The highland community of Laya is abuzz with house constructions. An interesting thing about it is that people building the houses are men from the east of the country.
Many of them hail from Monggar and Trashigang.
Today, there are over 150 of them building houses and earning a minimum daily wage of Nu 1,000.This is double of what they earn back in their villages for the same job.
While some are carpenters, others are skilled masons.
Kezang Norbu from Trashigang is a carpenter. He’s been in Laya for over four years now and already calls it a second home.
“Back in our village, when we do carpentry works, we don’t get more than Nu 450 to Nu 500, but here, we get a minimum of Nu 1,000 daily. That’s why I came here,” he said.
Nawang Tshering, another worker from the east, has been in Laya for more than a year now.
“In our village, we grow maize and buckwheat, but that doesn’t earn us much. It is far better here. The money is good, which helps me meet my children’s school expenses,” he said.
Kezang Norbu, Nawang Tshering and others like them spend six months in Laya every year and then head home only to return the following year.
“If my body allows, I want to come here every year,” Kezang Norbu said.
These men have become invaluable for Layaps who in the recent years have started building new and better homes with improved income from cordyceps.
