Lao PDR - Rural life - Slash and burn cultivation
After drying on the upland field for several days, an Akha Cherpia ethnic minority woman threshes the rice sheaves with a wooden threshing tool to remove the grain before carrying back to the village in sacks. Swidden cultivation or ‘hai’ in Lao consists of cutting the natural vegetation, leaving it to dry and then burning it for temporary cropping of the land, the ash acting as a natural fertiliser. Shifting cultivation practices, although remarkably sustainable and adapted to their environment in the past, have come under increasing stress in recent decades and are now starting to be a major problem in Lao PDR, causing widespread deforestation and watershed degradation.
Add to Cart Add to Lightbox Download