EDC, ACDI/VOCA and SNV recently organized a workshop at the Settha Palace hotel on the 27th and 28th of May, focusing on enhancing staple crop value chains and cross-border trade in Lao PDR.  ACDI/VOCA, represented by Ms. Janice Stallard (Senior Technical Director – Enterprise Development – Washington DC) and Mr. Adam Keatts (Regional Director – South-East Asia), along with Mr. Wanna Lassamee from EDC conducted an assessment of the staple crop sector in Oudomxay province before attending the workshop.

During the workshop presentations were made by ACDI/VOCA on the consequences and lessons learned from the 2008 global food price crisis, gave an overview of their value chain approach and presented the findings of the study in Oudomxay. Read the rest of this entry »

There were two instances that EDC has performed charity works. The first happened in November, 2008. EDC staff have collected and donated used clothes and some notebooks for poor school children and villagers from three remote villages of Nalae district in Luang Namtha provinces. The three villages, namely Mok Chord, Mok Prad and Phouthone Mok, are situated in a very high mountain. It is always very cold during winter time. In fact, temperature can go far down as 0 (and sometimes, even -1 degree). The poor children and some villagers have no clothes (not talking about warm clothes) to wear. They could only survive by staying in the kitchen around the fire place. Even used or second hand clothes can help the villagers during the harsh winter.

Then in January 2009, EDC’s team of consultants worked with an with HIV/AIDS programme. In this mission, EDC discussed, worked and observed PLHIV (people living with HIV). It is not so easy to lived with such a debilitating disease. Despite this however, EDC knows that there is still optimism and a ray of hope in most of the PLHIV. They gave two packages of milk for each family. EDC hopes that the small contibution can help them in very small way to go through the physical and emotional pain.

From now onwards, EDC will do an annual charity event. They would like to invite other institutions, projects and SMEs to join if they so desire. EDC also plans to work with the Laos Red Cross in collecting donations and used clothes for the villagers. Do contact us if you are interested in charity works.

Denise Tomecko’s Buddhist Healing in Laos: Plants of the Fragrant Forest book was officially launched in the Monument’s Bookshop in early evening of Feb. 17, 2009. The event was hosted and organized by the Women International Group (WIG) in Vientiane. The book enriches the Laos tradition of using herbs and sauna for improving health, medicinal application and healing sickness in natural and less obtrusive ways.

More than 30 guests attended the event. The EDC partners (Thip, Buakhai and Tui) attended the event ang got a personally signed copy of the book. Denny as her friends call her answered many questions raised by the guests.

Denise was born and raised in Central Africa. She spent the past 30 years traveling and living with her family in Africa and in South and South East Asia. Throughout, she explored her passions for yoga, holistic healing, aromatheraphy and Buddhism. While in Laos with her husband Jim, she studied the Lao Forest Tradition of Buddhism. Here, she met an elder Buddhist nun, experienced meditation teacher and lifelong healer, Mae Khaao Keo—considered as a living treasure of the ancient art of Lao herbal lore. Read the rest of this entry »