The Place of Story, Silk and Song:
Collaborative Development Practice in Lao
Ellen A. Herda, Ph.D.
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
USA
Drawing upon local story and talent, development practices have emerged in a
variety of ways that bring people from the West who are not full-time
professional developers to work with people in Lao on specific projects.
Narrative analysis sets the foundation and direction for collaborative
development practices carried out by Lao and American educators, musicians,
social scientists and artisans. Establishing a relationship between an American
school and a school in the remote province of Phongsali, hearing the stories of
a small people group in Sayabury talk about the future, promoting the
appreciation of Lao silk among urban and surburban Americans, and collaborating
with a music demonstration theater in Vientiane are examples of development work
that take on meaning through commitment and friendship. Assumptions about
development are discussed and questions of sustainability and policy are
considered from a critical hermeneutic orientation.