The history of LFP (Lao Farmers’ Products) is linked to the creation of the ASDSP (Association de Soutien au Développement des Sociétés Paysannes). In 1994, two Lao men, Sisaliao SVENGSUKA and Sengdao VENGKEOSAY, active partisans of the development of small farmers in Laos, created the ASDSP, an organization that supports the development of family local farmers which produces organic products and enable descent revenues.
This agriculture, based on environmental and social principles, responds several issues at the same time: feeding the population, offering diversified and healthy products, preserving the environment and people, ensuring profitable prices and food sovereignty.

One year later, the cooperative LFP was created to commercialize those products and enable their export towards European countries through fair trade network such as Solidar’Monde – Artisans du Monde in France, Oxfam – Magasins du Monde in Belgium, GEPA in Germany and  CLARO Magasins du Monde  in Switzerland.

LFP supports local farmers through the ASDSP expertise and by opening market opportunities to optimize products sales and therefore farmers’ living conditions.
ASDSP team is in charge of teaching agro-ecology techniques to farmers to optimize their production, their diversification and their remuneration and to meet organic certifications requirements.
Fair Trade ensures fixed wages to small farmers as well as local development projects such as schools building or irrigation which improves significantly all farmers’ lives.

They started first producing ananas marmelade and following the success, they diversified their culture of fruits and they developed fruits pastes and juices.
Now, they offer a large range of organic products: teas, different types of rice, honey, marmelades, juices and fruit pastes, available for the local market and exports.

LFP receives the raw material at its factory and uses European partners packaging for products to be exported in Europe. For local markets, the cooperative uses its own packaging with the Lao certified organic label.

 My mission

Sisaliao and Soukaseum welcomed me in their cooperative for a marketing support mission.
They needed some help to optimise their products’ sales, visibility and communication.
As a result, my main tasks were to give the team marketing tools to improve products’ visibility and attract new customers and meantime to  create functional specifications for the revision of their website.
I created a marketing power point presentation with marketing introduction, different marketing strategies: promotional tools, identity definition (slogan etc..), market studies (competitors positioning in terms of price and packaging), salesforce supports and brand visibility.
As for the website, I worked on the functional specifications to update the existing one and offer a more dynamic, complete and attractive source of information.
Today, the website is still under progress of renovation.
Working as a volunteer in this cooperative was really interesting because I could really measure the necessity to preserve small farmers and highlight their local and healthy products.
I had a particularly warm welcome in LFP, I wish I could have stayed there longer!
People of LFP gather their energy and time to work for a noble cause: improving living conditions of small Lao farmers and reduce thereby poverty.
Let’s help them!

To visit their shop in Vientiane and buy some local organic and fair trade products! You will find them at:
158, Mittaphab Lao-Thai road
Ban Phong Papao, Sisattanak district
Vientiane Capital

To visit their website and shop online: www.laofarmersproducts.com
Or to support them from Europe, you can go to one of the 170 Artisans du Monde shops in France or one of the 85 Oxfam- Magasins du Monde shops in Belgium!

Or shop online Artisans du Monde products!

And if you want to do some volunteering in LFP cooperative, just contact me!

Range of teas – LFP shop Vientiane

Honey stand – LFP shop Vientiane

Marmelade stand – LFP shop Vientiane

With Sisaliao and Soukaseum