Ethical, Sustainable Luxury from Tibetan Plateau. Stories from Norlha

Religion and Culture

BLESSING THE LAND

As humans, we like to make our mark and build on land that we consider empty. We buy it, exchange or inherit it and consider it ours. In Tibet, peo...

Religion and Culture

LAPTSE

Fluttering flags, smoke, paper effigies of the wind horse, the harbinger of good fortune, falling like snow, the sound of hoofs, and the cries of h...

Ritoma

SUMMER ON THE PLATEAU

The life of a nomad is active, regulated by nature and requiring constant vigilance. The herd is the nomad’s source of livelihood, and is constantl...

Religion and Culture

EARTH CLEANSING

Each year, on the 19th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar, the monks of Ritoma Monastery and men representing each clan and household make ...

Home

THE NOMAD TENT

The sprawling black tent, or bagu, is the home of pastors for about eight months of the year. A big bagu, more common in the past when large famili...

Religion and Culture

THE MOVE TO CHAKKA

From time immemorial, harmony among various pastoral groups relied on equal access to their most important asset; grassland. Norlha lies in the dis...

Ritoma

CELEBRATING THE ELDERLY

Every Sagadawa, Norlha offers each of the Ritoma residents over the age of 80 the gift of a scarf. These senior members of the community spend thei...

Craft

ARTISAN PORTRAITS

Over the last decade, Norlha has spent 40,000+ hours training local nomads in vocational, management & textile skills, training more than 150 a...

Craft

MENDING IN TIBET

The attitude towards what we wear has changed so much in the past 100 years, that mending our clothes would seem both impractical and a waste of ti...

Religion and Culture

EARTH DAY IN RITOMA

Historically, Ritoma has been home to Tibetan nomads who are closely tied to nature’s cycles, knowing that moderation helps to maintain a balance, ...

Craft

FELT IN TIBET

Asian nomads have used felt for thousands of years, and examples of felt banners were found in the Dun Hunag caves, believed to be a thousand years...

Ritoma

SYMBOLISM OF WATER

The Tibetan Plateau is the land of water, the place where Asia’s most important rivers, the Brahmaputra, Salween, Yangtse, Mekong and Indus, take t...