(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
Shilok has been liking Tibetan masks since his childhood. At the year of 18, he became a student of Thubten Chodrak, an inheritor of mask making skill, and started learning the skill.
Five years ago, Shilok established the farmers and herdsmen’s cooperative of folk traditional hand-made craftsmanship in Tashigang Village, Dagze County, Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), exploring a way to shake off poverty.
As a local of Tashigang Village, Shilok, founder of the cooperative, used to live on the highland barley in the fields and a few livestock with his family.
(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
In 1993, at the year of 18, Shilok became a student of Thubten Chodrak, an inheritor of mask making skill, and started inheriting traditional skill.
(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
Under the teacher’s guide, he mainly learned to make clay Buddhist figures, cloth-coated mask of Chams (a religious dance) and clothes of Tibetan opera, etc.
(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
The making skills of cloth-coated mask of Chams and Buddhist figures and red-coral mask were included in the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) list of TAR in 2013.
(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
With eminent skills, Shilok was awarded as a regional ICH inheritor of Lhasa's cloth-coated mask making skill in 2013.
In 2014, Shilok was listed as a representative inheritor of Lhasa’s cloth-coated mask making skill, which was an ICH project of TAR.
(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
At the 1st Mask Art Exhibition of TAR held in 2014, more than 10 works of Shilok, including the red-coral mask of Vajra and white-pearl mask, were collected by the National Art Museum.
(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
"During this process, I learned the skill and opened my mind. The government paid great attention to the old crafts, which made me realize what I was doing," said Shilok.
"As more tourists are interested in Tibetan traditional culture and handicrafts, I see the sign of future and hope," he added.
(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
Giving full play to the preferential policies of governments at different levels, Shilok established the farmers and herdsmen’s cooperative of folk hand-made craftsmanship in Tashigang Village in 2012, and cultivated 12 students who were from local impoverished households.
(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
The clay workshop of the cooperative is an entirely different world. Clay masks and Buddhist figures in different sizes are placed trimly in the room.
The vivid handicrafts stand there, telling the stories of ancient times.
(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
Mask making is a complicated process, and needs patience. Besides, ornaments of the masks also need hard work.
(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
The procedures of making skill a clay mask is complicated. First, the mask model should be air-dried and pasted with the mixture of liquid gum and flour.
The air-dried mask model will be wrapped in a cloth, and pasted with another mixture.
After doing this wrapping and pasting process four or five times, the model will be put aside and dried naturally.
(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
After all the processes are done, a stick is needed to help get the clay model wrapped in the cloth.
Then, a mask made of cloth, gum and flour is finished.
(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
When finishing the above processes, the craftsmen will add colored paintings and vanish the mask, in order to make it shine.
(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
There are 12 students and 20 staff members in the cooperative. Among the 20 staff members, seven of them are from registered impoverished households and three from the relocated households.
Besides salary, staff members are also provided with food and accommodation for free. At the end of the year, each of them will receive a bonus of over 8,000 yuan.
After establishing the cooperative, Shilok made the impoverished households become shareholders, providing jobs for the children of impoverished ones and improving their income.
(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
In 2014, the cooperative started sparing a profit that is worth hundreds of thousands yuan to deliver to the impoverished households, and provided them with training opportunities, thus to help them acquire a professional skill and shake off poverty.
(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
Now, besides cloth-coated masks, the cooperative also make new products, such as clothes of Tibetan opera, clay Buddhist figures, Tibetan furniture, tourism souvenirs, etc.
Meanwhile, the cooperative has taken advantage of the online platforms to sell masks and cultural products.
(Photo/ Drakpa Wangchen and Tenzin Norbu)
With the increasing demands, the cooperative has received more revenue.
Shilok said he wants to develop more tourism handicrafts and characteristic Tibetan handicrafts, thus to engage more impoverished households and unemployed young people in the sector and help them live a better life.
