Artisans at a cooperative in Shannan, Tibet, weave Pulu, a traditional Tibetan wool fabric that has been made on the plateau for centuries. Men and women work at wooden looms, spinning and weaving wool into cloth for local use while training others to continue the craft.
The cooperative, founded in 2008 by Tibetan artisan Pasang, employs more than 100 local residents, including people with disabilities. It also teaches younger Tibetans the weaving skills Pasang says he feared were disappearing. The cooperative focuses in particular on Zeter, a finer variety of Pulu produced from especially soft wool and described as more delicate and harder to spin than ordinary Pulu.
While outlets describe the same operation and its goal of preservation, their emphasis differs slightly. The Korea Times provides more detail about the cooperative’s founder, its workforce, and the specific qualities of Zeter and its historical claim tied to the Ming dynasty. ABC News and the Winnipeg Free Press title the effort more generally as a way to keep the weaving tradition alive, without adding extensive background details in the provided excerpts.
