The study involved a repeat survey of 455 households that were interviewed in 1997 prior to the beginning of the krismon in the context of a major highway project. A structured interview was conducted with a household member (in most cases the husband or wife). Of the 1999 respondents, 58.2 per cent were women, compared with 58.9 per cent in 1997. The 1997 survey was carried out in the month of June, which in that year was very dry, while data collection for the present study was undertaken in April and May 1999 near the end of a prolonged wet season.