Tarayana Rural Crafts
རི་བོ་ཇིཀྲུ་ཌེཀ
activityWith its inconspicuous location behind the long row of handicrafts stalls that line Norzin Lam from the Three Offering Goddesses traffic circle on down, Tarayana Rural Crafts may look like any other retail shop. But its mission is big: helping the women and children of Bhutan's most marginalized communities to become self-reliant. All of the crafts for sale at Tarayana Rural Crafts — natural-dye silk scarves, exquisite kira dresses, wooden dragon masks painted in brilliant colors, woven bangchu baskets, paper diaries, long-burning candles — are handmade by craftspeople living in villages as many as four days’ walk from the nearest road. The shop sponsors women and men under the aegis of its mother organization, Tarayana Foundation, giving them all the necessities: looms, carving tools, raw materials, work sheds where they gather to work in circles, even early learning centers so that their young children can be educated while the parents create. Tarayana also practices fair trade and encourages craftspeople to develop new products, giving workshops where participants acquire new skills and learn how to revive traditional Bhutanese arts and crafts. The artisans are given further opportunities to showcase their wares at the Tarayana Rural Crafts retail store and during the ann...
