When the falang struck milk in Laos

Read the full Emirate in-flight mag piece about Laos Buffalo Dairy.

Three apprehensive expats surrounded a buffalo in a village outside Luang Prabang, their eyes fixed on the docile beast. It was 2014, and they had a hunch that a huge resource was going entirely untapped in Laos. Thirty-five villagers – as well as the buffalo’s nervous owner, Mr Eh – had congregated to witness something they’d never seen before. The crazy foreigners were going to milk a buffalo. The flat-packed Chinese milking machine had been painstakingly assembled and hooked up to the buffalo. As the crowd held their breath, they switched it on. Nothing happened. A sleepless night followed. But on the second day, although most of the villagers had dispersed, the falang struck milk.