Wapi Project

Wapi Project
Part of Laotian Civil War
Supported by Operation Pincushion
TypeCivic action program, military training program
Location
Southern Laos
PlannedEarly 1963
Planned byPhasouk Somly Rasphakdi, U. S. Embassy in Laos, CIA
Commanded byPhasouk Somly Rasphakdi, CIA, USAID
ObjectiveSupport agricultural cooperatives, train defensive militia units
DateLate 1963—mid 1967
Executed byPhasouk Somly Rasphakdi, CIA, USAID
OutcomeProgram highly successful, but ultimately abandoned in favor of other projects

The Wapi Project was a civic action program originated by the Royal Lao Government; it was performed in Military Region 4 of Laos from late 1963 through 1967. Notable for being among the first integrated programs to offer integrated services to the Lao Theung populace of southern Laos, it became a victim of its own success. Its lean efficiency led to its being crowded out of funding by more expensive programs.