Livelihoods
Traditionally most of the villages on the
Plateau have cultivated rice, hunted wildlife for meat, fished, and gathered plant
products from the forests for immediate use or storage. In agriculture, shifting
cultivation has been the primary means of subsistence. Traditionally, livestock has been a
source of wealth rather than an economic enterprise. They are sold in times of need.
Photo: Andrew Wyatt
Shifting cultivation at Ban Kay Oh
However, traditional values have recently been challenged and there is an increasing move
towards the commercialisation of agriculture, livestock, and other resources based on salt
mining, forest products, exotic wildlife and river products, in order to obtain cash to
purchase more clothing, medicine and household goods. Cash is also increasingly used to
purchase rice as cultivated land becomes increasingly scarce and less fertile.
Photo: Andrew Wyatt
Fishing on the Nam Theun
Photo: Andrew Wyatt
Buffaloes grazing on the banks of the Nam Theun
Photo: Philip Hirsch
Paddy rice at Ban Don
