| This thesis presents the research process and findings from a gender-based study on the role of wild foods in household food security in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The study sought to understand the importance of wild foods to local livelihoods, as well as men's and women's differential contributions to food security through foraging. Findings confirmed that forests and their environs are a regular source of food, income, and medicinal products for rural communities. Changes in the macro-level context of Lao PDR have manifold implications, presenting new and complex challenges to men and women who depend on foraging to meet livelihood needs. In the final analysis, this thesis concludes that the practice of wild food foraging in rural Laos vividly illustrates how an in-depth understanding of local conceptions of food security in all of their cognitive, cultural, and gendered complexity is vital for the formulation of appropriate rural development strategies. |
