HI clears over 260,000 m² of Laos farmland of deadly munitions

HI has cleared more than 263,000 square meters of land in Houaphanh Province, Laos, neutralizing 111 unexploded ordnance (UXO) items. The operation is directly benefiting 362 community members — nearly half of them women. They were launched last March and so far.

By the numbers

•    263,595 m² total area were cleared — 258,582 m² agricultural, 5,013 m² development land (water pipe trail)
•    111 unexploded ordnance items were found and destroyed: 58 cluster munition bomblets + 53 other remnants (rockets, projectiles, etc.)
•    362 people (182 women) now have access to safe land

A typical day

The HI 22-person clearance team uses metal detectors for manual detection . They start their day  at around 7:30 a.m., arriving on site around 8:00 a.m.. They work until 4:00 p.m., at clearance sites located 15–30 minutes from the base.

Every unexploded bomb found is destroyed on-site — typically in the afternoon before the team wraps for the day. Cluster munitions make up the majority of finds – Laos is among the most contaminated by cluster munition in the world, largely from U.S. air campaigns during the Vietnam War era.

Operations face real friction. The team is small, meaning explosive ordnance specialists must double as bush-cutters in dense vegetation. The sites are hilly and difficult to traverse, and the muddy, poorly maintained roads make daily access more complicated.

Why it matters

The cleared lands are agricultural. Communities living roughly 2 kilometres from active clearance sites, and sometimes adjacent to main roads, are now able to farmland that was previously off-limits due to contamination risk.

Operations are ongoing. With the technical survey phase complete, the focus shifts to expanding cleared acreage and reaching more villages in the province.