Laos is proud to grow and harvest more than 3,000 traditional rice varieties, with colors ranging from black and purple to red and brown, there is a so called aromatic and glutinous rice varieties, too. In Laos, where rice is one of the staple food, it is eaten steamed or boiled with a varieties of food such as meats, vegetables, poultry, and fish, and many more. It is also made into wines.
Between 1995 and 2000, the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) jointly collected rice germplasm in Laos. Among the 13192 samples collected, there are 3,169 distinct variety names. Sometimes, the same variety is called by different names by different ethnic groups, sometimes different varieties have the same name. Lao farmers assign names to traditional varieties that relate to the production ecosystem, endosperm type,and maturity. The name also often indicates a variety's particular morphological features or other unique characteristics.Varieties are also named for plants, flowers, fruits and animals. Resistance to or tolerance for commonly occurring stress factors like drought, floods, lodging, birds, weeds and adaptation to soils are also reflected in some rice variety names
In Laos, there are many traditions and rituals being followed for planting and harvesting and even storing of rice.
Laos is located in Asia. The country is divided into sixteen (16 provinces). It is bordered by Burma to the northeast, Cambodia to the south, China to the north, Thailand to the west, and Vietnam to the east.
Personal Note: I could not resist researching about Rice in Laos, it is very interesting to learn many things about it. This is just the beginning of my research about "rice in Laos". I will add more information about it soon.