Namkha, Laos

Namkha
Namkha
Coordinates: 20°4′47″N 100°47′57″E / 20.07972°N 100.79917°E / 20.07972; 100.79917Coordinates: 20°4′47″N 100°47′57″E / 20.07972°N 100.79917°E / 20.07972; 100.79917
Country	Laos
Province	Bokeo Province
District	Pha Oudom District
Time zone	UTC + 7 (UTC+7)

Namkha or Ban Namkha is a village in Pha Oudom District in Bokeo Province of northwestern Laos.^[1] It is the oldest village in the district, established in 1906 by the Lao Lom people.^[2]

It consists of two communities, Namkha and Palao. Namkha has a total of 56 households, inhabited moastly by the Lao Lom (Lowlander) and Palao consists of 50 households, mainly Khmu peoples inhabited by them since 1975.^[2] Geographically, Namkha is located about 2 km south-west of the district center.

Economy

The land use pattern in Namkha is mainly based on the paddy rice and rotation upland rice in the rainy season. Irrigated rice cultivation was started in 2006 during the dry season through the building of an irrigation canal.^[2]It takes advantage of the system of rivers that meet in the area. Aside from rice, peanuts, maize and sesame are the main sources of household income.^[2]

Namkha has a well organized administration with a committee, village fund, village deputy committee, midwife unit, land use committee, village police and security, a rice bank, and a youth and women's group.^[2] The village development fund (Micro Credit) aims to promote villagers’ commercial activities in order to alleviate the poverty and villagers are eligible to obtain credit from the fund by proposing their plan for the use of the credit.^[2] However, the farmers who seek a loan have to pay the interest rate of 12 percent per year. In times of difficulty, families which have eight to ten members can borrow up to 400 kilograms of rice from the village rice bank, but it has an interest rate of 30 percent.^[2]

References

1. ^ Maplandia World Gazetteer
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Thongphanh, Daovorn. "Impacts of Land and Forestland Allocation Policy on Livelihood in the Lao PDR: A case study of Pha-oudom District, Bokeo Province". RECOFTC. http://www.recoftc.org/site/fileadmin/docs/Events/RRI_Conference/Session_3/Poster_Notes/T._Daovorn_3.4.pdf. Retrieved November 4, 2009.