Tashi Choetso (བཀྲ་ཤིས་ཆོས་མཚོ།), born in 1991, returned to her hometown after graduation in 2017. In 2018, she joined the Nayo Weaving Center, run by her mother, choosing not to search for opportunities elsewhere, but to create her future where her family’s history already lived. Under the guidance of the physician Lodrö Phuntsok (བློ་གྲོས་ཕུན་ཚོགས།), the mother had restarted the workshop, and Tashi Choetso soon took the lead in innovating and expanding the business. Once back, she began learning the art of weaving yak hair and sheep wool by hand from her mother, the guardian of a knowledge passed down through generations.
The work is carried out using a thaktri (འཐག་ཁྲི), a traditional loom that was once common in Tibetan households to provide for family needs. Today, her home remains the only one in the village where the thaktri still stands and continues to speak through its threads.
Historically, this technique was essential for producing garments, especially monk robes. During the time of the Dege Kingdom, her family was the only one in the area weaving monk robes to meet the high demand of Dzongsar Monastery. By learning directly from her mother, Tashi Choetso stepped into this lineage, continuing a practice that has now become intangible cultural heritage.
The vision behind founding her center was clear and uncompromising: to preserve this intangible culture. She chose to remain in her hometown and to defend the old tradition in its authenticity. Moving from handmade weaving to automatic machines would have been more profitable, but it would have meant surrendering something essential. For her, preservation is not a decorative word it is daily discipline, patience, and responsibility. It means choosing quality over quantity, even when the path is harder.
Her bravery also lies in seeking balance: deeply rooted in tradition, her work opens itself to the present and the future. Ancient techniques are used to create contemporary products designs, showing that heritage is not static, but evolving.
Another courageous commitment defines her work: women’s empowerment. Before the creation of the center, many local women possessed weaving skills but had no access to the market and no independent income. Today, nine women between approximately 35- and 49-years old work at the center. Many of them did not have strong formal educational backgrounds, yet through this craft they have become skilled Tibetan weaving experts. This initiative began with the visionary idea of her father, who gathered women from the community and, during the training, paid them 50 yuan per day to learn. The first year was marked by financial hardship, but they persevered. Her father, sensing how quickly the world was changing, feared the disappearance of this technique and felt a deep responsibility to protect it. Tashi Choetso inherited that same sense of responsibility.
The materials she works with include yak wool, the so-called yak cashmere (the soft undercoat of the yak), and sheep wool. Yak hair is collected locally, while sheep wool now comes from the Lhasa area, since changes in lifestyle have reduced local sheep breeding, making local supply difficult.
Within the center, tradition and innovation intertwine naturally. Yak-inspired and nature-inspired creations emerge alongside products decorated with traditional patterns and symbols. One of her latest works is a bag made of yak wool and yak cashmere, whose thread pattern design evokes mountains and rivers.
The center is gradually gaining recognition beyond the region. In 2019, she spent a period studying at Beijing College, creating four complete garments while deepening her knowledge of color matching and exploring new designs. This experience led to participation in an international exhibition during Beijing Fashion Week. In 2026, Wonderland magazine mentioned Nayo Tsang Weaving Center in issue number 277, highlighting her recent exploration of plant-based dyes. This research began last year and continues today, as she studies plants to produce 100% natural colors. These dyes are more delicate, especially in washing, yet they are gentle on the skin and free from harmful substances. For now, only some products feature plant-based colors, but the experimentation continues.
Looking toward the future, her path remains clear. She envisions continued growth through the careful blending of tradition and innovation, with increasing attention to materials, and design. She sees her creations traveling beyond borders, reaching the wider world while remaining firmly rooted in her village. Above all, her future is tied to her original intention: safeguarding Tibetan culture in its authentic form, allowing it to evolve without losing its soul.
