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Those of us who live in the U.S. oftentimes forget how wealthy we truly are. That might sound trite, but consider how valuable having running water is to your life. You don’t have to carry it up from the stream every day which happens to be half-a-mile away.
When you want to cook, brush your teeth or take a shower, you simply turn on the tap. Not so for the Lisu Villages just outside Mae Hong Son, Thailand.
Dirt roads link homes together in this Lisu village
Having affordable electricity is also something we in the States take for granted. For these villagers, that fact is life changing.
Laundry day in the village
This is the village’s source of running water. Whether it’s for washing clothes or for making soup, residents delight in simply turning on the faucet.
Preparing to weave strips for her roof with collected leaves from her village
This woman is in her 50′s, and told us that she has 10 children. Here, she is preparing to make another row of dried leaf shingle for the roof tops of the village houses. Some shingles are brought to town and sold to the city dwellers of Mae Hong Son.
Young woman weaving leaves together to sell in town
At 20, this daughter’s own baby is in a carriage behind her as she weaves the split bamboo thread through each leaf. Rows of completed leaf shingles are piled up to the right.
Stacking up rows of woven leaves
After weaving, she meticulously stacks the leaf shingles in rows. If you look closely in this photo, you can see inside the split bamboo house with its dirt flooring and more bamboo interior walls.
I remember the first time I saw dirt floors in indigenous homes, I was startled. Growing up with the phrase “dirt poor” I had no idea there was truth to the saying.
The finished product
Roofing is changed yearly, so the industriousness of the women in the village is not only a necessary and practical skill, but these woven rows of leaves that are sold in town bring in extra income to the household.
To read the full story on this village, click here
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