Life style : Economy

     In the past most Hmong resided on mountaintops. Thus, the economic system of the Hmong was not very good, because the Hmong were not familiar with the concept of farming for commerce. Instead, farming was simply done to feed one's self and one's family. Farming was the only profession the Hmong knew and as every family planted their own rice and vegetables, the concept of using money to buy and sell was totally foreign to them. Exchange of one type of good for another was method of trade and commerce.
The way of life of the Hmong has been a very hard way of life. One reason is the Hmong belief that one must have many children so that they can take care of you in your old age. This has caused life for the Hmong to be very difficult. To produce the amount of food needed to feed such a large family, one has to labor away arduously in the fields. Now, however, many changes are taking place as the Hmong have been forced to relocate from their native lands on the mountains, down into the lowlands. The traditional way of life of the Hmong is being rapidly altered as they race to adapt to a new environment and a new way of doing agriculture. New models and types of farming have been introduced for such things as planting rice, managing an orchard, etc.

Hmong Agriculture In the past farming was done for self-sufficiency. The crops of choice were limited to rice, sticky rice, corn, beans, pumpkin, lettuce, shallots/onions, garlic, and hemp. Trade and commerce was done through the exchange of goods rather than money. (At the present time, there is likely to still be some planting of opium in the more remote villages, deep in the forest, but this is very limited. Tourists looking to see an opium field would be hard pressed to find even a trace...though there does not seem to be a shortage of opium in its processed form.) As for rice, it continues to be planted mainly on the mountainsides.

Rice plantation (on a mountainside)

Rice field (paddy rice--flatland)

At present some Hmong have begun to plant rice in the lowlands, in paddies. This method of rice farming requires the fields to be flooded and the young rice to be transplanted once it has grown from a seed into a young seedling. This method of rice farming is foreign to the Hmong, whom are used to planting rice on the mountainsides, where water just runs off and down the mountainside. As a result, many Hmong are unable to carry out the transplanting stage of the rice growing process and have to hire seasoned experts (likely local Thai farmers) to do this for them. The Hmong, however, are quite the experts at tilling the land and planting the rice seed. In the past, Hmong never used to use machinery on their farms. One seemingly obvious reason for this is that they have lacked the money needed to purchase such things (having never used money before). Now, however, Hmong in both Laos and Thailand are the proud owners of tilling machines. Life for these Hmong has become a little less difficult than in the past. Hmong still residing in more undeveloped regions, however, continue to labor away arduously without these modern conveniences.

Beyond planting rice, Hmong have also received development assistance in learning how to plant other cash crops. As the Hmong adapt to life in this new culture of commercialism and consumerism, they have found themselves forced to work increasingly harder help them to keep up with expenses. The major cash crops of choice are mango, longan, lychee, tomatoes, and tamarind. As for vegetables, there is cabbage, ginger, cotton, and tapioca. Some Hmong also raise silk worms or plant flowers for sale, such as carnations, and roses.

Mango orchard

Raising animals

Raising animals In the past animals were raised for consumption within the household. No corrals, fences, or pens were made; rather, animals were allowed to roam free. As a result, numbers were few. The animals of choice for raising included horses, cows, water buffaloes, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, and ?*. Particular care and attention was paid to horses because they were used as the principal means for transportation of both people and things. On the opposite end of the spectrum was dogs. The only species of dogs the Hmong took any interest in were those species that could be used for hunting. Presently the Hmong have adopted a new system for raising animals. Cages and corrals and regular feeding hours have been introduced, and when it comes to transportation, using cars and motorcycles has become far more convenient. Still, the Hmong retain their great cultural knowledge, passed down from generations, in how to castrate, as well as the best methods for fertilization of various animals in order to get a good and hardy breed. The animals which the Hmong raise these days can be divided into three categories: for food, to use for work purposes, and animals sold for a price.

http://hmong.hilltribe.org