Our History

Established in 1980, CCL was the first international NGO to register in Laos

A 1901 French law association, the CCL is an NGO which works in Laos and exclusively in Laos, with the objective of contributing to the improvement of the living conditions of all without distinction, in particular by promoting access to food, care, education and knowledge, culture and stable income in a sustainable environment.

Created in 1980, the CCL was founded by lovers of Laos, researchers, academics, agronomists, doctors, geographers, all good connoisseurs of the country, having often worked there, all eager to help this country which had seduced them and inhabitants with who, they had forged close relationships which often continue to this day.

First international NGO established in Laos, the CCL first start a strong collaboration in the health field, through several hospital support and medical education projects. At the same time, the CCL was initiating rural development actions which today represent the bulk of its activities, through major projects in favor of the most disadvantaged people, with three main objectives:

Reduce poverty and improve food security and health status of people, especially women and children.
Support smallholder farmer families towards a harmonious and sustainable development, preserving the socio-economic structures of the villages and the identity of the communities.
Act in collaboration with village communities, have confidence in local ownership, propose without imposing, assist without leading, promote the ambition of the populations while respecting the cooperation values of the CCL.

Since 1995, we have thus conducted more than ten multi-year projects in the northern and central provinces of Laos, and we are currently active in three provinces, Oudomxay, Phongsaly, Khammouane.

Our action is expressed by a holistic approach combined with the animation of long-term rural development projects. We work on agricultural know-how, water management, food security and nutrition, hygiene and health, and gender promotion.
Our action tends to promote understanding of the strengths and pitfalls of modernity and to prepare traditional structures for the ecological and societal challenges of globalization, sustainable economy, environmental protection and gender promotion.
Our teams are Laotian and include members of the communities. They are composed of technicians specialized in the areas covered, agriculture, animal husbandry, fish farming, water, health, gender, food, hygiene, supervised by a Laotian project manager and assisted by an international project advisor.

Our Stories

23 March 2026

World Water Day 2026

22 March 2025

"De l’accès à l’eau à la gestion durable : l’engagement du CCL pour les communautés du bassin de la Nam Sa"

3 March 2024

Monitoring biodiversity

16 January 2024

How much pesticide is in there?

3 January 2024

NYOT OU TEA PRODUCERS & FILMMAKERS

22 March 2023

World Water Day

22 November 2022

SCALING/PNP closure event

27 October 2022

To contribute to climate justice: prioritizing climate resilience building of the most vulnerable

11 February 2022

SCALING project : lessons learned

15 October 2021

WORLD FOOD DAY 2021

19 June 2021

A NORTHERN UPLAND TERRITORY

29 April 2021

THE FOREST TEA PRODUCERS

26 November 2020

The Forest Tea

26 November 2020

A Cardomom Story

The history of the CCL is entirely focused on the desire to improve the personal situation of Laotians, far from any ideological, religious or political approach. The eruption of economic development and globalization and their corollaries, which are the development of inequalities, the rural exodus, the proletarianization and the impoverishment of part of the population, threaten identities and lifestyles and increasingly justify CCL’s action to preserve and sustainably improve the living conditions of marginalized populations.