Preparing Broom Grass

As the boat gently meandered down the Mekong River in Laos, I noticed heaps of grasses laid out to dry on the riverbank and occasionally, local people beating them on the rocks. When we moored up to visit a Khmu settlement, I discovered that this was broom grass. The seed heads have to come off before the grasses are tied and then sold as brooms. This is much needed income for the indigenous people who were relocated from their original home further upstream after the Chinese threatened their livelihood by damming the Mekong.