This is a road in Buôm Khoang village, where cars cannot pass during the rainy season. It is also a challenge for motorbike riders. People can travel from Buôm Khoang village to Chiềng Lương commune People's Committee on sunny days. On rainy days, it is muddy and slippery, causing dirt to stick to wheels. In the rainy season, it takes one hour to ride a motorbike along this seven-kilometre road. This is the only access road. Villagers have to take this road whether they are going to school, to work or to market. If they want to sell a buffalo or a cow, they have to walk down it for half a day. No truck will come to collect the cattle. Buyers also require farmers to take the cattle to the asphalt road before they buy. Otherwise, they will ask someone else to bring the cattle to them at 200,000–300,000 dong (8–13 US dollars) per head and cut that from the purchase price.
It is also difficult to transport materials for building sheds. Transport expenses are as high as the material costs. Therefore, building sheds is difficult for the villagers.
Narrator and photographer: Lý A Trống (Hmong, 43 years old)