Theun-Hinboun Power Company | CSR for Hydroelectric Project in Laos
Nam Gnouang Reservoir from the drone for THPC CSR Project
Asian CSR and Documentary Photography Project in Laos
I recently photographed a large Corporate Social Responsibility project for Theun Hinboun Power Company in Laos. This was a three week shoot requiring a lot of travel around Bolikhamxai and Khammouane Provinces in Central Laos. The project required landscape, documentary, portraits and corporate-style photography for a coffee-table book to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Theun Hinboun Power Company’s major commitment to sustainable hydroelectric power generation in Laos. (Most of which goes to Thailand.)
This assignment allowed me to create images I don’t usually shoot, like drone photography. As someone who’s always sought high vantage points for the perfect shot, working with a drone was a revelation. The writer was Asian Travel Legend Joe Cummings of the Lonely Planet.
Working Across Languages | Thai to Lao to Thai
Laotian is very similar to Thai, and most educated Lao speak Thai fluently. Since I am fully conversational in Thai, I was able to complete this project without relying on English, except for the initial client brief. This made the workflow smooth and immersive, allowing me to focus entirely on capturing the project visually.
To see more of my Development Work, connect on LinkedIn.
Nam Gnouang Dam for Theun-Hinboun Power Company, Bolikhamxay
A Personal Connection to Laos Since the 1990’s
I first visited Laos in 1996 and have returned many times since. It’s an incredible country with enormous potential, though it faces many challenges. In December 1996 I traveled to the far northeast of the country, Xam Neua. At that time there was no tourism in that remote corner. When I ‘signed in’ to the province at the government HQ, every other westerner in the visitor log was an NGO worker, there had been no backpackers at that point. I remember it being 5C in the morning, a little chilly for a person who had been living in Cambodia for a few years.
Theun-Hinboun Power Company staff at Na Hin, Khammouane Province, Laos
Behind the Scenes at THPC
It was incredible to experience and document the scope of this project, the number of moving parts in creating a dam is mind-boggling. There are upstream effects from creating the massive reservoirs to power the dams, as well as significant downstream effects on the regions that must deal with seasonal overflow from the reservoir. Even in a remote part of Southeast Asia, these dams affect thousands and thousands of people. People are uprooted from land they have lived on and worked for generations.
When I asked one of the top managers how it is possible to move so many communities, his answer was simple:
To complete a project this size you have to make sure that the project, in the end, improves everyone’s lives.
I thought that was a pretty good answer and summed up what I experienced. I talked to a well-known Social Impact Assessment (SIA) Consultant, who has been working in Southeast Asia for 50+ and he told me this was the first project he ever gave an A+ mark to. Asian Development Bank assessments say the same thing about THPC. While there are obviously criticisms on anything of that scale, it was still impressive.
99% of staff at THPC are Laotian.
Power House at Theun - Hinboun Hydropower, Na Hin, Khammouane Province, Laos. This building is featured on the 20,000 Kip bill in Lao currency.
Looking for Corporate Social Responsibility or corporate photography in Southeast Asia? Let’s connect.
Theun-Hinboun Power Company, Board of Directors, Vientiane, Laos. Working together for decades.
Theun-Hinboun Power Company, Headquarters Staff, Vientiane, Laos
The school at Theun-Hinboun Power Company’s main site wins national awards in Laos. Working in these schools was easy, due to my previous experience of photographing in schools around Asia.
Industrial photography for Theun-Hinboun Power Company as they service a turbine. This is very tricky, massive project involving foreign contractors on-site for months.
THPC power lines weave through the unique karst mountains of Khammouane Province, Laos
