Boris Luangkhot decorates cakes at a Vientiane hotel.

No place better than home

The Lao government’s policy to encourage people of Lao descent living overseas to return to the country of their forebears is creating new business opportunities for those with good qualifications.

France is probably a dream destination for many people, thanks to the good wages offered there, world class standards of social welfare, and its inclusive education policy.
But one man from Laos stands out in contrast to this conventional view. Despite the fact that he had the chance to spend the rest of his life in France, he decided to return to the home of his forebears.
“I completed a course in bakery and worked there for some years. Given my qualifications, I could live in France if I wanted. But I decided to come to Laos because there is no place better than home,” said 33-year-old Boris Luangkhot.
Boris, who owns a European bakery and restaurant in central Vientiane, gave an exclusive interview to Vientiane Times on October 18 to tell his unique story, which reflects the impact of the Lao government’s policy to encourage former citizens now living overseas to return and make contribution to the development of Laos.
During the Indochina war in the 1970s, for political, economic and educational reasons, hundreds of thousands of people in Laos migrated to other countries. Today there are more than half a million people of Lao ethnicity living in other parts of the world, mainly in the USA, France, Australia and Germany.
But the government’s opening-up policy in 1980s actively encouraged the return of those who had left their homeland, realising they could be the drivers of change in Laos. Since then, hundreds of families have decided to return and set up profitable businesses, including Boris.
Born in Paris, in 1989, at the age of three Boris accompanied his father, who also had French citizenship, come back to Laos.
During his childhood in Vientiane, he attended a French language school, followed by a Chinese school when he was a bit older.
After finishing secondary school, he worked as an assistant chef at a hotel in Vientiane before deciding to go back to France for specialised training as a chef.
In 2004, at the age of 15, Boris returned to France. After a year of intensive French language classes, he was admitted to a cookery school in Paris. During his time there, he decided to specialise as a baker.
At the end of his training, he was offered a job as a chef at a patisserie in Paris. In France, this line of work was well paid and he was able to put a lot of savings aside. Thanks to his training and the high demand for pastry chefs, he was able to enjoy a good standard of living, but he was not completely satisfied with his life.
“It was my intention to undertake training in France but not to live there. I wanted to obtain a qualification so that I could come back to Laos and set up a business,” Boris said.
Despite the fact that France has a high standard of living and offers free health care and education to French citizens, he decided he wanted to make Laos his home and that there was nowhere better to live.
He felt Laos was a good place to live because of the numerous business opportunities thanks to the growing economy and the influx of foreign tourists.
Apart from his love to the nation, culture, the government’s opening up policy and end discrimination against Lao expats also created opportunity for him to live and do business in Laos.
After returning from France, he decided to make pastries, sell them online, and distribute them to hotels in Vientiane. After carefully assessing his options, in 2019 he opened a patisserie selling a delectable range of sweets, pastries and drinks.
Based on his passion for baking and the French mindset of creating opportunities for others, he decided to offer internships to young people who want to learn the trade so that they too could open a bakery.
He said that what he taught was not only related to baking but also about personal growth and life skills, adding that he always stressed the importance of observation.
“We should not just learn from what teachers say in the classroom, but also make personal observations. There are a lot of things that textbooks don’t tell you,” he said, adding that he learnt this from his training in France.
Today, Boris is a successful businessman. But he admits that aside from his self-motivation, his father played a key role in shaping his thinking, beliefs and values.
Boris’s father, Mr Bouthamany Luangkhot, said it was important for parents to appreciate the talents and abilities of their children, adding that he was happy to do whatever he could to help his children.
He said it was not a good idea to force children to do something they did not like, because they would not become successful.
“I realised that my son loved cooking, so I decided to support him to do the work he loved, rather than something that I liked,” Mr Bouthamany said.
Like his son, Mr Bouthamany has a master’s degree in Information Technology from a French university.
He could live in France but chose to return to Laos to care for his mother and benefit from the government’s policy to encourage former Lao citizens overseas to return and give a boost to the country’s development.
He said he appreciated this policy, adding that a number of returnees have the necessary financial backing and knowledge to spur the development of Laos.
Following the country’s transformation from landlocked to a land link, there would be a lot of opportunities, he added. But to make the most of these opportunities, the government should invest heavily in human resources development.
Mr Bouthamany said there are more people like him who are ready to return to Laos and give momentum to the development process, as they too believe that there is no better place than home.

By Ekaphone Phouthonesy
(Latest Update October 24, 2022)