Picture of the Week 18.8.14 – The Corridor of Opportunity
By Tessa Bunney on 18 August 2014
In some remote areas of Phongsaly province, Loma women still grow, gin and spin cotton into thread and set up their looms outdoors for weaving cotton.
Lao PDR is home to around 6.5 million people and is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in SE Asia with 49 officially recognised ethnic groups, although there are many more self-identified and sub groups.
Phongsaly province is inhabited by more than 25 different ethnic groups, each distinguished by their own culture, traditions, clothing and languages. Details down to the embroidery on a shirt, the colour of the trim and the type of skirt all help signify the wearer’s ethnic and clan affiliations.