Lao PDR - Rural life - Slash and burn cultivation

A partially harvested rice field, Ban Na Nam, Phongsaly Province, Lao PDR. Slash and burn 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.

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Filename: A_11304cc_1.jpg
Copyright: Tessa Bunney
Image Size: 4000x3000 / 2.0MB; Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Laos Lao PDR Lao PDR Tessa Bunney rural life Phongsaly Phongsali remote countryside environment land landscape mountainous hilly hill hills slash and burn slash burn rice harvest harvesting swidden hai crop crops field farm farming subsistence work working food production agriculture steep hillside agriculture cultivation
Contained in galleries: Tessa Bunney - All pics, Lao PDR - Rural Life

A partially harvested rice field, Ban Na Nam, Phongsaly Province, Lao PDR. Slash and burn 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.