Tibetan village weaves its way to prosperity

Tsamchung and her fellow villagers earn a living by working in a handcrafts cooperative in Zangkha village of Shigatse in the Tibet autonomous region.
This work also helps the villagers preserve traditional weaving skills.

Tsamchung has been working for four years in this workshop, honing all aspects of the craft, including spinning, weaving, cutting and coloring.

She said she is pleased to be engaged in this profession.

"Both my mother and I work here. It's so convenient because it takes less than 20 minutes from home to the workshop," adding she makes an average of 45,000 yuan annually.

"I have time to help my family with farming and herding with this job," she said.

Palyang, the village's Party secretary, said she came up with the idea of setting up such a cooperative back in 2016, and 16 households joined the program.

To date, all the villagers have invested in the cooperative, and 65 villagers from more than 90 households participate as workers, including three disabled people.

"The majority of the staff are women, as they tend to have weaving skills," the 25-year-old said.

"Our workshop produces Tibetan weaving handicrafts, including Tibetan carpets, thick wool garments and traditional Tibetan women's aprons," said Palyang, adding it takes a youth half a year and adults a year to master the skills necessary to produce these products.

"The villagers make an average annual income of between 20,000 yuan ($3,100) and 90,000 yuan by working in the workshop," she said, adding the villagers' per-capita dispensable income has increased from less than 7,000 yuan in 2015 to more than 14,000 yuan by the end of 2021.