Lao PDR - Rural life - Swidden rice fields during the 'Green Season' in Houaphan province

'The Green Season', swidden rice fields in Houaphan 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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Copyright: Tessa Bunney
Image Size: 4000x2999 / 3.3MB; Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Laos Lao PDR Lao PDR Tessa Bunney rural life Houaphan province remote countryside environment land landscape mountainous hilly hill hills trees tree forest jungle slash and burn slash and burn rice swidden hai crop crops field farm farming subsistence work working food production agriculture steep hillside cultivation degradation deforestation isolated ethnic minority ethnic minority minorities hill tribe upland green season green August rainy
Contained in galleries: Tessa Bunney - All pics, Lao PDR - Rural life still life

'The Green Season', swidden rice fields in Houaphan 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.