Asian Encounters in Laos

With funding from the Global Knowledge Partnership, Asian Encounters partners with Digital Divide Data, Vientiane, The Lao National Tourism Authority and Enterprise Telecommunications Lao to set up the first e-CBT installation in Lao. The purpose is to test the viability of using Information and Communications Technology for promoting Community-Based Tourism (CBT) for rural poverty reduction. The project is working with in the area around Muang Sing, Luang Nam Tha province, in North West Lao. Muang Sing is a traditional cultural nexus for a number of ethnic groups that inhabit the surrounding area; it boasts the most colourful market in northern Lao. A number of villages in the vicinity can be visited on foot.

Phawai Khao is a remote village in the northern Lao province of Luang Namtha. It is reached by a three hour trek from the small town of Muang Sing and visitors can stay overnight in a purpose built lodge. Phawai Khao is the perfect place to gain an insight into the fascinating Akha culture. The Akha are an ethnic minority group spread across Lao PDR, Burma (Myanmar), China, Thailand, and Vietnam. They are famous not only for their beautiful traditional dresses but for an entire way of life known as the ‘Akha zang’.