ABSTRACT
The economy of Laos has been based on agriculture since very early times. The Lao Loum cultivated paddy in diked permanent fields, and the hill tribes grew upland rice and other crops by the slash-and-burn method. In colonial times, a small export trade developed, even though Laos's economy continued to be mainly based on the self-sufficient village—the basic economic unit—and transportation over any distance was difficult. The French realized that Laos's greatest need for development of its economy was a modem transportation system. With the advent of independence, planning for the economic development of Laos continued in Vientiane. A voluntary organization, the Philippines' Operation Brotherhood, deserves mention for its work, which included operating a hospital in Vientiane. Printed in Eastern Europe, the Souvanna kips were regularly exchanged at par value in the area under the Vientiane government's control for arriving refugees.
