Working on and around Inle Lake

Much of the work here is farming and fishing. In fact, they say the best tomatoes are grown here. All the farms are on floating islands built up for the purpose. The second picture is a fisherman. 3rd is a man harvesting lake weeds to use a fertilizer. 4th is a woman extracting fibers from the stem of the lotus plant. These are woven like silk and are many times more expensive. One day of work only yields about 50 feet of fiber. Next is weaving, probably a silk/lotus mixed fabric. Last is cheroot rolling, another traditional business here. They say most women around the lake can do this, with the best able to roll up to 3,000 per day.Read more