Snow
Animals and Surroundings

Snow

Tibet is sometimes called The Land of Snows, though not all areas of the Plateau see regular snowfall. In Ritoma, winters are too cold for snow...

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Wind
Animals and Surroundings

Wind

Noisy and boisterous, Wind on the Tibetan Plateau animates the multitude of prayer flags, transporting with it the luck-bringing wind horse thr...

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Women on Tibetan Plateau
Animals and Surroundings

On the Move

Today, people tend to forget how much we, homo sapiens, have always moved from one place to another. Migration, which happened ‘en masse’ for m...

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Harvest
Animals and Surroundings

Harvest

Harvest in a nomadic area like Ritoma is a relatively recent phenomenon. In the old days, there were less animals in more plentiful pasture, ga...

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The End of Summer
Animals and Surroundings

The End of Summer

The pasture remains a bright shade of parrot green, though the tips of long grass left to grow wild in the autumn pasture turn gold at the tips...

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The Machu Learning Curve
Animals and Surroundings

The Machu Learning Curve

When Dechen and her brother Genam set off to Amdo to buy yak wool in the summer of 2005, they had no idea what they were getting into, and neit...

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Norlha Lifestyle in Context
Animals and Surroundings

Norlha Lifestyle in Context

Norlha textiles were created from the union of precious khullu and the skilled hands of local artisans. Together, they wove and spun a way of l...

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World Environment Day
Animals and Surroundings

World Environment Day

The Environment There are no trees in Ritoma. At first I thought it was due to the altitude, though the monastery’s pine grove planted some thi...

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Feather Waterfall
Animals and Surroundings

Feather Waterfall

Norlha is a hub of creation, a place our master weavers and designers play with the infinite possibilities offered by the talent of our craftsm...

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Spring and Baby Animals
Animals and Surroundings

Spring and Baby Animals

Spring may be bare and rather chilly in Ritoma, but the coming of new life is a great source of joy. Children look forward to the moment when t...

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Spring Equinox
Animals and Surroundings

Spring Equinox

As winter fades into spring, the days become a little longer and cold wind’s bite slightly eases. Winter’s intensity froze the environment and ...

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Wildlife
Animals and Surroundings

Wildlife

In Ritoma, as in most nomadic area of the Tibetan Plateau animals more numerous than humans by tenfold. There are of course the herds of domest...

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