Myanmar Snapshots 5: Thatch 2

February 2016: The ricefields in the small village of Naung Gone in the post-conflict township of Kyaukkyi, in Bago Region were dry but the barns and rice granaries were full from the previous season's harvest. Thus life in the village was momentarily leisurely until the rains come in June. Village folks spend their time tending their backyard gardens, fixing their homes, and, yes, engaging in small cottage industries. The women in particular were making themselves busy. In more than half of the households I visited, women and girls were weaving a particular kind of grass gathered from the fields into thatch roofing material. They earn a few cents for each piece they have woven but it is better than just lazying around without income.