Added: Feb 7, 2011

From: tenthousandvillages

Duration: 3:10

The people who live in Ban Vang Kam are known for their work with rattan. Rattan, a thorny vine that grows wild in the jungle on the outskirts of the village (also known as cane) is a raw material that villagers have worked with for generations. Traditionally, they make rattan baskets, rattan furniture and rattan balls for a game called 'kathaw' (sort of like volleyball but the ball can not be touched with hands -- head, shoulders, feet and legs are used to hit ball over the net to the opposing side). Unfortunately, the people never had regular work and the work was often poorly paid when they were selling only into the local market in Laos. Since meeting Kommaly Chanthavong at Phontong Handicrafts they have been receiving regular orders for export to organizations like Ten Thousand Villages. Mo and Zator, the wife and husband team that head up the rattan artisans in Ban Vang Kam, say that the benefits of selling through Phontong to Ten Thousand Villages are: 1. Regular orders that give them work almost year round, 2. Advance payments and prompt final payments on orders so that they do not have borrow money from local money lenders in order to pay for living expenses while working on orders, 3. Pay rates that are almost three times what they can earn from making products for the local market. This means that they can now afford to fix up their homes and have enough money to pay school fees and buy school supplies so their children can all go to school. In recent years, orders for rattan products have enabled Mo and Zator to employ most of the 150 adults who live in Ban Vang Kam. Sales of rattan products from Ban Vang Kam are making a huge difference for the people who live there -- regular and higher incomes for families and regular, good quality education for their children.

Channel: Nonprofit

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