Of Rice and Spice: Hmong Livelihoods and Diversification in the Northern Vietnam Uplands

Abstract

Highland ethnic minority Hmong livelihoods in Sa Pa district, Lao Cai province, northern Vietnam resonate with adaptability, having flexed to accommodate and respond to diverse macro level political and economic circumstances through time. This paper focuses on this flexibility during the socialist and post-socialist periods. We illustrate the decisions of the State that have directly affected Hmong households in the Northern Highlands during this transition, and then, using ethnographic fieldwork data, turn to concentrate on Hmong reactions and their survival and coping strategies during these two contrasting periods. We then focus on current day Hmong livelihood portfolios, unravelling the specific features that allow Hmong households to adapt to local level political and economic transformations, including the creation of a National Park and limits to forest resource access as well as emerging market opportunities.