All the villages we visited had electricity, a primary school, all except 1 had a community water spigot, a couple had a medical clinic and a store. Most of these villages have been relocated to their present sites in the last 25 years.
THAI NAU- noodle village. So many homes were engaged in making noodles. These rice noodles are sold locally, nationally and also sent to China for domestic use and for exportation. The village seems to be thriving economically.
HMONG village -these villagers came from the region of the Plain of Jars area 25 years ago. Their main sources of income are rice, animals, and chickens.
LOLO village - traditional clothes still hang on the clothes lines and older women still seem to wear them. Older women grow cotton, prepare yarns for looms, dye it dark indigo blue for woman's outfit and a slighter lighter blue for men's pants, and then weave the cloth.
THAI DAM- looms everywhere, at times 2 in the family compound. Women show such pride in their work . I noticed for the first time a young girl weaving an ikat pattern very rapidly on her loom. Signs of higher income were evident everywhere. It is said that the women make more income than the men from their weaving here. Unfortunately the quality is ordinary, the yarn they use is from China and the colors often garrish.
Children were better cared for in this village . Homes were better equipped, Jim saw a refrigerator in one home. The primary school was larger and in better condition, more established, than in other villages.
AKHA village was filled with only children who were in very unkempt state . Jim called them the young savages. No parents or adults were visible. Our guide finally located a village officer who accepted the school writing books that we had gifted them. I asked the children if they could sing a song and with help from the guide they sang some songs.
Walking around the village we observed the traditional "boy's rooms", kept separately from the main village settlement. It was sad to be in this village setting.
Throughout our visit The Aka children were most persistent in marketing their little bracelets with metal and bead embellishment. It was discouraging to see the children run wild with no guidelines or adult help. That village seems to have problems.
YAO village. No men were visible, they probably working in the rice production activities. Children were determined sellers of needle- point trinkets, well made. Had I not been so tired, I would have purchased many pieces, especially that adorable hat!
Yao minority group was located directly next to the Aka people and share the same primary schools. The Yao children were on the path to meet us and sell us their fiber items which featured the traditional Yao needlepoint designs.
We first meet at the school with the teachers and the young people to gift notebooks that we had brought. The four teachers seemed competent and involved in the school life.
Walking around the village we saw several groups of women doing their embroidery in some shaded areas. One older woman was in need of some glasses and asked me if I could help her, I would have loved to! The children kept at the their sales promotion throughout our visit. Their haranguing is too much.
An unique Yao tradition that seems to be dying is the killing of twin babies. Formerly, twins were considered bad fortune for the community and they were killed at birth and the parents had to leave the village. The government is now convincing the Yao to change their thinking and let the twins live. Significant inroads have been made recently and twins and parents do not have to endure that rejection.
A fascinating and exhausting day.
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