About Us

Amdo Craft is dedicated to training and helping Tibetan nomads use the only resource they have, yak and sheep wool and yak milk. The profit of the sales of these unique handmade handicrafts goes back to Tibetan communities. In return they are able to provide shoes, clothes, and school books for their children as well as food for the long cold winters.


Amdo Craft is a small company in the Qinghai province of China.  The company exists to train Tibetan nomads and farmers, both women and men, in producing marketable handmade items and then helps them sell those items, locally and internationally.  The profit of the sales of the handicrafts goes back to Tibetan communities. These Tibetans live at high altitudes in remote locations which present many challenges, such as extreme cold and harsh conditions.  They rely almost entirely on their animals for their livelihood.  Their only resource comes from yak and sheep wool as well as yak milk and tallow.  Some families pick caterpillar fungus, a popular item in Asia, to supplement income.


Amdo Craft trains these Tibetans to card, spin, weave, felt, and knit their wool into beautifully homemade handicrafts.  In 2011 the nomads were trained in how to make yak milk soap.  High quality is ensured by intense training and constant quality control.  A wide range of products are being sold worldwide through the internet, shops, café’s, and art galleries.  Feel free to browse our website and check out our bags, soap, and many other products in an effort to “Help Us Help The Nomads”.


Ways Amdo Craft has helped Tibetan Communities:

  1. Provides books for libraries in small Tibetan schools
  2. Provides health and hygiene training as well as medical clinics and care
  3. Helps to preserve traditional Tibetan weaving and braiding skill
  4. Promotes the production of indigenous Tibetan Handicraft items
  5. Provides marketable training skills for Tibetans who have no source of income



A Success Story

Thirty-four year old Drolmo attracts one’s attention with her bright eyes, which takes everything in, her shy smile, and her eagerness to please.  She does not speak freely of her own shame of being divorced from an alcoholic husband, leaving her as a single parent of a three year old.  Her community has labeled her a “patient” due to a abdominal surgery several years ago.  This stigmatism does not offer encouragement or support from others that she can indeed be useful to her family and community. Since participating in the handicraft training program, idle days have been replaced with eager hands and renewed hope as she produces many beautifully woven handbags.  Drolmo is a “natural” in terms of skill, initiative, and creativity. When paid for the first time for her outstanding, colorful products, she quietly smiled for she would finally be able to buy enough flour to last through the winter.  Through Amdo Craft, Drolmo, her aged mother, and her young daughter now have a source of hope.  Drolmo is one of sixty Amdo Tibetans in Qinghai and Gansu province who produce these handicrafts.

 

  

我公司精选源自青藏高原的牛羊毛绒，结合安多藏区传统手工艺及目前较先进的编织技术，建立了以研发，制作，销售特色牛羊毛绒制品为一体的生产经营模式。
我们的宗旨是培训牧民先进的编制技术，在为游客提供极具藏式特色、优质传统手工艺品的同时，也为安多地区贫困牧民提供一个增加经济收入和发扬安多本土传统文化的机会。


现在我们的工作地区

羊毛手工项目是继泽库县人民政府推进了一个致力于帮助极度贫困游牧民的国际非政府组织后开展的。这些游牧民是一个偏远的族群的一部分，他们唯一的资源就是从自己的牦牛或者羊身上剪下来的毛。一位从瑞典来的纺织专家应邀开发了这个项目。


2001年的夏天开始开发这个项目。一位从瑞典来的专家研究了可以利用的羊毛和当地的编织方法。然后她开始筹备培训项目，教当地的妇女card, spin, weave, knit and felt with the wool。这个培训项目从2001年的春天一直持续到2002年的夏天，在这期间，她经常亲自来教这些妇女，并且查验她们的作品。到了2002年的夏天，这些妇女的手工艺制品已经可以拿到市场上销售了。这些手工制品最早被销售给西宁市的外国朋友的社区。整整一年，产品生产和质量控制在重点强调和督促下取得了很大的进步，手工制品已经完全可以在商店销售了。 创造更多的市场机会仍然是这个项目的挑战之一。然而，到了2003年的春天，其他的人接替了这个项目的管理。他们继续监管质量的控制，并且同时引进了更多的产品生产。2004年，库拉的妇女们已经变得非常熟练和能干，她们制作了大量的手工艺品。于是重点转移到了找到更多的市场销售她们的手工艺品。很快地，这个重点转移变成了现实，现在铜仁、西宁、北京以及美国和香港的商店都在销售这些手工艺品。2004年的秋天，库泽县另外一个地区的政府人员找到了这个项目的负责人，请求在他们的地区也开展同样的项目。项目负责人，在当地藏族同胞的帮助下，完满完成了政府的请求，培训其他藏族妇女掌握了这套技能。于是，手工艺品的制作一直没有间断。此外，库泽地区非常贫穷的家庭也开始制作这些手工艺品了。

 

一位来自于项目发源地的藏族同胞是主要的翻译者和信息提供者。她受过高等教育，熟练掌握汉语和藏语。她在这个项目中飞速的成长为专业人士，和当地的妇女建立了良好的关系，能够妥善处理质量控制的问题和讨价还价的问题。并且，她能够准确把握什么样的产品设计和面料在国外有好的市场前景。 她现在住在泽库，这个地区的县城。虽然她个人作了很大的努力也取得了很大的进步，但是她仍然能够看到极度的贫困。她又开始关注贫困的老年人口，因为很多上了年纪的人失去了他们的牲畜，从而也失去了衣食的来源。她也同时关注到需要帮助的妇女正在增加。当她看到很多家乡当地的妇女以捡垃圾为生时她觉得很难过。因此，她想尽一切办法利用制作羊毛手工艺品这个项目来帮助这些妇女，并且帮助她们能够以此为生。她已经在泽库地区成立了一个有两间房间的工作坊，并且获得了项目组的支持。她的项目中的一些妇女现在已经掌握了基本的制作手帕的技能，同时，她也非常信任那些现在还没有掌握基本技能的妇女，仍然锲而不舍的教她们，相信慢慢地她们就能够学会这些能够给自己的未来带来改变的技能。 她相信一两年后，她的工作坊就能够自给自足。她的目标是使她的工作坊成为一条合格的生产线，能够制作出完全合乎订单要求的工艺品。现在，则库各个地区的妇女们能够生产出大量的手工制品，要求市场能够同步快速发展。虽然，快速的发展很鼓舞人心，但是，项目的组织者明白工艺品的质量才是项目能够获得成功的关键。因此，一整套的质量监督和控制流程一直在项目中从始至终地被执行着，以保证产品质量的稳定性。当引进新的产品时，我们同时开展生产的指导和培训。