Living Fences Fortify Laotian Livestock farms

Nestled in the tranquil Laotian Houayno village, three bulls bask in the morning quiet amid a landscape of rolling hills and a low-lying bed of clouds stretching across the rural district of Phonxay. To the untrained eye, the hilly terrain offers the perfect countryside experience, but 46-year-old Chansone believes the highlands are nature’s gift, crucial to raising herds of healthy cattle in the landlocked mountainous Lao region.

By 9:30, the herd got the signal – it was breakfast time. Wearing her go-to patterned top and a hat, Chansone joined her husband in scything a wad of Urochloa hybrid “Camello” grass, which has become a staple in the cattle’s morning and afternoon routine. By this time, the herd of nine cows had gathered just outside the four-foot-tall barbed wire fence, where rows of forages were grown on experimental plots.