Yang Ching-te (Lawasi), a member of the first carving class who has now become quite famous as a carver himself, recalls that he used to do odd jobs as a metal worker in Hualien. When he heard that there were going to be carving classes offered back home, the idea of trying something new and fresh attracted him.
木雕班第一屆成員，如今在當地已頗有名氣的木雕師傅楊清德（拉瓦斯）回憶，他本來是在花蓮打零工的鐵工，聽到部落要辦什麼木雕班，在新鮮感的驅引下加入。