| Abstract | The National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy and Millennium Development Goals, Lao PDR are responded by applying a participatory approach in a village water supply project under the Oudoxay Community Initiative Support Project (CISP) to improve living conditions of rural people, particularly ethnic minorities. The research was conducted in two remote villages namely NamHang Nuea (NN) and NamHang Tai (NT) in Oudoxay province of Lao PDR. The objectives of this research were to investigate an organizational framework, examine aspects and intensity of people's participation, obtained feedback of people in terms of benefits and satisfaction and to suggest recommendations to improve people's participation in the scheme and to strengthen participatory approach in this kind of project. The research was applied primarily a quantitative approach using a questionnaire as a prime tool and substantiate with qualitative explanations using interviews and discussions with stakeholders involved. People's participation in this research covered key development aspects in decisionmaking, implementation, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and operation and maintenance (O&M). In the decision-making stage, people participated in identifying, prioritizing problems, deciding and reviewing water fee, solving problems, deciding the key aspects (types of scheme, technology, site and manage with the benefit) and identifying project beneficiaries. In the implementation stage, people were involved in the construction, of water supply facilities, campaigning water use and health care and attending the meetings, training on water management and repair of the water distribution system. In the M&E stage, people took part in sharing ideas, collecting information and selecting representative, giving feedback and preparing a report. In the O&M stage, people joined in the operation and management including the repairing small broken parts and protecting water source, checking water quality and quantity, pipe inspection and water leakage. The research findings showed that people's participation in the scheme of both villages were intensive in decisionmaking and implementation stages but less intensive in the M&E and O&M stages due to the primarily involvement of project staffs in the M&E and from the village water committee in the O&M stages respectively. Major factors associating with the intensity of people's participation in the scheme of both study villages were gender, roles of local leaders and village water supply, roles of government line agencies, perception on degree of benefits gained on water quality and on health improvement. Participating households received viable benefits in social, economic and institutional aspects. Certain problems limited participation of local people included inadequate women's involvement, low education level, occupation, language barrier and communication constraint, unclear guidelines and lack of technical knowledge in participatory approach. Some potentials were found comprising of existence of mass organizations, technical and financial support from government, local needs to decrease the infection of water-borne disease and harmony of local people. Certain recommendations were made to improve the people's participation in the scheme. A set of suggestions are given to strengthen a participatory approach in future projects to be implemented in the study area |