Tibet to build on recent successes to raise residents' living standards

Social support

Corporate social responsibility and local resources are also being channeled in the fight against poverty.

Tibet Huaji Fashion Co, formerly known as the Huaji Hand-woven Product Cooperative, in Tsethang, a town in Nedong, is home to 79 people who live below the poverty line.

Launched in May 2008, the company mainly produces hand-woven cashmere scarves and shawls, Tibetan costumes and thangka, traditional Tibetan Buddhist paintings.

"We pay a minimum wage of 3,000 yuan a month, and provide workers with meals and rooms. Seven impoverished people joined us in 2008, and now we have 79," said Pasang Tsering, assistant to the general manager.

Pema Dekyi, from Chusum county, Lhokha, has worked for the company as a weaver since 2015.

"My husband and I used to be miners, earning less than 3,000 yuan a month. We lost our jobs when the mine was mechanized three years ago," the 47-year-old said.

The company enrolled Pema Dekyi on a six-month training program, where she mastered weaving techniques. She now earns about 3,500 yuan a month, and receives a yearly bonus ranging from 8,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan. Her husband no longer works.

"He takes care of our child who goes to school at Tsethang; our life is much better than before," she said.