A wooden project – An experiment

The students did a mini wooden carving project. The focus of the project is to try carving kitchen utensils from the dried woods. The aim of the project is to offer hands-on experience to learn about the harmful impacts of plastic utensils and at the same time to value our traditional practice of wooden utensils. It is also to assure skill development such as carving, handling tools, developing motor skills, working in a team, identifying valuable traditional knowledge, and recognizing local wisdom. In a nutshell, it is to help students learning to learn.

The two men from Rekhey community in Dewathang showed us how to carve kitchen utensils. They taught the students how to make a bamboo scoop and a ladle. Later the students were divided into different groups and were assigned to come up with their own creative kitchen utensils. They were given several days to work on their projects.

It was encouraging to see all the groups did their best to carve different utensils including spoon, scoop, ladle, chopstick, bamboo cup, turner, etc. After completion of the project, all the students made a presentation about their projects in the class. It was interesting to listen to their ideas, comments, and feedback. One of the feedback was, there is a need for good tools as a basic need for such a project. Besides, they shared their experiences and what they learned from their projects.

Wangdi, one of the senior students said, “I learned how to carve different shapes and designs from the project.”

“Through this project, I understood the hardships involved in making these utensils’’ said Tshering Dorji, another senior student.

Karma Nyendra, a junior student was able to recollect some ideas from his childhood in the highland of Singye Dzong, where elders in his village carved wooden utensils. He said, “My friends took part in the wood carving training, whereas I didn’t. However, with my interest, I took part in the project.” He added, “In the beginning, I didn’t have much idea, but I recollected how elders in my village made similar utensils and that’s how I managed to make few.”

Another junior student, Kezang Wangdi said, “I was interested when my friends were working on the project, so I joined them with my interest.”

Henceforth, Lhomon Education will keep on experimenting and improving on this project to make it possible for students to further learn and develop skills.