Ban Doi Lan - a Lisu Village

The Lisu people make up an ethnic minority in Northern Thailand.  They prefer to live near the tops mountains and are quite adept at farming steep slopes.  The Lisu came from Southern China (and perhaps Tibet before that).  The Lisu have their own language which is in the spoken form only.  We lived in a Lisu village for 5 days and observed how they farm and how they live in community.  We were fortunate to arrive on the day of a wedding celebration. 

Our 5 days in the Lisu village have reinforced my conclusion that as countries and villages (like Ban Doi Lan) develop, it is almost impossible to keep the culture and the environment intact.  What a tragic loss for these people who have been self-sufficient for hundreds of years.

More about our Lisu stay later.

Ban Doi Lan

Gathering the daily vegetables.

Preparing the rice field to be burned

Breakfast in my Ma's kitchen.

Gabby teaches the women a new dance.

Guess what's for dinner.

Not a bad view for a rice field.

Dressed for the wedding