Domesticating electricity in rural Laos

The thesis examines how electrification has been received in rural villages in Lao People's Democratic Republic and how electricity has been integrated into living conditions and daily activities. The aim of the thesis is to highlight the active role of rural inhabitants in the electrification process. Moreover, the thesis attempts to offer reference points of electrical adoption and use in the Global South to the Western tradition of Science and Technology Studies. The empirical data for the thesis consists of semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and observations made in five rural villages in the Vientiane province. In analysis of the data, the domestication framework is utilised. The study in hand shows that since its introduction electricity has transformed from a new technology into an integral part of everyday life in the villages. In the process, homes and the village environment, as well as some of the villagers' routines, have been changed permanently. Electricity has not, however, been integrated into all aspects of the villagers’ routines, but has been integrated only into those activities in which it is seen as providing the greatest benefit; that is, in women’s income earning and domestic tasks. The findings of the thesis offer insights as to how electricity functions in rural lives in Laos, as well as what kind of meanings are attached to it to other researchers. Moreover, the thesis indicates that though the domestication framework has its limitations, it is applicable to infrastructural technologies, and is more versatile from an anthropological perspective than it may at first appear