Although China is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Tibet still remains an impoverished region, where people are living mainly from subsistence agriculture. Herdsman and farmers account for 80% of Tibet’s 2.7 million people and yet they produce less than 20% of the region’s economic output. The herders live in remote and isolated areas with minimal infrastructure and lack market access. With one million people in Tibet living below the poverty line, it makes the region the poorest in China.

Shokay currently works with 2,600 people from the Hei Ma He village of Qinghai Province in Western China, where they are providing a sustainable source of employment and income to the herders. By setting up fiber cooperatives in each sub-village, it is the goal to help to provide safe and transparent means for local development.

Shokay aims to impact the lives of marginalized communities by introducing luxury yak materials to the global market. They hope to create a market for yak fiber, thus increasing the value of the raw fiber in order to provide the herders with long-term employment and a greater and more sustainable income. The products can already be found in more than 100 stores in 10 countries around the world.

Designed by
Carol Chyau and Marie So - China