Across Laos, the economic crisis is not only measured in exchange rates, inflation figures, or national debt. It is visible in the quiet adjustments of daily life: a shopkeeper waiting behind shelves of imported goods, a fruit seller calculating prices before the market opens, a hotel worker cleaning a pool for tourists who may or may not return, and families choosing street food because it remains one of the few affordable options.

I photographed this series in Vientiane and Pakse during a period when the Lao kip had weakened sharply, pushing up the cost of food, fuel, imported goods, labor, and basic services. In markets, many products come from Thailand or other neighboring countries with stronger currencies, making prices difficult for small sellers to control. In tourism, reopening did not immediately mean recovery. Hotels, restaurants, and construction sites struggled with rising costs and a shortage of workers, many of whom had left for better wages across the border.

These photographs look at an economy through the people living inside it - traders, workers, monks, children, hotel staff, and small business owners - each trying to keep going as the value of money changes faster than life can adjust.

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Vientiane, Laos, 2022 - Shoppers move through Oxy wholesale fresh market on the outskirts of Vientiane, once a busy source of produce and daily goods for traders, restaurant owners, and small shopkeepers. As fuel prices rose and the Lao kip weakened

Vientiane, Laos, 2022 - Shoppers move through Oxy wholesale fresh market on the outskirts of Vientiane, once a busy source of produce and daily goods for traders, restaurant owners, and small shopkeepers. As fuel prices rose and the Lao kip weakened sharply against the Thai baht, many imported goods from Thailand became increasingly expensive. For lower- and middle-income sellers, the market became harder to rely on; fewer came to buy, and the cost of basic supplies began to outpace the money they could earn.

Vientiane, Laos, 2022 - A shopkeeper sits behind a display of copy-brand handbags and fashion goods as traffic lights reflect across the shop window. For many young Lao consumers, foreign fashion remains desirable, but purchasing power has weakened s

Vientiane, Laos, 2022 - A shopkeeper sits behind a display of copy-brand handbags and fashion goods as traffic lights reflect across the shop window. For many young Lao consumers, foreign fashion remains desirable, but purchasing power has weakened sharply amid economic decline, inflation, and the falling value of the kip. After COVID-19 and the wider global economic shocks that followed, many small shops selling low-cost fashion products have closed; those that remain open often wait through long days with few customers.

Vientiane, Laos, 2022 - A child plays beside her mother’s stall at Oxy wholesale fresh market. As purchasing power weakens and sales slow, many vendors spend longer hours waiting for customers, often bringing their children and family members with th

Vientiane, Laos, 2022 - A child plays beside her mother’s stall at Oxy wholesale fresh market. As purchasing power weakens and sales slow, many vendors spend longer hours waiting for customers, often bringing their children and family members with them to the market. What was once a place of quick exchange has become, for some, a place to wait, work, and keep family life close because there is little money left for other choices.

Vientiane, Laos, 2022 - Monks receive morning offerings from vendors at Oxy wholesale fresh market, where faith and commerce meet before the day’s trading begins. As Laos faces rising prices, a weakened kip, and the wider effects of global economic s

Vientiane, Laos, 2022 - Monks receive morning offerings from vendors at Oxy wholesale fresh market, where faith and commerce meet before the day’s trading begins. As Laos faces rising prices, a weakened kip, and the wider effects of global economic shocks, many market sellers struggle to earn what they once did. For some, daily offerings are both a religious practice and a quiet hope that the day will bring enough customers, enough sales, and enough relief to keep going.

Vientiane, Laos, 2022 - A truck loaded with fresh bananas arrives at the market in the late afternoon. Although bananas are grown locally in Laos, inflation has raised the cost of planting, fuel, transport, and daily labor, pushing even familiar loca

Vientiane, Laos, 2022 - A truck loaded with fresh bananas arrives at the market in the late afternoon. Although bananas are grown locally in Laos, inflation has raised the cost of planting, fuel, transport, and daily labor, pushing even familiar local produce into a more uncertain economy. As the kip weakens, price increases move through the food chain - from growers and traders to market sellers and the families who buy from them.

Vientiane, Laos, 2022 - A hotel worker cleans a swimming pool as Laos tries to rebuild its tourism economy after reopening to foreign visitors. But arrivals remain below expectations, and many small hotels, guesthouses, and inns struggle to hire enou

Vientiane, Laos, 2022 - A hotel worker cleans a swimming pool as Laos tries to rebuild its tourism economy after reopening to foreign visitors. But arrivals remain below expectations, and many small hotels, guesthouses, and inns struggle to hire enough staff or maintain regular service. In a fragile recovery, the businesses most able to survive are often the medium and larger hotels with enough capital to keep operating standards in place.

Vientiane, Laos, 2022 - A construction worker repairs a building as Laos reopens to tourism after years of disruption. The economic crisis that began during COVID-19 deepened with global shocks from the Russia–Ukraine war, weakening the Lao kip and p

Vientiane, Laos, 2022 - A construction worker repairs a building as Laos reopens to tourism after years of disruption. The economic crisis that began during COVID-19 deepened with global shocks from the Russia–Ukraine war, weakening the Lao kip and pushing many workers to seek better wages in Thailand. As hotels, guesthouses, and homes rush to repair properties left idle for years, the shortage of construction labor has made recovery slower, more expensive, and harder to complete in time for the returning tourist season.

Pakse, Laos, 2022 - A shopkeeper waits among shelves of imported goods at a grocery stall in Pakse market. As the Lao kip weakens, prices for products brought in from neighboring countries become harder to predict, leaving small retailers uncertain a

Pakse, Laos, 2022 - A shopkeeper waits among shelves of imported goods at a grocery stall in Pakse market. As the Lao kip weakens, prices for products brought in from neighboring countries become harder to predict, leaving small retailers uncertain about what they will earn from one day to the next. In shops like this, inflation is measured not only in numbers, but in hesitation - in every price adjusted, every sale delayed, and every customer forced to buy less.

Pakse, Laos, 2022 - A hotel kitchen prepares for evening service as foreign tourists slowly return to southern Laos. But the recovery is uneven. As the kip weakens and operating costs rise, small tourism businesses struggle to know whether visitors c

Pakse, Laos, 2022 - A hotel kitchen prepares for evening service as foreign tourists slowly return to southern Laos. But the recovery is uneven. As the kip weakens and operating costs rise, small tourism businesses struggle to know whether visitors can still bring the income and jobs they once depended on. Larger hotels may be able to keep kitchens open, staff employed, and services running, while smaller operators face a more uncertain season.

Vientiane, Laos, 2022 - A security guard sits outside a commercial building where shop spaces stand empty. After years of economic slowdown, many guards in Laos are employed less to manage crowds or protect busy businesses than to watch over closed s

Vientiane, Laos, 2022 - A security guard sits outside a commercial building where shop spaces stand empty. After years of economic slowdown, many guards in Laos are employed less to manage crowds or protect busy businesses than to watch over closed storefronts and idle assets. In the stillness of these spaces, the crisis is measured not by movement, but by what has stopped.

Pakse, Laos, 2022 - A fruit seller prepares her stall before the market opens. Much of the fruit she sells is imported from countries with stronger currencies than the Lao kip, making each purchase more expensive before it even reaches her shop. As t

Pakse, Laos, 2022 - A fruit seller prepares her stall before the market opens. Much of the fruit she sells is imported from countries with stronger currencies than the Lao kip, making each purchase more expensive before it even reaches her shop. As the kip continues to weaken, prices shift quickly and profit margins shrink. By the end of the day, what remains from selling may be little more than the cost of staying open.

Pakse, Laos, 2022 - A family eats at a small street-food shop in Pakse. As inflation weakens household budgets, places like this remain an essential part of daily life - affordable, familiar, and close to home. For many Lao families, eating out no lo

Pakse, Laos, 2022 - A family eats at a small street-food shop in Pakse. As inflation weakens household budgets, places like this remain an essential part of daily life - affordable, familiar, and close to home. For many Lao families, eating out no longer means leisure; it is a careful choice shaped by price, convenience, and the need to make each day’s money go further.