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Key points

The diets of Lao households mainly consist of rice, meat, leafy vegetables and a few other vegetables. Foods rich in vitamin A are often missing, as are fruits, legumes and oils

In this context, the goal of the is to improve food diversity for rural populations through agroecological practices, following a resolutely participatory approach. The aim is that the issues and solutions should be identified directly by the villagers, in order to ensure relevant results and actions that are adapted to realities on the ground.

Scientists make use of inclusive tools, including games, co-construction workshops, mapping, and participatory photography (Photovoice). These methods help them to draw on the knowledge of local people, to better understand their perceptions and practices, and to fully involve them in building knowledge around their diets.

For Photovoice, villagers were trained in photography so that they could capture the food-related issues they face in their daily lives. Each photo is accompanied by their own narrative. The challenges identified centre around three main themes: nutrition and child care, production, and access to markets and processing.

This work led to exhibitions in the three villages concerned by the project, all located in the Xiengkhouang province in the north-east of the country. Discussions and workshops were then conducted with the inhabitants to devise the solutions to be implemented. 

These visual narratives, both personal and collective, help to document these issues and to identify appropriate solutions, which are developed with and for the communities.

When meals becomes a daily challenge

The families living in the villages involved in the project have a monotonous diet, where the choices often come down to what is available.

Children’s daily meals sometimes consist of just rice sprinkled with sugar, due to a lack of more varied and nutritious ingredients. In many families, fruits and vegetables are scarce. For Pai Moua, a farmer from Ban Na village, the situation is worrying: “The doctor told me my nephew doesn’t get enough vitamins because he doesn’t eat enough fruit. We adults are also lacking vitamins”.

Women play a central role in managing their household, taking on domestic chores and caregiving, as well as work in the fields. This multiple workload shapes family life and directly impacts diets, especially in a context where access to food is limited.

With so many responsibilities, women have little time or energy to prepare meals after long, exhausting workdays. “It’s hard to take care of my child and cook at the same time. I don’t have enough time to cook and eat, so I get tired quickly and don’t have the energy I need to work. When I get home, I’m so exhausted that I just sleep. My child sleeps with me”, says La, a young farmer from Ban Phuseo village, Phoukhood district.

In addition to their household duties, women work in the rice fields to support their families. During that time, their young children often spend hours with little stimulation, either sitting in the shade of a tree or being carried by their mothers. They are also at risk of being exposed to pesticides and other chemicals used on the crops.

The villagers and NSAE project researchers have worked together to develop solutions that address food challenges and local realities. These actions focusing on nutrition include:

• The dissemination of simple, locally relevant nutritional information, through posters and videos created by the villagers themselves.
• Cooking workshops to produce a collection of recipes for young children, including a recipe for fortified infant cereal. These dishes are tested during sessions focusing on the preparation of quick, simple and balanced meals using locally available ingredients.
• Collaboration with local health centres to establish contacts points for nutritional recommendations. The aim of these contact points is to strengthen awareness-raising activities among families, especially during childbirth or medical visits.
• A project to open a nursery in Phouseo village to free up time for women before their children reach six years old, the legal age for starting school.

Producing more to eat better

Families struggle to diversify their diets due to the mountainous climate, water shortages during the dry season, pests, and a lack of knowledge about alternative farming techniques. In particular, the consumption of fruits depends on production, as they are expensive and very hard to obtain in the villages. In Ban Na village, Sua Vue, a farmer, talks about the many difficulties he faces in maintaining his garden: “The whole village lacks water to irrigate the gardens, and some of the fruit trees planted here are not suited to the climate”.

To overcome these challenges, farmers, in collaboration with the agronomists from the project, will test agroecological techniques to diversify their crops. Intercropping, combining legumes and cereals, enriches the soil while boosting food production. At the same time, mulching conserves moisture and extends the growing season, and introducing fruit tree varieties more suited to local conditions should reduce losses. These agroecological techniques are crucial, as access to training in sustainable practices for farmers is very limited.

However, to ensure the availability of these foods throughout the year, it is essential to improve transportation and distribution, challenges that the farmers are now starting to address.

Markets are far away and difficult to access

Transport and access to markets are a challenge in Ban Na village. Mivang and Nousong explain that there are no petrol stations and that “it’s a long way to the nearest market: an hour and a half by motorbike or six hours on foot. So we can’t buy fruit to eat very often”.

In Ban Phouseo, Mr. Dang Vang and Mrs. Chua Vang face the same difficulties: “The road from my village to the market is tough… muddy in the rainy season and rocky in the dry season”. Once they reach the market, many villagers struggle to afford food. “We don’t earn enough. We have a big family, and there’s no money left to buy meat”, the couple explains.

These challenges also prevent farmers from selling their harvests. “We don’t have a car to transport our rice to the market”, they say, highlighting the fact that this makes them dependent and gives them little bargaining power against the buyers who come to purchase rice in bulk from the village.

Foraging for wild food is also dangerous due to unexploded ordnance (UXO) left over from the Vietnam War. “All the villagers are afraid of unexploded ordnance when they dig to gather bamboo shoots, taro or medicinal plants”, say Yer Thor and Cha Po Vang, farmers from Ban Na village. Cha Po says: “a few years ago, my brother tried to catch a chicken at the edge of the forest and he died due to an explosion”.

To reduce their dependence on markets, some villages want to organise collective buying groups as part of the project, enabling families to purchase food in bulk from markets further away.

These solutions are all complementary. Better access to markets strengthens the impact of local production efforts, while agroecological techniques ensure that more nutritious and diverse foods are available to families. With the support of the NSAE project, the villagers have analysed their challenges, identified appropriate solutions, and strengthened their capacities to implement them. By addressing food challenges in a comprehensive manner, including production, supply and consumption, they gain greater control over their food systems, creating relevant and sustainable solutions.

The NSAE project is part of the work of two platforms in partnership for research and training in Southeast Asia: MALICA and  ASEA .