Vientiane sculptors ask govt to lower raw material costs
Vientiane sculptors ask govt to lower raw material costs
Wood carvers in Phailom village of Xaythany district are asking the involved sectors of the government to consider reducing the cost of their raw materials which come from natural resources.
Deputy Head of the sculpture group in Phailom village Mr Vorachit Keoxayavong said on Tuesday that after the village became part of the ‘One District One Product' programme in June this year, officials from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce organised a meeting with his group to establish the cost involved in using these natural resources, at which the ministry informed them the price would be between US$800 and US$900 per tonne on all kinds of wood.
While this concept might have been acceptable, in practice it hasn't worked out because sometimes the wood they have to work with is not good enough to make furniture with and often out of the one tonne of wood they buy they can only use 20-30 percent. This is mainly because the wood they are supplied with comes from tree roots not the trunks.
Mr Vorachit also said that this year he had to pay 4.5 million kip in fines for the three tonnes of wood and roots he had in reserve to work with after the authorities came to check his place of work, which he agreed to pay because he was still confused as to the process involved in obtaining the wood and paying for it.
“I normally pay profits tax of 200,000 to 300,000 kip each month as is our obligation,” he said.
“However, we hope that the authorities will consider to reduce the cost, if possible even dispense with any charge, as the wood we are using is from tree roots and has no other uses so it has no real value except to us. We get it from the slash and burn cultivators who clear land for their farms,” he explained.
He added that some families started to do wood carving in 2011 after collecting roots and pieces of wood from their rice fields or farm lands for making tables, chairs, vases, pictures of animals and souvenirs.
Previously, most of villagers were farmers. Now many of the families have switched to wood carving and he expects this trend to increase in the future.
“Why we are asking for a reduction or cancellation of charges for using this wood is because we have changed our work to focus only on wood carving and sculpture which is our main source of income and this has helped to create more jobs in the village. We also use a relatively useless raw material and turn it into something of real value. If we didn't do this the wood most probably would end up burnt,” he st ressed.
“We always meet our tax obligations, while we are helping to preserve our culture through creating sculptures and carvings of significant figures and events in Lao literature to show to visitors. Even if they don't buy our products they will take photos of them so our culture gets taken to their homes.”
Director General of the Industry and Handicraft Department Mr Manohack Rasachack said yesterday that “The regulation has just been informed to the sculpture group, so first of all they should follow it because all regulations are fully researched and discussed before being issued.”
If a regulation has an impact on the operators, it can be discussed to find ways to resolve the problem because some laws that don't apply successfully to the whole country, can be further discussed and adjusted by the National Assembly, he added.
He said the department came to the village to help improve their business through training courses to promote the ‘One Product One District' programme, following the policy of the government.
The department also helped the village to create its sculpture group and to achieve its certification as One Product One District, he said.
“In the future we will try to find the funds to help the group build a proper showroom to display their sculptures and carvings to attract visitors,” he said.
Deputy Director of the Forestry Department Mr Thong-eth Phayvanh said the department had the responsibility to check where the wood and roots came from and how they were obtained so that they could certify it.
After certifying, it was the responsibility of the commerce and financial sectors to evaluate the payment process.
The sculpture group was established in May this year with 12 families as members and employing 55 villagers as manual workers. Each family's income averages 25 to 30 million kip per year.
vientiane times
