Traditional wooden bowls help lift Tibetan village out of poverty

Two women sell traditional Tibetan wooden bowls via livestreaming on Douyin, a popular short-video sharing app, in Tangbumba village, Orong town in Nyingchi city, Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, on Aug 20, 2020. [Video by Xu Kun/chinadaily.com.cn]

After serving as Party head in Tangbumba village for six years, Pema Tobgye did not expect that traditional Tibetan wooden bowls, commonly seen in Tibetan families, could help lift this poverty-stricken village out of poverty.

Tangbumba village had been a key poor village in Orong town in Nyingchi city, Southwest China’s Tibet autonomous region for many years. According to a village official, "the per capita arable area in the village was only 887 sq m, and the villagers were not well educated and lacked the ability to learn professional skills." These factors made Tangbumba village the most impoverished in Orong town, with the most arduous task of poverty alleviation.

To lead the villagers to a better life, Pema Tobgye had numerous ideas in head. He thought of tourism, but the local natural scenery is not as beautiful as surrounding towns and there were not many tourists; he thought of growing herbs, but scarce land and shortcomings in technology are a big problem.