Lao PDR - Rural life - Nam Ou river

Local boatman/fisherman, Khamphao prepares fish for cooking over an open fire which he has just caught by dynamite fishing in the Nam Ou river, Phongsaly province, Lao PDR. The Nam Ou river connects small riverside villages and provides the rural population with food for fishing. It is a place where children play and families bathe, where men fish and women wash their clothes. But this river and others like it, that are the lifeline of rural communities and local economies are being blocked, diverted and decimated by dams. The Lao government hopes to transform the country into “the battery of Southeast Asia” by exporting the power to Thailand and Vietnam.

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Filename: A0024735cc_1.jpg
Copyright: Tessa Bunney
Image Size: 4000x3000 / 1.0MB; Asia Bunney Lao Lao PDR Laos Laoseng Nam Nam Ou Ou PDR Phongsali Phongsaly Southeast Southeast Asia Tessa countryside ethnic ethnic minorities ethnic minority minorities minority remote river rural traditional village fish fishing dynamite food catch caught boatman fisherman local lifeline riverside grill open fire
Contained in galleries: Lao PDR - Nam Ou River, Tessa Bunney - All pics

Local boatman/fisherman, Khamphao prepares fish for cooking over an open fire which he has just caught by dynamite fishing in the Nam Ou river, Phongsaly province, Lao PDR. The Nam Ou river connects small riverside villages and provides the rural population with food for fishing. It is a place where children play and families bathe, where men fish and women wash their clothes. But this river and others like it, that are the lifeline of rural communities and local economies are being blocked, diverted and decimated by dams. The Lao government hopes to transform the country into “the battery of Southeast Asia” by exporting the power to Thailand and Vietnam.