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
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.