CIVIBADemocracy and Civic Practices

Project

Ban Sai Lao-Lao Cooperative

Saysetha (Attapeu) · South · Laos

Civic foodCommons and belonging2017

In Ban Sai, a village the government classes as poor, women distilled lao-lao (rice spirit) separately and sold it cheaply. In 2017 they set up a cooperative with Coop Okinawa, with their own capital, a shared distillery and a split fixed in the statutes: 30% of sales for members, 20% for reserves and 2% for an anti-poverty fund. Tensions: they depend on the Japanese partner to sell, in 2024 they lacked bottles and capital, and everything published comes from the funder or the Okinawa press.

Led by
39 producers from the village, almost all women, with the Japanese consumer cooperative Coop Okinawa in a JICA grassroots project (2017-2020) and the Industry and Commerce offices
Status
Active
Participation
Community led
Visitable
No, it is a cooperative
Contact
No public contact on record
Last reviewed
1 October 2026

Verification

Verified

This place is backed by at least one primary and one secondary source, reviewed within the last twelve months. The sources appear below with their consultation dates.

  • Verified two sources including a primary one, or first-hand knowledge of the place
  • Partial one source on record
  • Unverified starting knowledge, sources pending

Sources

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