Located a short distance from Luang Prabang Airport, the village of Ban Hat Hien specializes in the production of machetes which every inhabitant of Laos has at least one copy. The (secret) story says that steel was made of bombs and other remnants of the war raging around it was a while already ...
Today, by the Chinese competition and the production relocated in the north, the village of the blacksmiths counts hardly more than 4-5 families still carrying out their activity with pride, without any protection (neither spectacles, neither gloves, boots) and especially without illusion about the future. If the achievements are better billed, with a steel of better quality, if each copy and its case are customizable, the demand is no longer the one before.
Many shapes, sizes, weights are available.
- Video Blacksmith Forging an Axe
We will go to the village in the morning before 10am. We will not come the days of Van Sin (full and new moon, nor quarter moon).
We will make a tour to the temple, built on the banks of the Nam Khan River, and overlooking the well known place to host the pirogue races.
We can visit the Allen’s World page on Ban Hat Hien with comments (in English) and photos ...
