By Syed Zarir Hussain
IANS
Thimphu : Bhutan looks like a speck on the world map and the Himalayan kingdom generally loves basking in its pristine natural beauty and exotic culture. But with the winds of globalisation sweeping across the globe, more and more people in this nation of just 700,000 are beginning to dream big – especially the country's business community.
A nation not known for its aggressive marketing skills, Bhutan is changing gears to keep pace with time.
Dechen Penjore, a demure Bhutanese woman who owns a handicrafts store in Bhutan's capital Thimphu, is one of those with big dreams – her eyes now set on the world's biggest consumer market, the US.
Penjore was in Los Angeles recently as part of Bhutan's first ever trade mission to market products from the kingdom and learn business tricks.
"It was an awesome experience and like everybody I went to the US with big dreams. We could not do much business as we had to do a lot of talking, explaining where we came from and where Bhutan actually is," Penjore told a visiting IANS correspondent.
Bhutan is now feeling the need to market its textiles, carpets, handicrafts, herbs, incense and even tea. The delegation led by Bhutan's director of trade, Sonam P. Wangdi, met with business leaders in southern California to see if they could strike some deals.
"For decades, the bulk of our trade was only with India. Now we want to explore the world market and see our products going outside," Wangdi said. Bhutan is even contemplating joining the World Trade Organisation.
The biggest problem the Bhutanese delegation faced in the US was not about the quality of products they were willing to sell, but more about the geo-location of the country they came from.
"People didn't know anything about Bhutan and most of those whom we met in the US were curious to know where we came from. We learned a lesson that first we need to advertise Bhutan and then only our products would be accepted in the world market," said K.D. Thinley, a Bhutanese arts and crafts dealer.
But it was a great learning experience for the entire team – back home they are now trying to print brochures highlighting their products as well as a brief on Bhutan.
"People in the US have shown interest in some of our products and very soon we hope to do business abroad," another business delegate said.
Though Bhutan's economy is one of the world's smallest, it has grown rapidly from eight percent in 2005 to 14 percent last year with the nation's per capita income pegged at $1,321.