Community forests are called village forests in Lao PDR. In Bokeo province, members of the village forest in Kokluang grow and sell teak. They harvest the trees legally following a work plan approved by the district governor and using a teak certificate issued by the District Agriculture and Forestry Office.
The teak growers of Bokeo first formed a group to share knowledge, access external support and collectively negotiate a partnership agreement with their timber buyers in 2020. The Koklouang Teak Group has a partnership agreement with a local sawmill, Singthoun Company, enabling them to secure a market and guaranteed pricing.
The group has a fund from which members can borrow money at an interest rate of one percent per month. As borrowers repay their loans with interest and as timber sales increase, the fund continues to grow. By March 2023, the fund had grown to over USD 900. The group issues loans to its members to support the planting of rubber and Indian gooseberry plants. Such agroforestry investments can provide short-term annual income while teak trees mature.
These developments in Kokluang are built on strong partnerships that RECOFTC has helped facilitate and support. Villagers, local government and the private sector are all key players in the partnership. The experience so far shows that legal teak sales from village forests can bring wider benefits and foster sustainable livelihoods in local communities. Scaling up such successes can contribute to the government’s goals on sustainable development, forest cover, climate change and biodiversity.