Thanks both. Agreed, the best part about collecting is that it opens the door to further learning about other cultures.
It sounds like the land is similar to Laos, and the Hmong were able to farm land previously considered unfarmable. Even though they only make up a tiny fraction of the population they produce the vast majority of the fruit .
Although it doesn't have anything to do with the knife,
This thread has some interest info about the Hmong society over there. It appears that Hmong have had a much easier time assimilating in Cacao than those who migrated to cities in the US