A volunteer at the Agriculture and Forestry office in Xienghon district,\u00a0Mr Phong Tiangtham, decided that growing chillies for sale would be a good place to start and would be a money-spinner.\u00a0In 2015, Mr Phong experimented with growing chillies on a half-hectare plot but was not successful.\u00a0In 2016, he went to Nan province in Thailand to learn about the best cultivation methods. He came back to Xayaboury and had another shot at\u00a0growing the crop using the new techniques he had learned. In the first year,\u00a0he picked 5.3 tonnes of chillies and earned over 23 million kip from the sale of the crop.\u00a0Mr Phong then passed on his knowledge to the locals. His own village set up a production group comprising 15 families, who grew chillies on 2.8 hectares of land and harvested 22.5 tonnes. This earned the group over 93 million kip.\u00a0Each family in the group now earns more than 6 million kip from one harvest.<\/p>\n
Kham, Lap, Donchay, Dontan, Na-on and Huana villages in Xienghon district also set up a group with 42 member families who grew chillies on 8.2 hectares of land. The crop yielded 72.2 tonnes, earning them 324 million kip.\u00a0Although the crop is not a big earner for the growers, it is safe because the villagers use organic fertiliser.<\/p>\n