Handicrafts in the limelight at annual Laos festival
THE 16th Lao Handicraft Festival is underway at Lao-ITECC until October 22 featuring cotton and silk textiles, bamboo and rattan woven products as well as silver and copper accessories.
The purpose of the festival is to promote shared aims amongst craftspeople and their traditional handmade products from all over the country.
In addition, it also supports the party and government policy of promoting local craftspeople to boost family businesses and in turn incomes to alleviate poverty.
The event will feature a wide range of woven products from almost every rural community throughout the country.
During the fair, there will be a demonstrations showing how woven and handmade products are made to raise awareness about these long-held traditions.
The event hopes to play off the momentum of the government’s Visit Laos Year 2018 initiative in promoting the nation’s culture and handicraft products through the sale of souvenirs.
The organising committee has invited talented artisans from across the country to exhibit their wares and present the culture and identity of every Lao ethnic group to local and foreign visitors.
It is envisioned that the festival will serve to enlarge the market for Lao handicraft products both do- mestically and internationally.
Visitors attending the festival can also enjoy fashion shows, craft demonstrations and product design competitions.
The festival will offer opportunities for producers, customers, buyers and sellers to meet and interact, and for craftspeople and exhibitors to learn about new designs, innovations and techniques that might be adapted to improve the quality of their products, especially for souvenirs.
The festival not only serves as a platform for handicraft makers to get together but also helps them share their business experiences as well as interacting with local and foreign buyers.