Located in the far southeast corner of the country, Attapeu is one of the most remote provinces in Lao PDR. Attapeu has only developed reliable transport and communication links with the rest of the country since the mid-1990s. People in the province are still relatively poor compared to people in the rest of the country. Thirty percent of the population live in remote mountainous areas, practice upland crop cultivation and suffer from chronic food shortages. The remaining 70 percent live in the lowlands river valleys producing rice. They too suffer from frequent food shortages and marginal livelihoods. Basic public services such as health and education are under-resourced and service providers struggle to meet the needs of the local people. Currently, only an estimated 61 percent of children attend school, only 27 percent of the schools have latrines and 60 percent of the households have access to clean water. There is only one hospital and 20 village clinics to serve a provincial population of just over 200 000 people.
Provincial authorities have determined that there are over 9 000 households living in poverty and in need of assistance[1]. Reducing poverty is a high priority for the provincial government and food security is one of the key indicators of poverty and vulnerability. Assistance is provided in the form of ‘food for work’ development projects, distribution of rice seed on credit, credit to buy buffaloes and charitable handouts of food, blankets and medicines.
One of the main long-term strategies for development in the province is the expansion of the agricultural sector, especially rice production. The province has over 14 000 ha of lowland rice production land and ranks seventh in the country for its potential in rice production. Currently, only 3 500 ha are under rainfed rice cultivation and another 448 ha is irrigated paddy land. Because of the perceived under-use of land, provincial development planning objectives include the movement of poor families from mountainous areas and helping them establish villages in more productive lowland rice producing areas. Another key objective of provincial planning authorities is to increase the area under irrigation to 1 000 ha within the next year. This is combined with efforts to increase rice production through the use of improved varieties and a provincial station that is currently producing seed for distribution to farmers. In addition to increasing rice production, the province also plans to promote livestock production as a secondary source of income.
Three villages were selected according to the criteria listed previously (see Site Selection).
Tamoyot Village in Sanamsai District is a small village consisting of 28 households with a population of approximately 158 people. Most people are Su, one of the many ethnic Mon Khmer groups of the Upland Lao or Lao Theung peoples. Tamoyot is a fairly remote village, located about 13 kilometers from the district town of Sanamsai. The people of Tamoyot make a living from growing upland rice and foraging in the forest and wetlands. Food shortages are common, and many households only produce enough rice to last a few months. Most households rely heavily on fishing and foraging in local streams and wetlands as part of their livelihood strategy. There has been an effort to promote paddy rice production, but people are reluctant to make the changes required to shift from their tradition of upland cultivation.
Saisi Village in Saisetha District is located on the banks of the Se Kamon River. The village has been long established and currently consists of 200 households with a population of 1 062 people. The villagers are ethnic Lao and make a living by producing paddy rice, growing vegetables, and fishing in the Se Komon River. Because the village is on the river, villagers can easily get to markets in nearby towns to buy and sell. Most of the families produce enough rice for consumption and some families produce a surplus for sale. Many families, however, still suffer from rice shortages during certain months and have to rely on alternative sources.
Gayeu Village in Samakisai District is located near a provincial town on the main road to Sekong Province and Pakse town in Champasak Province. The villagers of Gayeu are primarily ethnic Oyi, a sub-group of Lao Theung. The village consists of 78 households with a population of 428 people. Gayeu is located on a plain between a mountain range and the Se Kong River. The villagers have a history of producing paddy rice and have a highly developed system of terraced rice fields that extend to the foot of the mountain. Although the village rice land is considered productive, many households still experience shortages of food. Villagers supplement their livelihoods by fishing in a nearby oxbow lake and the Se Kong River and have developed a unique system of trap ponds in their paddy fields.
When asked to brainstorm livelihood activities, participants from the three villages came up with extensive and variable lists. The total number of activities listed ranged from 25 to 72, although some villages tended to group activities rather than split them into separate activities (i.e. ‘fishing’ rather than ‘fishing with a gill net and ‘fishing with a cast net’, etc.). Most were economic activities such as different types of production (i.e. crops and livestock) and foraging (i.e. collecting crabs, mushrooms), but household duties (cooking, carrying water, etc.) were also listed. Related activities such as net making and tool making were also prevalent, showing that most households remain somewhat independent of outside economic influences. This activity provided valuable insights into the complex nature of livelihoods in the project area and gave a better general understanding of importance of fishing and aquatic resource related activities in relation to other activities. Table 3 summarizes the results from all three villages. It is interesting to note that there are minor differences between men’s and women’s responses and a large difference between better-off and worse-off households. One of the differences is that ‘collecting aquatic animals’ was ranked fairly low by better-off households (too low to be included in this summary), but was ranked higher than ‘fishing’ by worse-off households.
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‘Better-off’ typically means families that own (or have hereditary rights to) land and are actively engaged in agricultural production. People in better-off households spend more time engaged in production and usually have more cash to spend on food items. Better-offs have more options in terms of obtaining food, the quantity of food obtained and how they use their time. |
Table 3: Priority of activities
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Men from better-off households |
Women from better-off households |
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· rice production |
· rice production |
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Men from worse-off families |
Women from worse-off families |
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· rice production |
· food preparation |
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[1] The term
‘poverty’ is based on the local criteria of adequate housing, food
security, household assets such as livestock, and annual income below $US
20. |
