Connexion 
LAOS - Understanding peoples’ interestsA story of Somchit Siliphong
Somchit Siliphong (right) is interviewing with target villagers in Vientiane Province
I conducted these interviews after a training by the Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Office (PAFO) because I wanted to know how the villagers feel about activities such as these. I have been working in rural development for quite a few years now and I want to understand peoples’ motivations and their views on how they think they can improve their situation.
I am happy that the two people that I interviewed showed a keen interest in following up on the training and in putting into practice what they learned.
Overall, I am very satisfied with the cooperation among the stakeholders of the LAO/030 programme, from government line agencies to villagers. It makes me happy to see changes in the villages, such as people getting access to clean water or villagers having fully equipped village halls that they can use for village meetings and events. It is good to see people looking forward to a better future with improved skills in managing their resources.
We are hoping to continue this work until we can see some indicators of sustainability in the villages.
Somchit Siliphong, Village Development Fund Advisor, LAO/030 Vientiane Province
Somchit has been with the Local Development Programme for Bokeo, Bolikhamxay, Khammouane and Vientiane Province - LAO/030 programme for three and a half years and he has been advising the partners in the implementation of the Village Development Activities financed through the Village Development Fund.
More insight of Somchit interviews
Mr. Soula Phaxai is a village authority and member of the Village Development Committee. He is 54 years old, married, and has four children. Two of his children are already married while the other two still live with him. He is a paddy rice farmer and he plants vegetables and other crops during the dry season. He also raises livestock.
Soula Phaxai (left), participant at the crop and compost production training Nabon village, Fuang district – Vientiane province
He recently planted rice in his paddy area and lemons in his garden. He aims to plant some vegetables in his paddy land during the dry season, as he has enough labor capacity with the help of his family.
“We are four people who can work together on the land”.
Soula recently participated in a training supported by LAO/030 on the production of organic crops and compost fertilizer.
“Through the training I learned how to make fertilizer. I will do this using tree leaves and animal manure.
I am also a village credit scheme beneficiary. I am using the money for goat raising.
We have a lot of plans in the village. In the future I would like to have a study tour to other villages and see other examples of organic farms and livestock raising. We also plan to have production groups and help each other to produce more crops and livestock. I also would like to propose a training on how to properly prepare the land and mix the soil before planting crops.
Being a member of the Village Development Committee and also a village authority, I can say that this project is really supporting us to develop our village; we already repaired our gravity-fed water system and the bridge in our village, constructed the village hall and received a village speaker, and supported the construction of latrines for households who didn’t have one.
Personally, I am so happy because the project has had positive effects on my family and our village.”
Ms. Phone (left), the trainee on the crop and fertilizer compost training
Ms. Phone is 33 years old. She plants rice in her paddy plot, vegetable crops during the dry season, and raises livestock. She is married and has 2 children studying in primary school. She participated in the crop and fertilizer compost training.
“It was really good for me, as the trainer focused on organic crop production and how to make compost fertilizer for crops. For my family, the main livelihood is paddy rice production and dry season crop production. We also have some livestock. It’s just me and my husband who work in the field.
The training was very useful for me. I will try to make fertilizer from animal manure and dry leaves and grasses for my dry season crop production. I will also use some for my lemon trees.”
She is also a beneficiary of the village credit scheme and borrowed money to increase her vegetable production, which includes cucumbers, green beans and more.
Ms. Phone and other villagers are excited about what the future holds. They want to learn from visits to organic farms and farms that have successfully raised livestock. She is hoping that a technical training on how to properly prepare the land before crop planting will be provided.
“I would further like to propose to the programme and government to support the marketing of our products.
This project is a big help for the development of individual households and the village as a whole. Through LAO/030 we were able to repair our village bridge, construct the village hall and buy needed equipment. We have also submitted an activity proposal to the Provincial Department of Planning and Investment (PDPI) to improve the school access road and to repair our primary school building”.
The Local Development Programme for Bokeo, Bolikhamxay, Khammouane and Vientiane Province, LAO/030, is co-funded by the Government of Laos and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and is implemented by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and LuxDev, the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency.
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