Daily Life in Laos

Laotian society is characterized by semi-independent rural villages engaged in subsistence agricultural production. Ethnic, geographic, and ecological differences create variations in the pattern of village life from one part of the country to another.

Life and river are tightly linked and connected, with strong dependencies.

Laotian women are the pillar of laotian rural economy, even if their status depends a lot from the ethnic group they belong to.

Women are often occupied in most time consuming and hard works and rarely go to school.
The advanced multimedia technology in homes does not compare to the other aspects of daily life which is observed to be very simple and frugal.

Having advanced multimedia technology in homes is becoming the apparent priority towards modernization in the most underdeveloped country in Asia.

Laotian of all ages spend many hours of the day watching and chasing tv dramas from Thailand or China and American movies.

 

During my trek to Ban Pha Yong, a Hmong village, I was approached by warm, welcoming villagers who greeted me with delicious Lao food. Being in a village that is at a long distance from tourists and travellers to get to, it is surprising that ways of modernization and western influences have been observed (e.g., the way of dress: T-shirt vs. ethnic dress, way of constructing homes: concrete vs. bamboo, way of entertainment: TV vs. play in nature). The structure of Hmong villages are circular and influences the build of relationships between families. Instead Khmu villages follows the road and develops their structure across main street: maye for this reason, social relationships are weaker.
During my trek to Ban Pha Yong, a Hmong village, I was approached by warm, welcoming villagers who greeted me with delicious Lao food. Being in a village that is at a long distance from tourists and travellers to get to, it is surprising that ways of modernization and western influences have been observed (e.g., the way of dress: T-shirt vs. ethnic dress, way of constructing homes: concrete vs. bamboo, way of entertainment: TV vs. play in nature).
The structure of Hmong villages are circular and influences the build of relationships between families. Instead Khmu villages follows the road and develops their structure across main street: maye for this reason, social relationships are weaker.