In a former communist stronghold along the Thai-Lao border, indigenous communities are picking a new battle. Armed with litmus paper and test tubes, they are fighting the transboundary pollution allegedly caused by the region's largest coal power plant.

For resisting a gold mine that poisoned their lands, a community in northeastern Thailand was lionised by the press as an example of a David-versus-Goliath fight. But years later, the villagers are still struggling to revive the lands – now without the compensation that they were lawfully entitled to.