TaiBaan

TaiBaan was started by PADETC (a Lao NGO) as a fair trade social business that works with traditional handicraft artisans to preserve and promote Lao village crafts, create employment opportunities for villagers – mostly women – and reduce poverty.

TaiBaan was originally named Saoban. In 2020, Saoban was renamed TaiBaan, which means “village or a community of villages” in the Lao language.

TaiBaan represents a dynamic and promising new opportunity for preserving ancient crafts and techniques, an important cultural tradition among the diverse ethnic population of Laos. It works on both sides of production, improving product range and quality and securing domestic and foreign markets on behalf of rural artisan groups. TaiBaan supports more than 15 village crafts groups of many ethnic communities across 10 provinces of Lao PDR.

As a member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), TaiBaan abides by international Fair Trade principles and seeks to expand the marketing of Lao village handcrafts to the outside world.