Hoy Khong: 4 km of pipes from the spring

Hoy Khong is a remote village in Muang Ngoy district, in northern Laos. It can only be reached by boat. 48 families live there, around 400 people.

Until now, the village had no reliable water supply. To drink, cook or wash, residents had to walk a long way to fetch water, or drink from the Nam Ou river, which is heavily polluted. This had a direct impact on hygiene and health.

In early October 2024, the NK Seeds team came to Hoy Khong to hand out school supplies to around fifty children, thanks to a donation from Maped: a ruler, an eraser, coloured pencils, a pencil sharpener and a pencil each, along with Lao–English vocabulary books. This was not the only reason for the visit, the association said at the time.

Six weeks later, the water project was announced. With financial support from the company Ferrarini Décolletage, water from a clear mountain spring was brought into the heart of the village through 4 kilometres of pipes. It now flows directly to the homes.

For the 400 residents, daily life changes: fewer trips to fetch water, no more drinking from the river, and better hygiene for every family.

Finding a spring is never easy. In June 2024, for a village that had just asked for help, the team, the engineer and the villagers took a boat, then a tractor, before walking for several hours to a spring hidden in a cave. As the post put it at the time: “water in Laos has to be earned.”

In 2024, clean water reached five villages thanks to NK Seeds. Others have followed since, such as Kunvang, in Beng district (Oudomxay province): 317 residents, a spring 4 kilometres away, and water in the village by spring 2025.