Forest as Kin: Water, Forest Relations, and Climate Adaptation among Hmong Women in Northern Thailand

In Ban Huai Han, climate change is first noticed through water. Hmong women speak of rainfall that no longer comes on time, streams that shrink earlier in the dry season, longer droughts, and water that turns browner after rain. These changes affect not only crops and forest use, but also the daily labor required to keep households going. This paper examines how women read and respond to these shifts through everyday engagement with forest environments in Wiang Kaen District, Chiang Rai Province, Northern Thailand. The study draws on a qualitative embedded case study, including 15 semi-structured interviews, participant and seasonal climate observation as well as forest walks, with attention to water observation, selective harvesting, non-burning gathering (kua zaub ntsuab), weather interpretation (Tooj Saib Huab Cua), and related forms of household and forest work. The findings show that water is more than a resource. Women read stream flow, watercolor, soil moisture, plant recovery, insect activity, and the presence or absence of bees together to decide where to gather, when to wait, what to leave, and how to adjust their use when conditions become uncertain. Forest use is also shaped by relations with land and place, including Xeeb Teb (spirit of land) and Xeeb Chaw (spirit of place), which guide caution and restraint in particular areas. Across these observations and practices, the study shows a close relation between care for the forest, the practical work of sustaining household life, and the changing condition of the forest itself. The paper argues that climate adaptation in Ban Huai Han is carried out through a water-centered relationship among care, capability, and forest use. By centering women's reading of environmental change, the study shows why forest and climate governance need to take seriously the practical knowledge already sustaining upland environments in Northern Thailand.