Tibet Poverty Alleviation Fund, www.tpaf.org

Since 1998, the Tibetan Poverty Alleviation Fund (TPAF) has worked to provide sustainable livelihoods in the Tibetan community.  Projects include artist cooperatives, motorcycle mechanic training and much more.  Check out their great work at www.tpaf.org.

TPAF Artist Paints Buddhist Thangka, Tibet

A workshop supported by the Tibetan Poverty Alleviation Fund promotes and protects the ancient art of painting Buddhist thangkas with hand-crushed mineral paints.

Woman Spins Prayer Wheels at the Potala Palace

A long kora of prayer wheels circles the base of the Potala Palace.  Head there in the morning and evening, breathe in the juniper smoke and let your fingers send the prayers of a nation into the sky.

Young Couple on the Tibetan Plateau

A young man spins wool like his ancestors did while his wife looks on from the doorway.  Tsurphu Valley, Tibet.

Traditional Weaver Prepares Rough Wool, Tibet

Shear the sheep. Prepare the wool.  Twist into thread. Weave into beautiful rugs to warm the floors of Buddhist monasteries. Repeat for thousands of years.

Buddhist Monastery Outside City of Lhasa, Tibet

Reincarnations inhabit the stones along the kora at Sera Monastery outside the capital city of Lhasa, Tibet.

Tibetan Painter Making Traditional Figures

An artist supported by TPAF paints a figure of the Buddha in the Barkhor District of Lhasa, Tibet

Clay Buddha, Made in Lhasa

Formed by the hands of a Tibetan artist in the Barkhor - a member of the artist collective originally organized by the TPAF.