Bamboo handicraft makers eye foreign buyers
Bamboo handicraft makers eye foreign buyers
A production group for handmade woven bamboo items, Xao Ban Handicraft, is looking to export their products in the future if they can establish a revolving source of credit of at least 500 million kip.
“We cannot supply to foreign buyers at the moment. We have a small number of skilled workers but the buyers are seeking large numbe rs of our unique items that have to be reproduced to the original quality standard,” according to the head of the group Mr Tarreboun Rattanavong.
“Japanese buyers in particular want the more elaborate products which take a longer time to produce,” Mr Tarreboun said yesterday, “Buyers from the Republic of Korea also wish to order in large quantities.”
The bamboo products were previously shown at a fair in Japan in 2010 and they attracted great interest but the buyers were asking for large quantities which Xao Ban Handicraft was unable to produce.
“Our group can only make a small number of each unique design because they are made by family groups and each family produces its own unique products. Dexterity differs between families and they all have different techniques,” he said.
To establis h bulk production as required by the foreign buyers, the group needs to set up a factory with an efficient production system, which costs a lot of money.
“It will be good if there is a state fund or international organisation that can support the private sector by providing long term loans at low interest rates,” he said.
Once the group gets funding support, it will be used for building a suitable plant and organising staff training on how to produce according to market demand.
The Xao Ban Handicraft group st arted producing handmade bamboo items in 2000 and “ever since we began we have not taken out a loan with any organisation because we do not want to be in debt,” he said.
The group has over 50 families as members, mainly in Vangmon village in Phonhong district of Vientiane province, followed by Pakngum district in Vientiane, Thaphabath district in Borikhamxay province, Viengxay district in Huaphanprovince and Oudomxay province.
Currently, Xao Ban Handicraft produces to supply the markets in Vientiane and the provinces of Savannakhet, Luang Prabang and Champassak.
The group's production is now at a level to provide extra work for the families to earn extra income after doing their farming or office work.The farming families are able to maximise the value of the bamboo they use by minimising any wastage.
Currently Vangmon village has a bamboo forest reservation area of over 100 hectares while the farmers also have a lot of bamboo on their farms.
“Now we have started a bamboo plantation in Vangmon village to ensure that we will have plenty of material to use in the future,” Mr Tarreboun said.
vientiane times
