Background of the Study

The local economy was based on cultivation even though the people were aware that they could get a lot of oil from this area since 2004. They did not have the complicated technology to dig oil. Therefore their economy remained based on agriculture. But in 2004, some local people started to dig wells by hand or with a motor pump. Since then the local peoples have come to realize that hand-dug oil wells could bring in immediate profits. Based on this knowledge, they have changed their economy from agricultural to oil-related economic activities. Their sociocultural system has also seen changes as the economic system changes from one to another. By sociocultural, we include ideas about environment, education, communication, health, etc.

The Aim And Objectives

The aim of this research is to study how the economic changes due to the oil field effect sociocultural changes and the local people’s life expectation.

Specific objectives are:
1. To understand sociocultural changes in the study area after 2004
2. To investigate the main factors influencing their sociocultural changes
3. To explore the community’s responses to these sociocultural changes

At the end of the project, we will recommend this research should be prescribed in the history curriculum of Contemporary Social History of Myanmar. As there are similar situation in other areas of Myanmar, if we can learn from this case, we can get better grip on how to handle the issue of migrants and local adaptations when economies change.