[Originally written by Miki GOTO and published in the JVC Newsletter “Trial & Error” (No. 353, April 20, 2023); Translated by Y. Miki/A. Turner] JVC’s Laos project relocated its base of activities from Savannakhet Province to Sekong Province in the southeastern part of the country last year. As rich natural resources are in danger of disappearing due to large-scale development and the cultivation of cash crops, we are engaged in activities that allow residents to manage and use these natural resources on their own. In February 2023, I made a business trip to Sekong, and would like to share with you some of their activities and the town around the…
Community forest to protect natural resources
[Original (March 29, 2022); Translated by E. Miyazaki /A. Taguchi] In the rural areas of Laos, people have been taking food and timber from rich forests as much as they need for their daily lives. However, as the economy rapidly developed in recent years, plantations and dams were constructed and deforestation increased. People faced conflicts about unfair land expropriation and deforestation due to ambiguous boundaries of villages and forests. To prevent such conflicts, we created “community forests” in two villages. We chose an area in the forest that the villagers wanted to preserve and registered it as a conservation forest at the public administration office. We also placed signboards showing…
We provided legal training to protect villagers’ rights
[Original (March 9, 2022); Translated by J. Tsuchiya/A. Taguchi] In Laos, the lands of villagers in rural areas, which they use for daily life, are often grabbed and destroyed by developers without any sufficient compensation. In addition, excessive production of cash crops and woodcutting, including those done by the villagers themselves, cause unnoticed deforestation. To improve this situation, the villagers need a guide to lead a stable life by preserving natural resources and the lands which are the basis of their livelihood as well as to be able to protect their own rights. Therefore, we implemented legal training on land use and other important legal information they need. From 2018…
Project to help the residents in the rural areas of the Savannakhet Province to manage and use natural resources
[Original (March 7, 2019); Translated by E. Miyazaki/M. Olagoke] ◉Project areas JVC will implement projects in two districts in the Savannakhet province which is located in the middle south of Laos. It is adjacent to Vietnam in the east and Thailand in the west and has a population of 940,000 people. This area is experiencing overwhelming development:the Route 9, known as the “East and West Corridors” (a highway), is being built in the center of the province with Japan’s support, and a specific district for economic development has been established along the Mekong River. In the Atsaphangthong district, rice-paddy cultivation is actively done but plantations are also rapidly developing. Our…
A NEW PROJECT STARTED IN LAOS
Original by Shigeru KIMURA, Laos Project (July 12, 2018); Translated by M. Takahashi] On April 26, 2018, a signing ceremony of MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) was held for the new project, which JVC has applied to the Laotian government since last year. The ceremony gave practical permission to the project. We held briefings for administrative officers in Atsaphangthong district on July 21st, and in Phine district on July 22nd, which marked the start of our activities in the fields. In the morning, we had presentations with slides for the deputy governor and agricultural chief manager of the districts. In the afternoon, we had a workshop to train the staff in…
WE ARE ON OUR WAY TO SELECTING A VILLAGE WHERE WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS THE START OF A NEW PROJECT
[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…