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Sauraha locals concerned over poaching of rhinos

Wednesday - 20th December 2006

SAURAHA, Dec. 19: With the increase of poaching activities and dwindling population of endangered species of exotic animals, like one-horned rhinos, handicraft entrepreneurs in Sauraha are worried as they have direct relationships with the rare fauna.

"Who would be interested in buying replicas and itching of the extinct animals,"said Karma Dorje Tamang, a handicraft maker in Sauraha who has been producing such artifacts for a year.

Tamang is the pioneer to initiate the trade in Nepal. "Since we started producing such artifacts here after utilising the local resources, the local traders have cut down the import of such goods from India,"he said adding, "Foreigners prefer buying local handicrafts rather than the imported factory products.�

Tourists buy such items after seeing such animals in the National Park as a token or gift to their country, said Tamang. He said that if such wild animals disappear completely, it would be difficult to convince people to buy them. "They might think that the product are replicas of imaginary things.�

Every year hundreds of tourists come to visit the National Park to view the endangered one-horned rhinos and other species, but considering the scale of poaching of such wild animal in the recent times, it has become a threat to upcoming generations because they would not believe only on the craft, Tamang added.

Tamang who busy making the craft from early morning to late night said that one craft could be sold from Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 10,000, which take one to seven days to carve depending on the carvings and size. The prices of the craft are the same for the Nepali and foreign customers. The prices of the images would be reduced if there more workers, he added.

He said he produces the crafts of different sizes ranging from 3 to 16 inches. Tamang has employed three other persons for making the items, and he said that they get handsome payment for their work. He said that there was a large demand for such items from domestic and international tourists.

The images are made up of quality woods and have durable quality. "We generally make use of local resources and usually buy woods from local forest users groups."

He said that sometimes they could not meet demands because there are only a few such craftsmen in the area. After taking skill oriented training from Chitwan National Park Buffer Zone in 2004, he started making such images locally.

Tamang said that he wants to expand the business but there is insufficient manpower available, as they could not pay the amount needed for training. He said that he started his own business after taking a Rs. 3,000 loan from a local bank.

When he started his business there were three partners, but now he has been handling the business alone. His handicrafts are exported to foreign countries like Germany. He said that the business was sufficient to feed his family of four.


Source gorkhapatra