To celebrate 25 years of collaboration between Agence française de développement (AFD) and Laos, AFD organised a photo exhibition entitled “25 years in common” on the subject of the commons. This exhibition showcases the project for development of the bamboo and rattan value chains (in french) led by GRET and its partners since 2016. The latter illustrates one of the commons: village management of bamboo forests.
A video competition was also organised in parallel to the exhibition. GRET won second prize for its film on .
Following on from this event, a delegation made up of the French ambassador to Laos and AFD representatives spent four days in the province of Houaphanh, and met with the project partner, the young Bamboo and NTFP Development Association (BNDA) team, supported by GRET in Laos. The entire delegation praised the team’s professional quality and its enthusiasm.
The delegation also visited artisan producers’ groups who shared their successes and their difficulties in identifying new markets. It also had discussions with the leaders of the village committees in charge of managing bamboo forests. Lastly, a local entrepreneur explained the difficulties generated by the quotas system applying to certain species of bamboo. The delegation subsequently had discussions with the provincial authorities on collaboration between France and the province of Houaphanh, underlining the successful collaboration between GRET, BNDA and the local authorities.
