Female handicraft maker eyes international market
Female handicraft maker eyes international market
Women's Business Association member Ms Souvita Phaseuth will improve the quality of her products after Lao handicrafts have piqued the interest of foreign business partners.
Ms Souvita is currently focusing on her Lao magic carpet venture in the hope of soaring profits and elevating the profile of Lao businesswomen.
After receiving gold and silver medals from an international exhibition in South Korea, she realised that foreign business partners are now more interested in Lao handicraft products. However, she believes they need to visit Laos to see production sites and experience the tradition and culture of Lao people first.
The quality of artisan items has increased and this is helping to grow the business prospects for Lao women on the international stage. For her own business, the demand is strong in countries such as South Korea, Japan, Sweden, and France, but she cannot meet the orders because of limited labour. She is also interested in opening the door for more women with disabilities to work for her which will provide a better living for them.
Clothes weaved by Mekong River communities are seeing a greater overseas demand as well as her different styles of carpet. This is a positive sign as Laos has the opportunity to be known not just regionally, but around the globe. She said her company will now focus on quality products as opposed to manufacturing a large quantity as in the long run customers will associate her name with top-notch goods.
“I have no accurate figures for export products but I want to expand into machine-made and not just handmade goods as this will improve employment chances for Lao women,” she said. Following on from the government's encouragement for bu sinesses to hire people living with disabilities, a quarter of Ms Souvita's staff is made up of such women.
B eing a member of the Women's Business Association will enhance the opportunities of women to develop their skills to create new artisan goods to compete on the international stage.
Ms Souvita urged Lao women who have creative ideas to begin research in the technology and arts sectors and seek help to develop the idea into something tangible. She believes that great opportunity lies just around the corner in the form of the Asean Economic Community in 2015.
She has managed other businesses before the carpet company, including a guest house and a restaurant.
vientiane times
