We support cultural transmission in Nakai-Nam Theun communities with intergenerational trainings on traditional crafting skills!

We, at Association Anoulak, regularly coordinate within the villages of the Thaphaibanh village cluster, in Nakai-Nam Theun National Park, intergenerational trainings on the traditional crafting skills that have been practiced within these ethnic minority communities (Bru/Makong) for many generations.

Crafts made in the villages include several types of baskets, trays, mats, etc. made of bamboo, rattan or pandanus, each with a specific purpose in the daily livelihoods of the village communities. But this rich cultural knowledge and heritage tend to be lost across generations.

With our support, we hope to preserve these skills! Cultural transmission allows to pass on accumulated knowledge and wisdom to future generations. It is through cultural transmission that we transmit our history, our art, our literature, and our science. It is essential to the survival and vitality of civilizations.

Villager elder crafters

Intergenerational crafting skills training in Thaphaibanh cluster, Nakai-Nam Theun National Park

Training on sustainable harvest of Pandanus leaves to make Pandanus mats

Since 2020, Association Anoulak has been supporting the four villages of the Thapaibanh village cluster to develop a value chain for their handicraft to generate income, as well as develop a natural resources management program for the forest plants used to produce these handicrafts.

In 2023-2025, our Resilient Communities for Healthy Natural Ecosystems in the Annamites Mountains of Laos (PHASE 2) has the following two Objectives, in follow-up to the first phase of the program:

• Objective 1: Development and implementation of a community-based Non-Timber Forest Products production business enterprises, at the individual and/or village level in Thaphaibanh cluster (4 villages)
• Objective 2: Natural Resources Management Plan for sustainable management and conservation of forests, at the family level, village level and cluster level in Thaphaibanh cluster (4 villages)

PROGRAM BACKGROUND ABOUT OUR PROGRAM

Our overall program’s aims are:

• Support the local communities in implementing innovative and sustainable approaches to bring alternative incomes and to preserve local traditional craftsmanship and cultural integrity
• Reduce the illegal and unsustainable use of natural resources (including plants and wildlife; e.g. illegal poaching/logging/land encroachment) in Nakai-Nam Theun National Park to contribute to biodiversity conservation in the region

Program location:

All the activities are based in Thaphaibanh village cluster (one of the three village clusters within the Nakai – Nam Theun National Park), where villagers are the most reliant on natural resources for their daily livelihoods. Villagers from this cluster have also been identified as the most vulnerable in terms of food security and income. Thaphaibanh village cluster includes 4 villages (further divided into nine hamlets), 520 households and >1200 people.

Teaching and learning how to make rice baskets – Only a few elder crafters within the communities have this skill

Teaching and learning how to make Pandanus mats and baskets