Lamphay Inthakoun, CASAS’ member, has published in the Journal of Peasant Studies with her colleague Miles Kenney-Lazar.
Abstract: Historically, swidden cultivation has been practiced sustainably in upland Southeast Asia. However, it has been condemned by governments as environmentally destructive and impoverishing, leading to a general decline. Nonetheless, swidden continues to be practiced in many upland regions such as northern Laos. The persistence of swidden can be understood as a practice of autonomy in relation to state and market forces. Economically, swidden enables farmers to strategically manage their engagement with market forces. Politically, swiddeners navigate, avoid, and even contest government land and forest policies. Territorially, swidden can defend upland spaces from encroachment by other groups and the state.
Check their article here: https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2024.2440539
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CASAS
The Collective of Agrarian Scholar-Activists from the Global South (CASAS) is a community of Scholar-Activists working in critical agrarian studies.