The Three-River-Source Designer Alliance was jointly initiated by the Three-River-Source Ecological Environmental Protection Association and a group of designers. We work year-round on the plateau, providing handicraft training for the nomads. Through empowerment, we enable them to use their hands to create a work of dignity, and a choice to stay and protect their homeland.

Supporting the local nomads has never been about charity, but rather about giving back to these people who have safeguarded the river sources for generations.

The Qinghai Three-River-Source Ecological Environmental Protection Association was established in 2001. With the mission of “devoting ourselves to promoting the construction of ecological civilization on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau”, the Association is committed to protecting China's water source areas, cultivating frontline environmental protection leaders, fostering zero-waste sustainable communities.

In Tsoten (མཚོ་ཁྲི།), at 4,600 meters in Yulshul, to protect wildlife, nomads gave up their pastures and left their homes.
They chose another way to continue the spirit of nomadism.

With their hands, they weave - threading time and experience into each cord. The colors come from the plateau; the patterns carry memory. These works connect the nomadic people of this vast land. Their way of living with all beings will be carried on.

Card Weaving

Tibetan card weaving is one of the plateau's oldest crafts. Using square cards with corner holes, the weaver turns them to guide the threads—no loom needed. This simple technique creates strong, beautiful bands once used for belts, reins, and bridles. As life modernized, the craft nearly disappeared. Today, we are bringing it back. In the hands of Tsoten's elders, each woven piece carries forward the spirit of nomadic culture—one thread at a time.

“Phadrokbha” means descendants of nomadic ancestors. Driven by a mission to preserve nomadic culture and protect the ancestral land, Khenpo Ngagyam established the Phadrokbha Cooperative in 2015. In 2017, at the invitation of the Three-River-Source Association, designers from the Alliance first came to Phadrokbha.

In 2018, designer Mumu joined, regularly working with the community at 4,700 meters to develop award-winning felt bags and hats. With strong support from the government's support, they now have better studios to share their craft worldwide.

Felt Making

Felt is one of the oldest fabrics, made without needle or thread—just hands kneading wool and yak down until fibers bind. The best wool comes from two-year-old sheep in autumn, dampened, rolled, and kneaded hundreds of times to become tight and resilient. Today, nomads continue this craft, sending their warmth across the world.

In the vast Gangya Grassland of Gannan, a team of nomads came together to protect what they love - cleaning waste, recording wildlife, guarding the water. In 2019, they invited the Three-River-Source Designer Alliance to walk beside them. With designer Keke's guidance, "Drokpe Lolo" was born - Tibetan for "treasures of the nomads."

On the grassland, the "Ajas" (sisters) began to shape wool with their hands. Under the care of volunteers, they learned to recreate the animals they know best: the snow leopard's spots, the marmot's sleepy charm, the Tibetan fox's curious face. Each felt doll carries the scent of the black tent's fire and the whisper of the grassland wind.

In an age of roaring machines, the Ajas use handcraft to preserve nomadic memories. They stitch the ancient pastoral songs of the grassland into the wool, inviting you to listen to the wisdom - coexisting with the earth.

Felt Making (Needle Felting)

It began simply: teaching a few women to turn wool into snow leopards. They started with nothing - no training, no tools - just their own two hands. Slowly, they learned to shape, to blend colors, to bring animals to life from a single tuft of fleece.

Today, these women form a handcraft team rooted in the grassland. Their work carries more than skill - it carries a quiet shift, from surviving on the land to living with it.

In 2013, deep in the Lancang River source at 3,700 meters, 13 Tibetan women came together. They named their cooperative “Namgyal Sekar” and began to shape their own lives with their hands.The children who once played here have gone to school but still return to accompany their mothers in making handicrafts. The craft takes root in their bloodline, and maternal resilience is passed down through needle and thread.

Over years of companionship, the women's felt work deepened. In 2024, with support from the Three-River-Source Designer Alliance, a new name was born: maaEmoo.

In Tibetan, it means “Mother of the Earth.” Long ago, felt wrapped nomadic infants against the cold. Today, through maaEmoo, that same warmth returns - tender, vast, and unbreakable, shaped by the hands of mothers from the river's source.

Felt Making

Since the Tubo era, felt has warmed the plateau. Made from two-year-old lamb's wool, it is washed, fluffed, and rolled by hand - sometimes with songs sung over it, wishing it strong and even.Felt becomes clothing, rugs, and tents. It carries prayers: white felt on the black tent for luck, swastika-patterned felt beneath a bride's feet. The sun and moon are stitched into its surface.

Today, this ancient craft is rare. But women like those at maaEmoo are bringing it back. Using local lamb wool and yak down, they hand-card and shape each piece - honoring tradition while giving it new life. In their hands, felt remembers.