Yangkyi Drolma, 48 years old, is the sixth generation of a blacksmith family. With this craft, she serves neighbors and supports her son and daughter. But in recent years, Yangkyi Drolma has found that her health is worsening. She worries that she might be the last blacksmith in this family.

Yangkyi Drolma has a son and a daughter. She hopes that the son can stay with her and be a blacksmith and the daughter can go to college. But things go contrary to her wishes. The son is unwilling to be a blacksmith and has gone out for a job; the daughter failed in the college entrance exanimation, and aspires to learn forging from her.

For many, even Yangkyi Drolma, blacksmith is not a good job. But for a living and for this craft, some are still persisting. So, Yangkyi Drolma’s biggest hope is that her son will come back and take over this smithy.

Larong Drolma told us her mother Yangkyi Drolma said she can go out for a job after brother’s comeback. She wanted to run a business. Her mother consented saying she can do what she wants to do after brother’s comeback.

Blacksmith is a job seemingly exclusive to men. For women, it’s not a good job, tiring and even dangerous.

Yangkyi Drolma said, “ If I couldn’t weld, I would only do a few things. So I spent one month learning electric welding. During that period, my eyes were swollen full of tears and my face skin was scaling. Luckily, I managed to master welding. The cost was physical pain. If my son was here, I would not have to learn. He knows how to weld.”

Yangkyi Drolma became a blacksmith at 29. For more than 20 years, she has been devoted to this challenging profession. Only she knows what life means for a female blacksmith.

In fact, the son is willing to be a successor, but his resolution is not firm yet. Yangkyi Drolma has to stay here and continue working on her own.