Top

LAO PDR: New project takes bombs and leaves skills

Children fishing in Khammouane Province

MAG and World Vision have begun an innovative new project to clear unexploded ordnance (UXO) and improve livelihoods in 24 villages in Khammouane Province.

The target villages are in Mahaxay District and are all heavily contaminated with UXO, creating an obstacle to development for the 6,000-plus people who live there. Funding of US$864,885 is being provided by AusAID.


Communities in Mahaxai, in Khammouane Province (outlined), do not have sufficient land to grow the food they need, but are afraid to expand their fields because of the unexploded ordnance.

View Khammouane Province in a larger map

An innovative element of the project is the inclusion of the “Safe Community” approach, which will encourage communities to take responsibility for reducing the risk from UXO.

The idea is that once MAG has completed its work in a village, community members are able to undertake ongoing risk management.

One activity would be to support key community members to determine what forms of risk behaviour are acceptable or unacceptable. For example, communities may decide that it is inappropriate for people to bring live ordnance into the village because of the increased risk of injury to other people, or that children should not be allowed to collect and sell scrap metal. Guidelines to deal with unacceptable risks could then be developed.

MAG deminer in Laos

• Lao PDR is the most bombed country in the world per capita.

Up to 30 per cent of the ordnance dropped between 1964 and 1973 did not detonate.

Unexploded ordnance (UXO) still contaminates the ground, affecting a quarter of all villages.

Photo, top: Children fishing in Khammouane Province. Many children in rural Lao PDR spend their time foraging for food and working in the rice paddies rather than going to school.

Photo, above: Every day the team find cluster bombs submunitions and other kinds of ordnance.

Both UXO clearance and support to improve livelihoods are much needed in Mahaxai, a district that the World Food Programme categorises as highly vulnerable to food insecurity.

One of the reasons for this is that community members do not have sufficient land to grow the food they need, but are afraid to expand their fields because of the UXO. This means that many families do not have enough rice to last them the whole year, and are instead reliant on foraging.

This project is specifically linked to two important goals. The first is the Lao Government’s goal of lifting the country from Least Developed Country status by the year 2020. The second is AusAID’s goal of contributing to poverty eradication in Lao PDR, through the Laos-Australia NGO Co-operation Agreement (LANGOCA) program.

AusAID has supported various UXO-related projects implemented by MAG or World Vision over the last decade.

^^ Back to the top

Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Bomb craters in Laos

Lao PDR is per capita the most bombed country in the world.

The problem / How MAG is helping

Laos: Legacy of a Secret book

Why we need your help

Help stop this

Your donation is used to reach communities most in need and enable us to respond quickly to emergencies such as the current situation in Libya.

There are many ways to help  – please Donate or Get Involved in whatever way you can.

Read more on what we do

Share, follow, support

Ebay for MAGSupport MAG through EveryclickMAG FacebookMAG on FlickrMAG LinkedInMusic Beats MinesMAG news feedMAG on TwitterMAG videos on VimeoMAG on YouTube

About MAG


MAG (Mines Advisory Group) saves and improves lives by reducing the devastating effects armed violence and remnants of conflict have on people around the world.
More about MAG...

Contact  |  Terms and conditions  |  Privacy

Follow us


facebook flikr twitter
linkedin ebay youtube

Co-laureate of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize  |  Registered as a charitable company in the UK  |  Company no: 4016409  Charity no: 1083008  |  ISO 9001:2008 accredited  |  International Mine Action Standards compliant  |  Signatory of the ICRC Code of Conduct  |  Member of the Fundraising Standards Board scheme  |  Registered office: 68 Sackville Street, Manchester, M1 3NJ, United Kingdom