Lao PDR: New farming methods suited to climate change

Poverty and scarce food supply was just a fact of life for the people in Koutou village, Luang Namtha province, Laos. Climate change and extreme weather make their lives especially difficult. Recurring drought makes them worry about every harvest, while hunger and the lack of clean water cause disease, most of which the people cannot afford to have treated professionally.

Koutou is one of 13 villages in Vieng Phoukha district where the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) started an empowerment project that promotes human rights in January 2015. LWF conducts awareness campaigns on environment protection, tree planting, chemical-free cultivation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and subsequently, disaster risk reduction. Climate change will remain the biggest challenge in the years to come. As the risk of disaster increases, the project and the villagers aim to develop more effective and sustainable interventions, to ensure the families always have enough to eat.