Blog Post #33 - Sustainable Development in Attapeu Province

After the trip to Pakse, I had to jump on a 5-hour bus to Attapeu to facilitate a two-day workshop with government agriculture extension staff in the province. Attapeu is a small city with maybe a population around 30,000. Similar to Xiengkhouang in northern Laos, it is almost entirely agriculture-based and is relatively poor compared to the rest of the country.

Despite the poor quality of the bus, I was fortunate to have these two cute faces looking
at me for roughly 2 hours of the total 5 hour trip

The bus was a tight squeeze

...but I arrived in great spirits

I openly admit I am not very qualified to be facilitating a workshop on sustainable development in agriculture, but when specifically asked, I was not going to turn down the opportunity. I kept materials at a high-level not only for the audience's sake but also for my own. I also focused material around the business principles of the value chain, marketing, quality, production planning, and cost management. These were concepts I was much more qualified to provide insight on.

We had a full-house of Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Office (PAFO) staff

They were eager to learn and brainstorm ways to help their farmers overcome some of their challenges

Below is a sample selection of the presented materials. They were all translated into Laos and I had a translator on hand to help drive the discussion. It was important the presentation was not a one-way dialogue, but much more focused around group brainstorming and finding actionable ways for them to implement change. 

The three pillars of sustainable development: environmental protection, shared economic benefits and community relationship building were the prime focus of the discussion. I also provided a number of success stories from around the world, and asked to hear why they thought some of their past projects were successful.

(apart from the cartoon visuals, all the pictures are my own from past trips across Laos)

One of the major challenges the staff regularly mentioned was poor prices for produce. I recommended they break down the problem to start identifying the root cause (e.g. quality, competition, etc.)

Based on the crops the farmers grow, there is great potential to improve commercial opportunities and livelihoods

Very animated with the hand gestures. Hopefully they helped keep the audience awake

If the only smile was not bold enough, I threw up the thumbs to make up for everyone else's stern look
(for the official government photo I did not have the thumbs up, but not going to sacrifice the smile so easily)

The two-day workshop occupied most of my available time, but we also had time in the evenings for some fun. I had to be extra prepared with my stick in case I bumped into a pack of stray dogs.

Ridin dirty

I became a resident DJ for the evening at the only 'nightclub' in the city....
crickets both as snack and from the non-existent crowd

Way too many people asking for selfies