Residents of Xaychaleun and Muangsom villages join representatives of Global Vision for a training programme in Xaysomboun province.

Global Vision gives boost to Xaysomboun villagers’ quality of life

The living standards of farmers in Xaysomboun are set to improve thanks to support from a South Korean Non-Government Organisation, Global Vision, for a poultry farming programme.
A training session on the scheme was provided by Global Vision recently for people living in Xaychaleun and Muangsom villages in Anouvong district.
Poultry farming is already underway in these villages, aiming to generate more income for ethnic farmers.
The project has been funded since 2020 by Korea’s Samsung Electronics and the country’s welfare foundation, Community Chest of Korea.
Through cooperative education, farmers have learnt how a cooperative operates and the advantage of becoming a member of a cooperative group.
Xaychaleun village is located near the Nam Ngum dam. The village is largely inhabited by people of the Khmu ethnic group and are very poor.
About 77 percent of them are able to earn only 600,000 kip a month.
Global Vision has been conducting and providing training in poultry farming and agricultural technology since 2020 by choosing young people from impoverished households so that farmers can develop economically and earn a decent income through healthy value chains.
Cooperative education has also been conducted since 2021 to encourage self-reliance.
The Lao government is supporting cooperative activities under the Agricultural Cooperative Act, which aims to improve the quality of small farms, increase agricultural productivity, and modernise farming methods.
A resident of Xaychaleun village, who is leading the poultry project, said “This project can improve the quality of life of the people in our village. It can increase our revenue while helping us to get a decent life.”
“Through the various training sessions and lessons learnt during the project, I have been able to increase my crop yields as well as the quality of my chicken farming. I hope the skills I have learnt and can apply will bring in more income for my family,” he added.
Through the poultry project run by Global Vision, changes for the better have been brought about and acknowledged.
The Head of Xaychaleun village said “The project has had a big positive effect on the life of villagers. They have learnt a great deal about what to do to improve crop yields and improve their chicken farming, so they can earn more money for their families.”
As most people in the village are farmers, the lessons learnt from Global Vision will serve to strengthen their skills, especially on the best ways to cultivate sweetcorn and rice, as well as rear poultry.
Following the completion of Global Vision’s project this year, it is hoped that the people of Xaychaleun village will form a cooperative and become fully self-sufficient by 2023.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update November 22, 2022)