswomen. There were two units ofsaleswomen handling the retail supply of water buffalo meat and beef from this slaughterῌ In  , this unit had moved to the suburban area and a friend of the family took over theslaughter house at an army station between  and . During this period there were
three units in the city.
ῌ When traders had no water buffaloes, cattle were slaughtered in their place. According to
the head of the slaughter house, seven cattle need to be slaughtered to get the sameamount of three full-aged male buffaloes’ meat.
ῌ The four big festival days are New Year’s Day, the Fifth Month Full Moon Festival Day
and the day preceding the Beginning and End of Buddhist Lent.
472

T6@6> Y. and T. S>7DJC=:J6C< : Conflict between Water Buffalo and Market-Oriented Agriculture

house. Each unit was composed of  saleswomen and sold the meat retail every otherday at either Nong Maeng Da market or Nong Leng-Ban Thin market in the city.) The
saleswomen were paid in piece rate.) Traders also sold the skin to seven local foodproducers who processed it into nang phon (fried buffalo skin) and nang yam (dried buffaloskin). During the off-days, throughout the year, traders visited rural areas to purchasetheir stock.
In addition to the trade in Xay district, some traders of two units also dealt in theinter-district trade formally through contracts with other districts. They sometimes
resold cattle out to traders from Vientiane. They were not, however, able to deal ininter-provincial trade since around , as will be described below.
VI.

Unauthorized Traders and Markets in Neighboring Countries

The above mentioned cases are authorized by the government but it is very difficult to
get an accurate volume of livestock trade, because quite a few unauthorized traders areoperating in northern Laos. For example, villagers in the Nam Pak River basin told us
unauthorized traders came from the Chinese side of the border area at night. According
to the villagers, some of the traders resell the purchased animals to Thailand.
The livestock trade tends to be heavily influenced by cross-border markets. According to a Huay On villager, in , unauthorized traders offered higher price than most of
the traders of Huay On and Xay city for water buffaloes and cattle. He told us that Huay
On traders offered    kip (about US$  ) for a large male water buffalo aged ,
while unauthorized traders offered more than    kip (about US$ ) for an animalof the same size in , because the latter could sell water buffaloes to traders in the
Chinese urban markets at higher prices than the local markets of Laos. The price ofwater buffalo meat was  yuan (about   kip, US$) per kilogram at Meng La City

markets in Yunnan province of China, while the price was   kip (about US$  ) at Na
Mo market and   kip (about US$) at Nong Maeng Da market in Xay city in .

These traders supply livestock to markets in the densely populated urban areas ofnorthern Laos and markets across the border in China. This is largely driven by theincreasing demand for meat in both places.
According to a head-manager on food control at the industry and commercial
department of Oudomxay province, the consumption of water buffalo meat in theprovince has been increasing by about  percent each year since . The emergence ofthe densely populated areas appears to have driven up domestic demand. As mentioned
ῌ The retail price of water buffalo meat or beef per kilogram was   kip at the city
markets in  . It increased to   kip in . The daily wage was about   kip in
the city in . The prices were also influenced by the exchange rate between the kip andthe U. S. dollar.
ῌ According to the contracts made with the saleswomen in , they received one thousand
kip per kilogram sold.
473

ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῐΐ῎ ῐ ῑalready, even rural lifestyles have been subject to influence from the urbanization
processes. However, the lifestyle of urban residents has changed even more drastically.
Customary livelihoods based on semi-subsistence and self-sufficient rural culture cannot
be sustained for a number of reasons as follows: (῍) They do not have enough land for
agriculture and fallow lands for getting plants easily; (῎) Water resources have been
declining because of the reclamation, over-fishing or pollution of rivers and ponds near
populated areas; (῏) They do not have enough time for fishing, hunting and gathering, forthey have become busy with either trading or wage labor. Many of them have come tobelieve that it is better to go into non-farming economic activities, including trade inlivestock, so that they can purchase meat from merchants at the market, rather thanspend time catching fish and collecting edible plants in the fields and streams.
But it must also be pointed out that the sustainability of the current trade in water
buffalo may be doubtful. According to traders who deal in livestock in Xay city and
Huay On village, their business reached its peak around ῎ῌῌῑ. However, since ῎ῌῌΐ, it has
become increasingly difficult to purchase water buffaloes and cattle at reasonable prices
from rural villagers, because of the marked decrease in water buffalo in villages neartraffic roads, while the buyers have increased. The government of Oudomxay province
has been trying to strengthen restrictions on the export of water buffaloes and cattle inorder to ensure a reliable supply of the meat to the provincial market and to control themarket price of the meat. In fact, the export of water buffalo meat from Oudomxay
province to Thailand was formally stopped in ῎ῌῌ῍. Oudomxay province also stopped
renewing contracts with other provinces on the number of exportable water buffaloes
and cattle in ῎ῌῌῒ and ῎ῌῌΐ. These restrictions seem relatively successful in relieving
meat shortages, but a number of the traders, grazers and officers were all pessimistic
about the future prospects of water buffaloes. The major concern is that water buffaloes
will disappear completely from northern Laos in the near future.

VII Conclusions
In this paper, firstly, we began by describing how rural villagers in northern Laos graze
water buffaloes. Our conclusions show that villagers are practicing a more subsistenceoriented, diversified livelihood strategy, including such activities as paddy planting,swidden cultivation, fishing, hunting, gathering and livestock. Within this subsistenceorientated context, grazing activities have been relatively successful.
The fallow in forests and fallow paddy fields are a kind of common resource shared
among grazers, including people from neighboring villages. Mutually understood agreements were made on the selection of grazing points where cultivators are, in principle,
tolerant of using fallow land for grazing. However, latent tension between grazers andcultivators became a real conflict, as fallow lands suitable for grazing diminished. This474

T6@6> Y. and T. S>7DJC=:J6C< : Conflict between Water Buffalo and Market-Oriented Agriculture

conflict has been exacerbated by the rising popularity of market-oriented agriculture.
With the introduction of rubber planting and struggles over land use we can also see there-conceptualization of land ownership taking place.
Implementation of land zoning served to bolster the government’s policy of promoting market-oriented agriculture.

At the same time, land zoning increased tensions

regarding access to common resource fallow fields, over which grazers did not haveformal land use rights. To compensate for the loss of access to grazing land in areas
designated as agricultural development land, local governments advised the grazers toestablish fixed pastures in mountainous areas far from the agricultural development
zone. However, the villagers have experienced problems with this shift. In many cases,
it is difficult to find suitable sites large enough for grazing their animals in collaborative
arrangements. Even in the cases where villages were able to establish grazing areas,
these were used by the grazers whose home villages, ethnic identities or economicalinterests were different each other. New rules for managing these shared but limited
resources have been slow to develop. Furthermore, with exposure to the penetration of
the market economy, many villagers have decided to use their precious labor resources
for commercially-oriented agriculture and wage labor, rather than water buffalo husbandry.

As a result of the ban on free grazing, and the surrounding circumstances

described here, many villagers stopped water buffalo husbandry and sold off buffaloes inurban markets.
While the number of water buffaloes in rural areas declined rapidly, the demand formeat among the urban population grew. Markets provide easy access to fresh meat if
there is a reliable supply. But the continuing decrease in water buffalo husbandry meansthat urban consumers may not be able to purchase what they need in the near future.῎ῌ)
Alternatively, meat prices may rise if traders must rely on supply from more distantsources.
It seems to be a natural phenomenon that people pursue convenience, safety andprosperity through the adoption of urbanized and modern lifestyles.

The market

economy linked to neighboring countries’ markets brings opportunities to realize newlifestyles. However, these opportunities are accompanied by risks, as many of the new
trends are seen to be unsustainable. The spread of cash cropping and rubber plantation
appears to homogenize the production systems of rural villagers in our study areas. But
there is a strong element of uncertainty with the new cash crops that are dependent upon
foreign markets.

The future demand for these products cannot be predicted, andlifestyles that are intimately linked to the production and trade of cash crops can become
unstable. This suggests that there may be an increase in the vulnerability of people’s

῎ῌῌ It is noticeable that pig and fish farms have been growing in number and size in Xay cityand its suburban areas since around ῍ῌῌ῏. Hybrid pigs provided by Thai and China merchants are bred in these farms.
475ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῏ῑ῎ ῏ ῑlivelihood.
Livestock, such as the water buffalo presented here, has been a beneficial andfungible asset for villagers. From our analysis we conclude that livestock husbandry is
not only an important source of alternative or supplementary income, but forms asafety-net which can act as a buffer for rural people to weather some of the shocks of themarket transition.
People in this area have also faced dilemmas whereby their pursuit of short-time cash
income has been accompanied by the risk of the break-up of their traditional local
communities and customary common resource management systems. We have identified
the conflicts mentioned in this paper as a sign of this occuring. It is an urgent issue tore-construct mutual agreement systems for people who have various economical interests to manage their common resources.
The impacts of land zoning and cash-crop booms on the rural economic balance andpeople’s livelihood stability need to be studied carefully. As Namura [῎ῌῌῒ: ῎῎ῑ] pointed
out, balancing the tensions between land use zoning, which tries to simplify the humanlandscape, and customary natural resource management, which tends to be based ondiversity and complexity, is a key challenge to contemporary rural society. Adjustments
between these two seemingly opposed systems should take place through processes suchas the exchange of information, perspectives and options between livestock grazers, crop
cultivators and local government officials. These exchanges form an essential foundation upon which trust, and understanding can be built, and eventually lead to effective
and locally appropriate rules and regulations to guide resource management. Within
this, another challenge is to provide innovative support to enable livestock grazers, boththose who establish fixed grazing areas and those who graze their animals freely in themountainous areas, to adjust their systems in the face of rapid socio-economic change.

Acknowledgement
We are grateful to have participated in the research project entitled “A Transdisciplinary Study on
the Regional Eco-History in Tropical Monsoon Asia: ῍ΐ῏ῐῌ῎ῌῌῐ” which was organized by Prof.
Tomoya Akimichi, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN). The project was supportedby the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan. We sincerely thank Prof. Yasuyuki
Kono, Kyoto University, leader of the forestry and agriculture group. We acknowledge with manythanks the assistance from Mr. Souriyanh Sisangrat (IDC), Mr. Souligneth Phompharchanh (exresearcher, Institute for Cultural Research, Ministry of Information and Culture, Laos), Mr. Phuwan
Duangdala and Dr. Nathan Badenoch (Northern Agriculture and Forestry Research Center, Laos).

References
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Kotegawa, Takashi. ῎ῌῌῐ. Field Map on Na Savang (Ay) Village. Forestry and Agriculture Group’s
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ῌῌῌῌ. ῎ῌῌῑ. Statistics 1975῍2005. Vientiane.
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Migrants and Distribution of Water Buffalo’ Meat and Beef in Luang Phabang]. In Higashi Azia
no Kazoku Chiiki Ethnicity: Kiso to Dotai [Family, Locality and Ethnicity in East Asia: Traditional
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477

Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. , No. , March  

Water, Livelihood and Health in Attapeu Province in Lao PDR

M>9DG>@6L6 Yutaka  ), M>9DG>@6L6 Kaoru  ), Bounphenh S6C<HDBH68@  )Traykhouane P=DJI6K6C  ), Kampheng C=DBA6H6@  ), W6I6C67: Toru  )Nanthasane V6CC6KDC<  ), H67: Shigehisa  ), N6@6IHJ Masami )KDH6@6 Yasuyuki ), Kongsap A@@=6KDC< ), Boungnong BDJE=6 )Michel SIGD7:A) and N6@6BJG6 Satoshi )Abstract
This paper presents the results of an investigation on water-borne infectious disease
conducted among the people of Attapeu province from   to  . Regardless of the lastcholera epidemic in Attapeu province, Lao PDR in the year  , the local peoples’
awareness of cholera was remarkably low, as demonstrated by the knowledge survey on
diarrheal diseases performed in the province in  . In the case study material, derived
from continuous field observations on malaria among permanent residents in relocatedvillages in Sanxay district from   to  , the infection rate among febrile cases was ashigh as  in the early resettlement period, while it was proved that the rate fell later to ῌ. Judging from the environmental condition of this settlement area, this paper
makes clear the persistent threat of malaria. Furthermore, among the villagers, hookworm
infection was highly prevalent. However, liver fluke infections were scarce and noascariasis was found from parasitic stool examination in  . Water quality analysis of
the water sources resulted in remarkably safe water from tube wells from   to  .
Keywords: Laos, Attapeu, relocation, ethnic minority, cholera, malaria, intestinal parasite.

   Suzuka University of Medical Science, Mie, Japan   School of Medicine, Mie University, Mie, Japan Department of Provincial Health Services, Attapeu, Lao PDR
 Centre for Laboratory and Epidemiology, Vientiane, Lao PDR
 College of Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA USA
 College of Nursing, Ministry of Health, Champasack, Lao PDR School of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan ῌ    Research Institute, International Medical Centre of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
Corresponding author’s e-mail: (Nakamura Satoshi) snakamurari.imcj.go.jp
  Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan  National Institute of Public Health, Vientiane, Lao PDR
 French Institute for Tropical Medicine, Vientiane, Lao PDR
478

M>9DG>@6L6 Y. et al. : Water, Livelihood and Health in Attapeu Province in Lao PDRI

IntroductionIῌῌ Water-borne and Food-borne Infections in Lao PDR
Lao PDR accomplished rapid economic development in the past two decades after the
Chinthanakaan mai policy of , with accompanying improvements of the healthcondition of the people [Nakamura and Iwasa : ]. However, water-borne andfood-borne diseases, including severe diarrheal diseases such as cholera, dysentery andintestinal parasitic infections are still the most common threatening people in Lao PDR.
According to government statistics, the major causes of death in  (  pairs of
population) were malaria ( ), ARI (Acute Respiratory Infections including pneumonia)
caused by bacterial and/or viral pathogens ( ) and diarrhea, including dysentery ( ),meningitis () and tuberculosis (), among others [Disease Statistics  : iii]. These

trends show no change in the year  [United Nations Country Team  : ῌ].
Hence, the water-borne infections like diarrhea and malaria are the most common causesof death. Water-borne disease is an illness caused by direct contact with water or aquatic
vectors, containing causative microbes. In particular, water-borne disease is functionallycommon to food-borne infectious disease, for the causative microbe is taken orally.
Infective diarrhea, for example, which is focused on food-borne viral, bacterial and/or
protozoan agents, is seldom studied in Lao PDR and as such, research on food-borne
diarrhea and food hygiene/sanitation has only just started in Laos [Agriculture andRural Development Department & Rural Development & Natural Resources East Asia
and Pacific Region : ῌ]. Also, not many studies have been performed on bacterial
diarrhea agents through field surveys in this country. However, some hospital-based orlimited local diarrhea survey results are available. As a typical example of pathogen
research in this country, there is the case report of the epidemic of cholera in ῌ
[Midorikawa et al. :  ῌ  ] and a review of a severe diarrhea and cholera epidemicin ῌ [Nakamura and Iwasa : ῌ ]. As for the causes of these epidemics,
only Vibrio cholerae O Ogawa strains have been reported till the present [Midorikawa etal. :  ῌ  ; Phantouamath et al. :  ῌ]. Common bacterial diarrhea agents
identified are enteropathogenic E. coli, Shigella spp., V. parahaemolyticus, Campylobacter
spp. and Salmonella Thyphi in Vientiane Capital [Yamashiro et al. :  ῌ;Phethsouvanh et al. : ῌ; Phethsouvanh et al. :  ῌ ]. Other infective
diarrhea microbes related to parasitic helminthes such as roundworms, hookworms,
tapeworms and liver flukes have been widely identified in the country [Phommasack et
al. : ῌ]. Some minor protozoan diarrhea agents such as Entamoeba spp. andGiardia intestinalis [Phetsouvanh et al. : ῌ], as well as Cryptosporidium spp. andCyclospora sp. have also been detected in Vientiane Capital [Takemasa et al.  : ῌ;Kimura et al.  :  ῌ ]. Regarding diarrheal virus identification, only Rotavirus in479῔῕῎῏῎ῒῑ ῐΐῐ ῐ ΐVientiane, [Yamashiro et al. ῍῕῕῔: ῎῍῕ῑῌ῎῍῕῕; Phethsouvanh et al. ῍῕῕῕: ῏῍῕ῌ῏῎῏; Phantouamath et al. ῎ῌῌῐ: ῎ῌ῏ῌ῎ῌῐ] and Norovirus in Champasack [Watanabe et al. ῎ῌῌῒ] have beenreported. Hepatitis A and E viruses have also been reported in Vientiane Capital [Bounlu
et al. ῍῕῕῔: ΐ῍ΐῌΐ῎῍]. Moreover, others like Leptospira spp. [Suzuki et al. ῍῕῕ΐ: ῐ῏ῒῌῐ῏ΐ; Laras
et al. ῎ῌῌ῎: ῎ΐ῔ῌ῎῔ῒ; Kawaguchi et al. ῎ῌῌ῔: ῕ῑΐῌ῕ῒ῍] and Schistosoma mekongi are known
important water-borne microbes in Lao PDR [Matsuda and Kirinoki ῎ῌῌῑ: ῍ῐ῏ῌ῍ῑῒ;
Nakamura ῎ῌῌΐ: ῎῍ΐῌ῎῎ΐ].

In addition to these studies, in the Mekong watershed in

Indo-China the research on the infection risk analysis of water supply systems [Watanabe
et al. ῎ῌῌῒ: ῍῔ῌ῎῍] and the model study on local water risk analysis using GIS [Miura et al.

῎ῌῌΐ: ῒ῍῍ῌῒ῍ῒ] has proved to be useful.
The water-borne factor is also related to mosquito-borne infections like malaria anddengue fever, because the vectors originated from a water environment. Therefore as
mentioned above, malarial death is common in Laos even today and remote rural
populations living in or near forests or hilly areas alongside streams are at a particularlyhigh risk [United Nations Country Team. ῎ῌῌΐ: ῎῕].
Iῌ῎ῌ Background of Diseases, Control and Prevention
The key background factors of such outbreaks of infectious diseases are malnutrition,
especially among children, and insufficient clean water supply. Although many cases ofmalnutrition are observed in rural areas, the actual conditions of specific areas are notreadily grasped, except in the case of a few in-depth studies [Kachondham and Dhanamitta ῍῕῕῎.: ΐ῕ῌ῔ΐ; Boupha et al. ῎ῌῌ῏: ῍ῌῒΐ; Miyoshi et al. ῎ῌῌῑ: ῔῔ΐῌ῔῕ῌ]. On the other hand,
it is commonly understood that maintenance of a clean water supply or sewer treatment
is indispensable in controlling water-borne infections. As in Japan, jurisdiction over thewater supply system of Lao PDR is divided between the Ministry of Public Works andTransport (MPWT) and the Ministry of Health (MOH). The former is responsible mainly
for supplying drinking water through a piped water system in urban areas, and the latterfor constructing tube-wells in rural areas. The Water and Water Resources Law wasenacted in ῍῕῕ῒ to ensure the maintenance of water quality. The drinking water quality
standard in the health sector was enacted as law within the government in ῎ῌῌῑ, which
required that E. coli is not detected in drinking water [Anonymous ῎ῌῌῑ: ΐ ]. However,
the efficacy of this microbiological standard is questionable, as access to safe water inrural areas was found to be only ῏ῑ῍ in research on national health knowledge andattitudes towards drinking water [Steering Committee for Census of Population andHousing ῎ῌῌῑ: ῍῍῔ῌ῍῍῕], and is not always reliable in the capital city either [Nakamura

῎ῌῌῒ: ῏ΐῌῐ῍].
In ῍῕ΐ῔ to ῍῕῔ῌ, the Lao government carried out a campaign for the “three hygienes”(sam sa-at), promoting awareness of water, foods, and clothes in the prevention ofwater-food-borne infections among rural people [Boupa and Dalaloy ῍῕῕ΐ: ῍῕]. This is acore idea of Primary Health Care (PHC) which will be mentioned later. The government
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finally specified the responsibilities for the nation’s health in the Constitution enacted in῍῔῔῎, and further enacted the Hygiene, Prevention and Health Promotion Law in ῎ῌῌ῍, andthe Law on Health Care in ῎ῌῌῑ. As for national food hygiene, the Law on Food wasenacted in ῎ῌῌῐ, and related regulations on bottled drinking water standards werebrought into force by the Ministry of Health in ῎ῌῌῑ. These laws are currently available
to view on the internet website of the Embassy of Japan in the Lao PDR.
As such in Lao PDR, the implementation of health policies has been guided by afive-year health plan whereby the control policy corresponding to diseases in urban areas
is hospital-based treatment. In rural areas, these policies are implemented by the PHC
system together with primary medical treatment administered by Village Health Volunteers (VHV) and a public health campaign to prevent diseases [Anonymous ῎ῌῌῌ: ῏ΐ῍ῐ῏].
The definition of PHC is that it “encompasses primary care, disease prevention, healthpromotion, population health (similar to public health), and community development
within a holistic framework, with the aim of providing essential community-focusedhealth care” [Shoultz and Hatcher ῍῔῔ΐ: ῎῏῍῎ῒ]. In Lao PDR, the government defined apublic access range to PHC, which implies the least accessibility of the rural people tohealth facilities such as a dispensary at the village. This zoning is overlapped with khet
or koumban (village cluster), which will be mentioned later.
On the other hand, these infections are closely related to poverty and the Poverty
Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), supported by the IMF-World Bank, lays out anapproach to improving health conditions through economic stimulus. In this strategy,
the government specified ΐ῎ poor districts ῍ including the ῐΐ poorest ones ῌ as a priority
poverty reduction area. In addition to this, the National Growth and Poverty Eradication
Strategy (NGPES) program included provisions for promoting health [Government of
Lao PDR ῎ῌῌῐ]. In this strategy, agricultural and forestry, education, health, and transportation infrastructure are stated as priority sectors. The basic policies, priority issues,and projects aimed at eradicating poverty by the year ῎ῌ῍ῌ are also described. NGPES isregarded as the core of the poverty reduction policy in the ῒ th National Socio-Economic
Development Plan (NSEDP: ῎ῌῌῒ῍῍ῌ), which was approved by the government in ῎ῌῌῒ. It
is also specified that the koumban should provide health care and PHC in mountainous
resettlement areas that are home to ethnic minority groups [Evrard and Goudineau ῎ῌῌῐ:῔ῐῑ῍῔ῐῒ]. Moreover, water sanitation is a health sector priority in the strategy.
I῍῏ῌ Resettlement and Health of Mountain Ethnic Minorities
Although the economy of Laos is developing quickly and living conditions and thelivelihood of the people are also improving, the situation of the public health services in
the mountainous poverty area mentioned is still not sufficiently improved. In manycases, health problems, such as increased mortality rates due to diarrhea, malaria, or
intestinal parasites have been reported as an element of the process of resettling mountain ethnic minorities in Laos. Some important surveys were carried out to investigate481ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῐΐ῎ ῐ ῑthe general background and the food situation in these resettlement schemes [Ducourtieux ῎ῌῌῐ: ῎ΐῌ῏ῌ]. According to Goudineau’s report on resettlement in the ῍῕῕ῌs, therelocation policy was originally based on the national policy to eliminate production ofopium by ethnic minorities and to increase the convenience and effectiveness of minority
groups’ access to public services. The justification for resettlement was then changed toenvironmental protection, and more specifically the prohibition of swidden agriculture[Goudineau ῍῕῕ΐ. Vol. ῍ : ῎῕ῌ῏ῒ]. Even after the year ῎ῌῌῌ, reports also told about the caseof the Akha, for example, in the northern part of the country, where the incidence of
vector-borne fever and other infectious diseases had increased at their new villages.
[Lyttleton et al. ῎ῌῌῐ: ῒ῎ῌῒῒ; Gonzales et al. ῎ῌῌῑ: ῏῏]. In the results of investigations in ῍῎villages sampled from Luang Phabang, Saravane and Attapeu provinces, the majordiseases were diarrhea and malaria. The studies showed that these diseases were still athreat to the people in the area [Sanogo and Vikan ῎ῌῌῒ: ῍ῐῌ῍ῑ]. Furthermore, according
to the Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA) report of the UNDP, dysentery andmalaria are still the major health issues in the villages surveyed for the previous PPA in῎ῌῌῌ [Chamberlain ῎ῌῌΐ: ῑῐ, ῒῐ].

II Objectives
In ῎ῌῌ῏ we started a health development study in collaboration with the Lao National
Institute of Public Health, Ministry of Health to assess the risk of diseases in rural areasof the country. Before this, we had been investigating the situation of food-water-borne
diseases in an area of Vientiane Capital where cholera had once occurred in ῍῕῕῕
[Nakamura and Marui ῎ῌῌῌ].
Regarding cholera, in the southern provinces, although the causative vibrios were
not fully identified, an immunization program with a Vietnamese oral vaccine wasconducted for the first time in Laos in some limited areas in Sekong and Attapeu
provinces during ῍῕῕ῑῌ῕ῒ [Nakamura and Iwasa ῎ῌῌ῔: ῎ῐ῎]. Following this, however, ῕῏῎cases of another outbreak of cholera occurred in ῎ῌῌῌ in all the districts of Attapeu
province except Sanxay [Songsomsack and The Secretary’s Team ῎ῌῌῌ: ῎ ]. Therefore,
we decided to investigate water-borne diseases in the province, where health careconditions are quite different from urban areas like Vientiane.
Our study aims to support the provincial health administration activities technicallythrough improving recognition of, and ways of coping with, water-borne diseases among
the local residents after an epidemic. Furthermore, support is provided through longterm observational studies to analyse health conditions related to water supply andwater quality, including parasitic infections in the relocation area of Sanxay district,Attapeu province (Fig. ῍ ), where the cholera vaccine had been administrated. The people
moved from a hilly environment to the present lowland environment several years ago
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M>9DG>@6L6 Y. et al. : Water, Livelihood and Health in Attapeu Province in Lao PDR

Fig. ῌ Relocation for Forming Focal Sites in Sanxay District in Attapeu
Note: Modification of the local administration map, ῎ῌῌ῍and supposed to experience health risk at the initial stage of resettlement. Hence, we
selected an investigation site in which both the infections and poverty overlap as an area.
Most data in previous reports was obtained by cross-sectional investigation in thenorthern part of the country, and there is little sustained field research on infectious
diseases in the southern part of the country. The results of continued investigation onmalaria and water-borne diseases in Attapeu province are presented in this article.

III MethodsIIIῌ῍ῌ Study Area
Attapeu province, the southernmost province in Lao PDR, has five districts: Samarkhixay, Sanamxay, Sanxay, Saysetha and Puvong, comprised of ῎ῌῒ villages with a total
population of ΐ῍῕῎ῐΐ (῎ῌῌῌ). According to the latest national census, the estimated crude
death rate of the province was one of the highest (῍῏῔῎ per ῍῕ῌῌῌ persons), comparable to
Oudomxay (῍῏῔ΐ) and Sekong (῍῏῔῏) provinces [Steering Committee for Census of Population and Housing ῎ῌῌῐ: ῍ῌῑῌ῍῍῍]. Several villages in the province (excluding Saysetha
district) were selected for administering of a diarrhea knowledge survey.
Ban Pak Pae (Pak Pae village) in Sanxay district (Fig. ῍ ) was selected as the site fora case study. The village was relocated in ῎ῌῌ῍ from its original mountain slope location
to the present village site. The villagers are all from the Alak ethnic minority, numbering483ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ῏ ῒ people and  households residingin  houses in . The known age
group structure is shown in Fig. .
Their ancestors originated in Sekong
About ῌ of the people

province.

were given oral cholera vaccines
during ῌ [Nakamura et al.  : ῌ]. Their mean annual income
was 



kip, with a range of ῌ   kip.
The largest change in livelihoods
was the shift from upland swidden
cultivation

to unfamiliar lowland

paddy cultivation. In the paddy fields
developed around the new village,

Fig. ῌ

Sanxay District, Attapeu Province in there is an increased risk of mosquito
populations which transmit malaria and/or Japanese encephalitis. On the positive side,
the benefits of their new lifestyle include enhanced education for their children andincreased access to medical services. However, villagers have to pay expenses associatedwith medical treatment. Therefore, people find themselves selling valuable livestock to
obtain cash for medical service payments. Moreover, some comparatively rich peoplebought hand-tractors for paddy cultivation, but faced problems in purchasing fuel to run
their new machinery.

The village was merged with two neighboring villages andrenamed Ban Phuxay (total population ca. ) after  . However, in this paper, we willcontinue to use the original name.
Health personnel, such as health volunteers, and health kits have been available in
the expanded village since  . Pak Pae villagers utilize two water sources for drinking
water and daily use water. One is the Pa river water located  m near of the village, andthe other is two shared tube-wells with hand pumps managed by villagers in the village.
These wells were both  m in depth and were installed by AusAID in . Villagers did
not own private water sources like wells or ponds. The district hospital is located about
km southeast of the village. Nutritional status measured by BMI among  adultvillagers sampled in Ban Phuxay indicated that almost half of the people are underweight ( ῌ), while no cases of obesity were observed (unpublished observation in 
and ). The daily meals in this area consist of steamed rice and fermented fish sauce
only.

484

M>9DG>@6L6 Y. et al. : Water, Livelihood and Health in Attapeu Province in Lao PDR

IV Study MethodsIVῌῌ Diarrhea Awareness and Practices among Residents of Attapeu ProvinceThis investigation was conducted through an interview survey of households using aquestionnaire in  villages from four districts: Sanxay, Sanamxay, Samarkhyxay andPhouvong, in February and March in .

These villages include:  villages of

Dapokmam, Hindam, Hindan, Somboun, Souksavong, Then, Vanaxay in Sanxay district, villages named Bok, Caoomphoy, Tatphyla, Hatuhao, Khang, Lanhum, Monang, Sapouan, Saysy, Smongtay, Somsanouk, Somsaypay, Thasengchanh in Sanamxay district, villages of Isok, Khang, Samarkhy, Sekhamane, Somsanouk, Somsouk, Tha, Thahin,
That, Xaysomboune in Samarkhy Xay district, the capital area of the province, and 
villages of Lagnaoneumay, Naxeuak, Phomseat, Vangngong, and Vangnhay in Phouvong
district. The population of these villages ranged between  and  . The structured
questionnaire included items such as diarrhea episodes of the past four weeks; knowledgeof common names of different diarrhea, dysentery, and cholera diseases; knowledge of
how to cope with diseases using medicines or medicinal plants; consulting traditional
healers; seeking local medicinal plants; and actual prescription knowledge of the medicinal plants (See Appendix).
IVῌῌ Household Health Survey in Pak Pae Village
Questionnaire surveys were conducted at Pak Pea resettlement village in  and in (See Appendix). For the household head or housewife, we asked through a structured
questionnaire about occupation, animal husbandry, annual income, water sources andutilization, type of toilet used, ownership of electric goods and mosquito nets, annual
illness episodes (especially febrile and diarrheal episodes) and their management in thelast two years up to December . These investigations were performed after full
informed and voluntary consent was obtained.

In  , a questionnaire survey on

diarrhea and on fever/ malaria was conducted.
IVῌῌ Water Quality Analysis in the Village
Water quality, specifically bacterial contamination of water sources, was measured withthe test-paper method [Midoriawa and Itokawa  :  ῌ ; Furusawa et al.  : ῌ ].
The paper was immediately submerged into the water sample (Sun Chemical Co. Ltd.),
and the E. coli colonies were numbered at ῍ after  hours. This count was theindicator of bacterial contamination, where no E. coli per  ml of water was thecriterion for safe drinking water, as defined in the Lao standards [Anonymous : ].
The survey was conducted yearly from  to  .
Microbial water analysis of the Pa river water was conducted in December ,485῔῕῎῏῎ῒῑ ῐΐῐ ῐ ΐlooking for contamination of Entamoeba spp. Vibrio cholerae, and norovirus. Forty litersof the sample water from the river was ῍ : ῐῌῌ concentrated using activated Diethylaminoethyl cellulose (DEAE) particle adsorption to detect the objective DNA sequences ofpathogens using Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method [Troll et al. ῍῕῕ΐ; Phetsouvanh
et al. ῎ῌῌ῔; Yano et al. ῍῕῕῏: ῎῕ῑῌ῎῕῔].

V Observation of Parasitic Infections in the VillageVῌ῍ῌ Malaria
When we visited the village in December ῎ῌῌ῏ there were many cases and fatalities froman unknown febrile disease suspected to be a malarial infection. Study of malarial
infection rates and the number of malarial patients was started from December ῎ῌῌῐ. The
study was conducted yearly during the dry season, until March ῎ῌῌ῔. Malaria parasites
were examined with Giemsa stain of blood smears [Midorikawa and Hapue ῍῕῕ΐ: ῏῍ῌ῏ῑ],
PCR method [Arai et al. ῍῕῕ῐ: ῒ῍ΐῌῒ῎ῒ], and OptiMAL-IT(DiaMed)kits using ῍ῌ ml of bloodcollected from the finger tip. Samples were collected by medical officers. Only thosepatients who agreed to be diagnosed were involved in the study. The number of villagers
participating was ῎ΐ people in ῎ῌῌῐ, ῑ῕ in ῎ῌῌῑ, ῒ῏ in ῎ῌῌῒ and ῐΐ in ῎ῌῌ῔.
Vῌ῎ῌ Intestinal Parasitic Infection
In December ῎ῌῌῒ, a total of ῍῎ῌ plastic bags were distributed to people who had remained
at Pak Pea village. Stool examination using a routine formalin-detergent technique[Waikagul et al. ῍῕῕ΐ: ῑῌ῍῍] was also used to collect enteric parasites and eggs. For thestool sample collection, we distributed plastic bags to the people under the full given
conditions of informed consent. Analysis of the samples was performed at a laboratory
at the provincial hospital.

VI ResultsVIῌ῍ῌ Diarrhea Awareness and Practices
The results of the questionnaire survey are shown in Table ῍. Among ῒῌ people interviewed, there was ῍ case of diarrhea in the past ῐ weeks. Although all the interviewees
knew about common diarrhea and dysentery, with the exception of Xaysomboune and
Sekhamane in Samarkhy Xay, all of them did not know the name of cholera and its
characteristics. On the other hand, ῔ῌ῍ of the residents knew some medicinal herbs to be
used in case of dysentery or common diarrhea. The most commonly cited medicinal plant
was Guava (Psidium guajava Linne). Of them, ΐῌ῍ used the plants as herbal tea (Fig. ῏A). Consulting a traditional healer at the time of diarrhea was rare, only occurring in ῐ
cases (ΐ῍).
486

M>9DG>@6L6 Y. et al. : Water, Livelihood and Health in Attapeu Province in Lao PDR
Table ῌKnowledge of Diarrhea Diseases and Treatment Using Medicinal Plants in Attapeu,
Lao PDR
Knowledge on (῎)
Medicinal Plants Usage on (῎)
Sampled Sampled
Village
HH
Diarrhea Dysentery Cholera Diarrhea Dysentery Cholera

District
Phouvong
Samarkhy Xay
Sanamxay
Sanxay





















*
 



Total











Note: *N῍ ,








 


**
***

῏










῏

**N῍ , ***N῍ , N῍ Aῌ Guava as Medicinal Tea
Fig. ῍

Bῌ A Plant (Azadirachta indica) for
Malaria Treatment

Medicinal Plants for Prevention of Diarrhea and Malaria Treatment

VIῌῌ Household Health Survey at Pak Pae Village in 2003
Among the  households cooperating in the survey (῎), the main drinking water
sources were well water ( cases) and river water ( case), as shown in Table . The
practice of boiling water for drinking took place in  cases (  ῎), and there was toilet
ownership in  cases ( ῎), while most of the people defecated on the ground in theforest.

All the houses had tin roofs and walls made of bamboo. Personal property

included a radio in  cases but no television set. Mosquito net ownership was found in cases (῎). Animal husbandry included  buffaloes,  pigs,  chickens, and 
ducks in . With regard to eating habits and food supply, the people traditionally took
meals twice daily, once each in the morning and the evening. Rice was the staple food,obtained from individual paddy fields. There was no rice surplus. Additional cultivationof maize was evidenced before the relocation. Cash income was made by the gatheringand selling of rattan from the forest: a bunch of  pieces of small-diameter, about  kg
in weight, could be sold for  to  US dollars in Vientiane. The actual selling price totraders at the village was   Kip per bunch. One man also earned wages by fishing,which was conducted on week-long trips.
487ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐTable ῌ῏ ῒResults of Household Interview Survey on Selected Items at Pak Pae Village, Sanxay
District, Attapeu in Item Interviewed

Number






 






 *

Population
House
FamilyNumber of the house head/wife interviewed
Occupation: farmer
Mean annual income (Kip)
Animal husbandry: Buffaloes (population)
Animal husbandry: Pigs (population)
Animal husbandry: Chicken (population)
Animal husbandry: Ducks (population)
Drinking water source: Tube well
Drinking water source: The Pa river
Drinking water practice: drinking water after boiling
Drinking water practice: drinking raw water
Ownership of toilet
Ownership of radio
Ownership of television
Ownership of mosquito net
Number of smoking habit (population)
Awareness of drug abuse







Note: * In some cases some did drink raw water or river water but boiled the water before
drinking
Table ῍

Disease Episodes from Interviews at Pak Pae Village
in  Years from  to 

Disease







Malaria/Fever
Diarrhea
DysenteryHelminthes
ARI
Measles
Others () ( )
() ()
()
 ( )
 ()

 ()
 ()
()
 ( )
 ()

 ( )

 ( )
 ( )
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA

Note: NA: not asked
Number in parenthesis is total case of episodeThe disease episodes reported during the year  were as follows (Table ): fever
was experienced in  households (ῌ) accounting for a total of  cases, of which only
three were referred to the district hospital, and at least  case was consulted by healthpersonnel. In the same year,

cases of measles were observed from  households( ῌ). Diarrhea was experienced in  households ( ῌ); among  cases, one consulted health personnel. The households experiencing dysentery totaled( ῌ), with

only one case out of an estimated  consulting a health worker. The known helminthes
488

M>9DG>@6L6 Y. et al. : Water, Livelihood and Health in Attapeu Province in Lao PDR

infection was  households (῍), which included  cases. There were at least  casesof ARI in  households ( ῍). Others reported problems included injury, where only household was concerned.
For the following year , the reported cases were as follows: households experiencing cases of fever (suspected to be malarial) numbered  (῍).

Four out of an

estimated  cases were referred to the district hospital and at least one case consulted ahealth worker.

There were( ῍) households experiencing diarrhea and among

these,  cases consulted a health worker;
and  among( ῍) households experienced dysentery,

estimated cases consulted a health worker, whereas only one household

was aware of helminthes infection, with  cases in the family. There were  cases of
ARI from the same household ( ῍);  households including

cases reported injury,

two of which were referred to the district hospital. In the year  , about  (῍) of theinterviewees experienced diarrhea and the total cases of diarrhea including the village
members was  cases.
VIῌῌ Microbial Contamination of the Drinking Water Sources
No E. coli contamination was confirmed at the two shared tube-wells with hand pumps
managed in the village in the annual surveys administered since December . Before
the resettlement, the people were using river water boiled at the mountainside village.
People used to drink tea from guava leaves and medicinal wood tip for diarrhea prevention. However, they usually drank unboiled water in the fields at that time. The Pa riverwater contained   coliform bacteria per  ml, indicating that the water was notsuitable for drinking.

However, no norovirus or Entoamoeba species was detected,

although the river might contain non-O non- Vibrio cholerae related strains whichhave a common DNA sequence with V. cholerae O, which was confirmed by the PCR.
VIῌ . Infectious Diseases in the Resettlement VillageVIῌ ῌῌ Fever and Malaria
In December  , interviews and blood collection were performed by  village healthvolunteers to detect malarial infections in  households. The age range of the sample
was ῌ . The number of unknown febrile episodes among interviewees and among
their family members was  ( ῍) and  cases, respectively. At least two malaria cases
were detected on site by microscopy. However,  out of  persons (  ῍) were infectedwith Plasmodium falciparum, later confirmed by PCR.

In , only one falciparum

malaria case among  displaced people was confirmed ( ῍) with a rapid test kit. In, a total of  displaced people were examined for malaria by rapid test;

cases ( ῍)

had falciparum malaria or mixed infection from P. falciparum plus P. vivax (vivax
malaria). These cases were all in children under  years old. Among the cases, threewere severe cases sent to the district hospital immediately. Another one was an adultvivax malaria case. In  ,  falciparum malaria cases ( ῍) among

consulting cases489῔῕῎῏῎ῒῑ ῐ  ΐFig. ῌ

Malaria Infection per Year from   to 
Village, Sanxay, Attapeu

at Pak Pae

were confirmed. The decreasing incidence tendency of malaria is shown in Fig. .
VIῌῌῌ Intestinal Parasites
A total of  samples were recovered. Within the sample,  samples contained somesputa or blank.

Therefore,  out of the households’ stool samples (῍) wererecovered. As for the results,  hookworm infections,  Trichuris trichiura infections,and  liver fluke (Opisthorchis viverrini) infections were confirmed (Table  ).

The

averages of the number of eggs in each  g (EPG) were ,  and , respectively. In
terms of age distribution,  ῍ of the infections were in children aged  years or less.
However, this finding was influenced by the age structure bias of the sample (Table  ).
Moreover, although  ῍, of cases had heavy infection, especially for hookworm and T.
trichiura, there was no gender difference in case repartition.
Table ῌConcerning protozoan

Results of Intestinal Parasite Infections at Pak Pae
Village in Sanxay, Attapeu in  

Egg of Parasite*

Case

Per cent Rate

Mean EPG**

Hookworm
Trichuris trichiura
Opisthorchis viverrini.






 


 
 
 

Note: * Modified Formalin-detergent method [Waikagul et al.
]** Egg per  g490

M>9DG>@6L6 Y. et al. : Water, Livelihood and Health in Attapeu Province in Lao PDR
Table ῌParasitic Infections by Age-group at Pak Pae Village
in 
῍

ῌ

 ῍

Total

 ( )No parasite
Hw
HwῌT







 ( )
 ()HwῌTῌothersHwῌothers





*







Total



( )
( )
()

Note: Hw: Hookworm, T: Trichuris trichiura* A case of Giardia intestinalis infection and an Entamoeba sp. infection case were included.

infection, a Entamoeba sp. case and a Giardia intestinalis case were confirmed, both inadult males.

VII Discussion
It is surprising that, according to our results on awareness of diarrheal diseases, the local
people were apparently not aware of cholera. This is despite the fact that provincial
health staff had provided health education for prevention of cholera during every
diarrhea epidemic in the region since  [Songsomsack and the secretary’s team : ]. A report of the cholera education team told that they provided interventions at villages ( ῎) in the

districts from  to  (Report of cholera education in

Attapeu province ῌ) when the last cholera outbreak occurred in the region. The
report also revealed that an insufficient budget for local government resulted in both
short time and low motivation among the work team as well as a lack of the relevant
education materials. Furthermore, the same report pointed out that few participants
were attending the intervention sessions because of their work in the rice fields. In 
and afterwards, the Lao government stopped using the term “cholera,” in order to protect
the country’s trade profits on trade except for the  epidemic [Nakamura and Iwasa

: ].
In relation to water safety among the studied village population, most people prefer
to use the safe (pathogenic bacteria-free) tube well water, and only one case reported
drinking non-boiled river water. It is not clear why tube well water was not used in thelatter case. The river water PCR revealed that it might contain a V. cholerae O  related
strain [Nakatsu et al. ]; this means that the water source will bear a risk of vibrio
infection [Phetsouvanh et al. ]. Although most of the villagers were using clean well
water for drinking, there were many diarrhea episodes annually. It should be noted thatthe causes were chronic malnutrition among the people, food contamination due to491ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῐΐ῏ ῐ ῒunclean food handling, or polluted teacups and/or cookware usage, among others.
We do not have comprehensive data on malaria infection from ῎ῌῌ῎ῌῌ῏ after the Alakpeople relocated from the mountain area to the plain area. However, in Sanxay district,the rate of malaria infection is comparatively high within the province [Phetsouvanh etal. ῎ῌῌῐ: ῑῐΐῌῑῑ῍].

However, we observed a large number of fever cases.

It can be

estimated that the remarkable spread of malaria began among these people immediately
after migration and persisted until ῎ῌῌῐ. At the beginning of these malaria outbreaks,
people could not cope with the disease. Instead of using medicine for malaria such as
chloroquine or quinine, people in Pak Pae village tried to collect and use grass and herbal
teas that were not effective at that time. The use of traditional treatments can besummarized as: ( ῍ ) The villagers thought that those grass and herbal tea were effective
for malarial parasites. ( ῎ ) They had no idea of anti-malarial medicines such as chloroquine. ( ῏ ) In fact, even if they had the knowledge, medicines such as chloroquine andquinine were too expensive for them to buy. The medicinal herbs that they used as amalaria treatment were sold on the Attapeu market in ῎ῌῌῐ disappeared from the market
after ῎ῌῌῑ (Fig. ῏ B). This means that migrating people in Pak Pae village had learned
better methods and used effective anti-malarial medicine. For the prevention of malaria,
the focal site including Pak Pae village is located along with Pa River, which flows
throughout the dry season.

This means that the malaria vectors can breed there

year-round. As an example, the malaria infection rate in Pier Keo village (La Ve ethnic
group), located ΐ km from Pak Pae, was as high as ῐῌῌ, and the vector mosquito has
been identified as Anopheles dirus [Sidavon et al. ῎ῌῌῐ: ῏ῌ῕ῌ῏῍ῑ]. Recently, it has beenshown that ordinary mosquito nets do not prevent malarial infection, because eventhough the distribution of nets has been completed, people are still being bitten bymosquitoes [Vythilingam et al. ῎ῌῌῑ: ῔῏῏ῌ῔῏῕]. Moreover, it is pointed out that their housestructure is not what can fully prevent invasion of mosquitoes either.

In addition,

concerning falciparum malaria, although drug resistance is a little lower in the southernpart as compared with northern Laos, the genotype variation analysis showed thatchloroquine-resistant mutagenicity was about ῍ῌῌῌ in Attapeu and the adjacent provinces of Sekong and Champasack, thus a combination of medicine other than chloroquine
is needed for medical treatment in the near-future [Mayxay et al. ῎ῌῌΐ: ῏ῒῌῐ῏]. For thesereasons, the risk of malaria infection from the vectors in this area is considered high, evenin the future. Hence, systematic and immediate countermeasures, such as easier access totherapeutic facilities, and the improvement of housing are essential.
NGPES specifies that intestinal parasitic infections may still be a threat to people inrelocated communities [Government of Lao PDR ῎ῌῌῐ: ῔῕].

The sample size in ourinvestigations at Pak Pae village was small, and thus sufficient conclusions cannot be
drawn. However, the rate and intensity of hookworm infection was demonstrated to bevery high. Interestingly, no Ascaris lumbricoides infection case was found despite the factthat it is very common in both urban and rural settings in Laos [Phathammavong et al.
492

M>9DG>@6L6 Y. et al. : Water, Livelihood and Health in Attapeu Province in Lao PDR

῎ῌῌΐ: ῒ῔῕ῌῒ῕ῐ; Erlanger et al. ῎ῌῌ῔: ῎῎῏ῌ῎ῐ῎]; the liver fluke infection rate was also very low.
This may be explained by the fact that the people’s resettlement time from the mountains
to lowlands was short and eating habits did not change. There are still significant
differences with lowland diets; for example, relocated uplanders do not eat raw foods,
such as fish.

VIII Conclusions
Our continuous and cross-sectional studies in the resettlement village clearly demonstrate that febrile diseases, especially malaria, are still a threat to the people, and control
measures are needed in the area. If the conditions of one’s living environment change, thekind of infections acquired will change and countermeasures towards them must change
as well. Migration into areas where the health service system is not well developed raises
the risk of infectious disease, as shown in the research site. There should be a simultaneous effort to increase government-led countermeasures and awareness-raising. Thesepublic health measures will have a high impact on local peoples’ nutrition conditions,which is a critical part of poverty eradication, and thus should be coordinated closelywith these socio-economic development strategies locally.
The cases of diseases demonstrated in this study are similar to those previously
performed in Lao PDR. [Ducourtieux ῎ῌῌῐ: ῎ΐῌ῏ῌ; Gonzales et al. ῎ῌῌῑ: ῏῏; Sanogo andVikan ῎ῌῌῒ: ῍ῐῌ῍ῑ; Lyttleton et al. ῎ῌῌῐ: ῒ῎ῌῒῒ], and are closely related to agricultural
subsistence problems. In particular, people’s nutrition status is the most important factor
for the prevention of communicable diseases. Although technical guidance, particularly
in connection with rice production, is not described in the NGPES, it is thought that astable supply of rice and its surplus are especially important for health promotion in thearea. Hence, further investigation should be performed, with special emphasis on anemia
and nutritional status, and put in relation to communicable diseases including intestinal
parasitic infections. A major implication of this study is that the local government
should continue to grasp disease structure to increase health care services, and especiallyin the resettlement areas, it is necessary to consider the public health service program
corresponding to inevitable change of the living environment.

Acknowledgements
We thank the technical staff and directors of both Sanxay district hospital and the provincial
hospital of Attapeu and Dr. Boupha Thongmalayvong of the National Institute of Public Health forsample collection and technical help of the surveys. Thanks are due to Professor Tatsuo Omura of
Tohoku University, Professors Tomoya Akimichi and Kazuhiko Moji of the Research Institute for
Humanity and Nature, Dr. Phengta Vongphrachanh of the National Centre for Laboratory andEpidemiology, and Dr. Kinjiro Miyakawa, former Professor of Kagawa University, for their support.
We also wish to thank Dr. Nathan Badenoch for providing information on resettlement. The study493ῒΐῌ῍ῌῐ῏ ῐΐ῎ ῐ ῑwas supported in part by grant in aid under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology (MEXT) in Japan (No. ῍ΐῑ῕ῌῑ῏ῌ), by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature,
MEXT in the project entitled “A Trans-Disciplinary Study on the Regional Eco-History in Tropical
Monsoon Asia: ῍῕ῐῑ῍῎ῌῌῑ,” and by MEXT in the project entitled “Sustainable Co-existence of
Humans, Nature and The Earth” under Research Revolution ῎ῌῌ῎.

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Watanabe, T.; Miura, T.; Sasaki, T.; Nakamura, S; and Omura, T. ῎ῌῌῒ. Mekong Ryu-iki ni okeru
Mizu-kyokyu Sisutemu ni Chakumoku shita Suikei-kansensho no Risuku-hyoka. [Risk Evaluation of Infectious Diseases Associated with Drinking Water Based on Water Supply System]
Environmental Engineering Research [Kankyo-Kogaku Kenkyu Ronbun-shu] ῐ῏: ῎ῐῑῌ῎ῑῐ.
Yamashiro, T.; Nakasone, N.; Higa, N.; Iwanaga, M.; Insisiengmay, S.; Phounane, T.; Munnalath, K.;
Sithivong, N.; Sisavath, L.; Phanthauamath, B.; Chomlasak, K.; Sisulath, P.; and Vongsanith, P.
῍῕῕῔. Etiological Study of Diarrheal Patients in Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic. J
Clin Microbiol. ῏ῒ(῔): ῎῍῕ῑῌ῎῍῕῕.
Yano, K.; Yoshida, Y.; Shinkai, T.; and Kaneko, M. ῍῕῕῏. A Practical Method for the Concentration ofViruses from Water Using Fibriform Cellulose and Organic Coagulant. Wat. Sci. Tech. ῎ΐ(῏ῌῐ):῎῕ῑῌ῎῕῔.

497ΐ῔῍῎῍ῑῐ ῐΐ῏ ῐ ῒAppendix
Questionnaire items for diarrhea survey in Attapeu province, February-March, ῍ῌῌῐ῍ ῌ Name of village, district, and date of interview;῎ ῌ Total population, and number of households;
῏ ῌ Name of interviewee, age and sex;ῐ ῌ Have knowledge on: common diarrhea, dysentery, cholera;ῑ ῌ Know some plant remedies for: common diarrhea, dysentery, cholera;ῒ ῌ If positive response to ῑ: self treatment with plants for diarrhea; usages with help of medicine
man; knows where to collect medicinal plants; know how to prepare plant remedies;ΐ ῌ Diarrhea episode in the preceding ῐ weeks;
Baseline data survey items on Ban Pak Pae, Sanxay district, Attapeu province, December, ῍ῌῌ῎῍ ῌ Village: , House number: , Answered by: , Name of enumerator: , Date of interview: ,῎ ῌ Household information: Number, Name, Sex, Age Relation, Occupation, Schooling, Place ofliving;῏ ῌ Animal husbandry: Number of: Oxen Cow, Buffalo, Pig, Goat, Sheep, Chicken, Duck, Goose, other;ῐ ῌ Household income in the last year (Kip): Regular income/Salary, Wage labor, Selling crop,
Selling animal, Remittance, other, Total income;ῑ ῌ Loans;ῒ ῌ Water resource; Availability, drinking practice, utilization purposes, taste, and volume: Tube
well, Dug well, Tap water, Fountain, River, Pond, Weir, Rain water, Tank, Bottled, other;ΐ ῌ Ownership of the wells;῔ ῌ Toilet: No toilet, Outside on ground, River/Canal, Bore hole/Pit, Latrine with water, Flush toilet,
other;
῕ ῌ Housing: Traditional style house made of: Bamboo wall, Wood, Bamboo and wood wall, Woodand cement/block; completely block build house;
῍ῌῌ Possessions: Radio, Television, Refrigerator, Tape-recorder, Bicycle, Motorbike, Thak-Thak,
Jambo, Tuk-Tuk, Automobile;῍῍ῌ Disposition of daily wastes/garbage: Fixed place, Routine collection, Scatter around the house,
other;῍῎ῌ Disease and consultation: Number of disease cases in your family if you aware at present year(῎ῌῌ῏) and in the last year (῎ῌῌ῎). And with whom she/he consulted the case.; Disease: Common
cold/ARI, TB, Malaria/fever, Diarrhea, Dysentery, Helminthes, Tetanus, Dengue, Polio, Measles,
Diabetes, Cancer, Animal bite, Accidental Wound, other῍῏ῌ Usage of bed net; Smoking habit: Information awareness on drug abuse.
Questionnaire items for diarrhea and fever/malaria survey at Pak Pae village, Sanxay district,Attapeu province in December ῍ῌῌ῏῍ ῌ Date of interview, Name of surveyor, Interviewee: name, age, sex, Number of the household;῎ ῌ Experience of the cholera vaccine during ῍῕῕ῑῌ῕ῒ;῏ ῌ Interviewee’s episode on severe diarrhea and/or abdominal pain in the year;ῐ ῌ The family members’ episode on severe diarrhea and/or abdominal pain in the year;ῑ ῌ If replied to ῐ, check the number of people with the episode;ῒ ῌ Interviewee’s episode on fever and/or malaria in the year;ΐ ῌ The family members’ episode on fever and/or malaria in the year;῔ ῌ If replied to ΐ, check the number of people with the episode.

498

|'? ῌ῍ ῌ  47 
Index to Southeast Asian Studies Vol. 47
47  1
Rural Credit and Community Relationships
in a Northern Vietnamese Village  O@6: Takashi  3 
The Politics of National Identity in West Malaysia:
Continued Mutation or Critical Transition ?  Helen T>C<  31 
Filipino Refugees in Sabah: State Responses, Public Stereotypes
and the Dilemma Over Their Future AO>O6= K6HH>B  52 
“Making of Community” in a Commercialized Community
in Northern Thailand Atchara R6@NJI>9=6GB  89   

 !" 2008" 467p. # $% 111

Teri Shaffer Yamada. Modern Short Fiction of Southeast Asia: A Literary History.
Ann Arbor: Association for Asian Studies, 2009, x&358p.Ronald D. R:C6G9 113
Ko-lin Chin. The Golden Triangle Inside Southeast Asia’s Drug Trade.
Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2009, xi&280p. Ronald D. R:C6G9 116'()(*+,- ῌῌ ./0123456789:9 ῌῌ ; < 11947  2
War’s Ontogeny: Militias and Ethnic Boundaries in Laos and ExileHjorliefur JDCHHDC 125
Decentralization, Empowerment and Tourism Development:
Pai Town in Mae Hong Son, Thailand Duangjai LDGI6C6K6C>I 150

= >?@AB5C(DEFGH(IJKL M N O P 180
1930 QR(STUVWX YZ[4\]^_
ῌῌ T`a\BbcU0defgh(ijk ῌῌ l mn 210

Grace Barretto-Tesoro. Identity and Reciprocity in 15th Century Philippines.
BAR International Series 1813. John and Erica Hedges Ltd., 2008, 193p
Micheal Joseph P6AJ<6 227 opq

rstu (vwxy ῌῌ z{|'?}t4xy(0~?

}t 19   !" 2009" 900p.     229
Y3( ῌῌd{UB5C῍

Y^_( ῌῌ  )   233

499

ῌ῍ῌ

47 ῌ 3 ῍Land Use Changes in the Uplands of Southeast Asia: Proximate and Distant Causes
Introduction  Stephen J. L:>HO, KDCD Yasuyuki et al. 237
Linkage of Forest Policies and Programs with Land Cover and Land Use
Changes in the Northern Mountain Region of Vietnam:
A Village-level Case Study  D6D Ming Truong et al. 244
Continuity and Discontinuity in Land Use Changes:
A Case Study in Northern Lao Villages Thatheva S6E=6C<I=DC< et al. 263
Dynamics of Land Cover and Land Use Changes in the Upper
Ca River Basin of Nghe An, Vietnam  Stephen J. L:>HO 287
Understanding Changes in Land and Forest Resource Management
Systems: Ratanakiri, Cambodia  Jefferson FDM, John B. VDA<:G et al. 309
Agrarian Land Use Transformation in Northern Laos: from Swidden
to Rubber  Sithong T=DC<B6C>KDC<, FJ?>I6 Yayoi et al. 330
Changing Adaptive Strategies of Two Li Ethnic Minority Villages
in a Mountainous Region of Hainan Island, China UB:O6@> Masahiro, J>6C< Hongwei 348
47 ῌ 4 ῍

Agency, Opportunity and Risk: Commercialization and Human-nature
Relationships in Laos
Introduction KDCD Yasuyuki 365
Nathan B69:CD8= et al.
The Trading of Agro-forest Products and Commodities
in the Northern Mountainous Region of Laos  YD@DN6B6 Satoshi 374
Can Paper Mulberry Contribute to Building Sustainable
Rural Livelihoods in Northern Laos ? Andreas N::;, 403
Pornsiri SJ:7EDC<H6C< et al.
Time-geographic Analysis on Natural Resource Usein a Village of the Vientiane Plain  N>H=>BJG6 Yuichiro, 426
O@6BDID Kohei et al.
Conflict between Water Buffalo and Market-Oriented Agriculture:
A Case Study from Northern Laos  T6@6> Yasuhiro, 451
Thanongsone S>7DJC=:J6C< et al.
Water, Livelihood and Health in Attapeu Provincein Lao PDR  M>9DG>@6L6 Yutaka, 478
M>9DG>@6L6 Kaoru et al.

500