[Original by Shigeru KIMURA, Laos Project (Feburuary 8, 2018); Translated by M. Takahashi/A. Senkoff]
In the Laos project, a new three-year project will be launched in March to help rural people independently manage and use natural resources such as forests and rivers, which remain the bedrock of their livelihoods. Before the project will be launched, we are selecting a village which we will support. We cannot choose freely which village we will support. Instead, we have to obtain permission from each administrator with regards to each village. That is why we must carefully gather information and analyze it to select a village that has the purpose of our activities as much as possible.
First of all, we will discuss with the provincial coordinator what are the problems in the area and decide on a specific area. We observe and analyze the topography and land-use very carefully in the area’s satellite photograph, and at the same time the staff visit those villages and interview village leaders to gather information.
We will aim for projects that respond to the real needs of residents. We do not only rely on information obtained from administration and village leaders, but also from the population census of the country as a whole. This census information is gained by each and every staff member who visits villages and the landscape. Furthermore staff members also consult with villagers and all of those individuals concerned. All of this information allows us to begin and select an appropriate village.
At the village of Atsaphangthong district
GPS training
Interviewing the village head
