October 07, 2022
NORLHA ARTISANS
Norlha provides training and long-term employment opportunities for local nomads and families, equipping them with skills to become expert weavers, spinners, tailors, dyers and felters at the Norlha Atelier. Over the last decade, Norlha has spent 40,000+ hours training local nomads in vocational, management & textile skills, training more than 150 artisans who now use their exceptional skills to create high-end textiles from yak khullu. Behind each Norlha piece is a skilled artisan, cherished members of our Norlha family. Here we share some of their stories, along with their favourite Norlha pieces.
Lobsang Gamtso — བློ་བཟང་།
Lobsang has been with Norlha since 2011. Both Lobsang and his wife are skilled artisans; he a Warper, she a Weaver. In 2022 they applied for a position for their 19-year-old daughter in the tailoring section and she too has proved to be a keen trainee. Prior to joining Norlha, Lobsang did not have many animals and often had to leave the village in pursuit of seasonal jobs.
"My favourite piece is the Prince Herringbone scarf. This soft scarf is woven in a softly hued herringbone and is 100% Yak Khullu."
Lumo Tso — ཀླུ་མོ་འཚོ།
Lumo Tso is the mother of three sons. Her two elder sons are monks in the nearby Labrang Tashi Kyil Monastery and her youngest son is currently in 6th grade. Lumo and her husband Sewu Kyap have worked at Norlha since the year of Norlha’s founding in 2007. While she started out as a Clipper in the Weaving Section, she was always passionate about sewing and when our tailoring section first opened in 2012, she was one of the first to apply. Today she is one of the four best tailors at Norlha.
"My favourite Norlha piece is the Village Feather Tassels Scarf, made from a yak khullu and silk-blend."
Yimtso Kyi — ཡུམ་འཚོ་སྐྱིད།
Yimtso Kyi joined Norlha in August of 2007. She is the mother of two and from a family of limited resources. Over the years she has persevered as an artisan to become one of Norlha’s oldest weavers. Today she is the proud mother of two college graduate sons.
"I like the Seamed Cape, the cape has a hand-stitched welt turnover that continues around the cape’s edge, while the cut is cropped for versatile, easy wear."
Dugmo Kar — འབྲུག་མོ་མཁར།
Dugmo Kar started working at Norlha in early 2013. She spent three years in the Weaving Section before applying for a position in Felting. Having grown up as a Nomad, she was already an experienced Felter, and quickly adapted to her new position. She is the mother of 2 daughters and a son. Her daughters have married and moved to neighboring villages and her son remains at home taking care of the family’s Yaks and Sheep. With a sturdy herd and flock, as well as an income from Norlha, they are one of the more affluent families in the village.
"My favourite piece is the Feather Squares Scarf. I like this scarf as its pattern features narrow woven stripes and is made from yak khullu and silk blend."
Lobsang Gamtso — བློ་བཟང་།
Lobsang has been with Norlha since 2011. Both Lobsang and his wife are skilled artisans; he a Warper, she a Weaver. In 2022 they applied for a position for their 19-year-old daughter in the tailoring section and she too has proved to be a keen trainee. Prior to joining Norlha, Lobsang did not have many animals and often had to leave the village in pursuit of seasonal jobs.
"My favourite piece is the Prince Herringbone scarf. This soft scarf is woven in a softly hued herringbone and is 100% Yak Khullu."
Lumo Tso — ཀླུ་མོ་འཚོ།
Lumo Tso is the mother of three sons. Her two elder sons are monks in the nearby Labrang Tashi Kyil Monastery and her youngest son is currently in 6th grade. Lumo and her husband Sewu Kyap have worked at Norlha since the year of Norlha’s founding in 2007. While she started out as a Clipper in the Weaving Section, she was always passionate about sewing and when our tailoring section first opened in 2012, she was one of the first to apply. Today she is one of the four best tailors at Norlha.
"My favourite Norlha piece is the Village Feather Tassels Scarf, made from a yak khullu and silk-blend."
Yimtso Kyi — ཡུམ་འཚོ་སྐྱིད།
Yimtso Kyi joined Norlha in August of 2007. She is the mother of two and from a family of limited resources. Over the years she has persevered as an artisan to become one of Norlha’s oldest weavers. Today she is the proud mother of two college graduate sons.
"I like the Seamed Cape, the cape has a hand-stitched welt turnover that continues around the cape’s edge, while the cut is cropped for versatile, easy wear."
Dugmo Kar — འབྲུག་མོ་མཁར།
Dugmo Kar started working at Norlha in early 2013. She spent three years in the Weaving Section before applying for a position in Felting. Having grown up as a Nomad, she was already an experienced Felter, and quickly adapted to her new position. She is the mother of 2 daughters and a son. Her daughters have married and moved to neighboring villages and her son remains at home taking care of the family’s Yaks and Sheep. With a sturdy herd and flock, as well as an income from Norlha, they are one of the more affluent families in the village.
"My favourite piece is the Feather Squares Scarf. I like this scarf as its pattern features narrow woven stripes and is made from yak khullu and silk blend."