Shadzob
Karma Wangchuk which his title is self explicit is a well known Dhapa (traditional
wooden plate) maker in Lhuentse. He started his business in 2005 as an
alternative source of income to his family. The rickety structure of bamboo
makeshift, houses his enterprise which comprises of single facet motor run by
an electricity. But within the confinement of that dilapidated structure many
dozens of finest quality of wooden plate takes shapes with the roar the motor
engine. His dhapa making is singly a father-to-son passed
skills.
The
deformation of trees such as Aakshing, Guliser and Serkaling which are found
in Pimi and Jang area under Lhuentse Dzongkhag serves as the raw materials
for his enterprise. Such diseased trees are what he looks for when wandering
hunting for the raw materials. After obtaining the valid license from Department
of Forests and Park Services, raw material collections are done in 11th, 12th
and 1st months of the Bhutanese calendar. The deformation hanging by the
trunk of the trees are removed and converted to roughly the shape for easy
transport home.
Come 5th, 6th and 7th month of the Bhutanese calendar, he gets busy with his engine inside the bamboo hut. The collected materials are soaked in water for atleast 3 months which are then again let to dry for same period of time. Only then are the woods ready for transformation into
and
other similar products.
The price of the products ranges from Nu. 300 to Nu. 800 dictated by the size
and overall quality. The products are sold to broker, one Mr. Ngawangla at
Trashiyangtse. He revealed that he earns Nu. 45,000 or so in a year through
sale of the products minus an annual expenditure of approximate sum of
Nu.15,000. Such earning feeds his not so small family of 14 including 6 sons
and same number of daughters.
However,
not an easy access to the permits for collection of raw materials required
for running his enterprise is a biggest bottleneck. “The permits have to be
availed from the Department in Thimphu only,” says Shadzob Karma Wangchuk
adding that obtaining permits eats away major chunk of his earning. He
expressed his suggestion by saying, “It would be a great boon for people like
us if the issuance of permits for such category is devoled atleast to the
level of Chief Forestry Office.
Whatever
may come, he has committed his life in the trade. He speaks high of his
enterprise in the backdrop of ever dwindling of such traditional dhapa making
in the Country. Parallel to helping feed his family, his trade is also
helping keep the Country’s tradition alive.
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“Root of the education is bitter but the fruit is sweet” no one would know about it better than Kado. The fatigue of having to toddle to the school, fever of unending exams, the torture of having to burn the midnight oil, dozing in classes and the stern rigors are hard to endure, few even give up on the way but many endure it with utmost determination and commitment, because deep inside everyone knows it pays later. “Root of the education is bitter but the fruit is sweet” no one would know about it better than Kado Kado in the tender age of 12 is negotiating the lazily meandering footpath along the steep mountain. His school bag, full of books, pulls him back. His black naughty boy school shoe is all soiled, indication of how many times he has trudged that same footpath. He is on his way to the primary school in his village, almost 5 kilometers away. He has to make sure he is in the school before morning social work starts; else he gets penalized. Unlike the students who reside nearb...
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