11/15/2004

The construction of primary schools by government or non-profit agencies is already changing the Phnong lifestyle. For generations, the Phnong have lived a semi-nomadic life, moving their farms and abandoning their bamboo, thatched roof huts for new ones in new locations in response to changing agricultural conditions or religious beliefs. But school builders are insisting that villages not move once a school is established, so that the investment in education will last from year to year. In Andong Krolung, an isolated Phnong village with a brand new primary school, families are actually moving into the area so that children can attend school. As a result, new schools are leading to larger, more stable villages and gradually changing the Phnong's relationship to their land.