Home UpHouayxay Vicinity 2

A bit farther along the same road, the village of Lao Huay.

The village pump.

The village miller.

A typical house.

Smoke has to find a path through the thatch.

Inside, pretty spare.

Cooking with wood.

The household treasure—and source of income.

Beautiful stacks of bamboo for thatching.

Nearby, coarse rice paper dries.

Who built this control structure? Best bet: an NGO or possibly the government through a development bank.

A fuller view, showing villagers about to fish.

The tube has a thin pole with a plunger on the far end. Pulled swiftly out of the tube by the man on the right, it creates suction that brings fish into the submerged end.

Getting ready to yank. The fish were tiny, averaging 3 inches.