From a Place Far, Far Away
Dawa Drolma ’17 comes from the Tibetan village of Dzongsar, a half a world away—over 7,400 miles—from Bay Path University. Recently, she expanded her travel log to include Paris, where she delivered a paper at the European Research Council’s conference, “Territories, Communities, and Exchanges in the Sino-Tibetan Borderlands” (Feb. 2016).
For many of us, when Tibet is mentioned it conjures up thoughts of a magical land tucked behind the Himalayas, secluded from the world. It is a country few of us have visited, although our vision of this far, far away place has often been shaped by stories and Hollywood movies (think Seven Years in Tibet). But if you were to look for Tibet’s real history, it can be found in its strong craft tradition. For Dawa Drolma ’17, her mission is to keep those handcrafts alive, not only in her native village, but in greater Tibet. In doing so, she also wants to bring Tibet to the world.
A double major in Small Business Management and Marketing at Bay Path University, Dawa’s education has taken on a larger focus: “How can I develop the skills and knowledge that will help the metal workers, weavers and jewelry makers find new markets that will allow them to continue doing what they love?” From developing business plans, establishing websites, to accounting, Dawa is studying all of the components that contribute to a successful startup. Her goal is to return to Tibet and create a modern, internet-based business selling the products of these artisans. She is already well on her way.
“While I was in Tibet, I was lucky to meet Dr. Gerald Roche and his wife, Elena McKinley. They helped me to not only learn English, but they also introduced me to videography (Dawa has two award-winning videos to her credit). Since coming to Bay Path, I feel I have been continually building on what I have learned, expanding my network, and now I have a better sense of what is possible.”
Dawa’s achievements are extraordinary. She has designed and developed the content for her own website, http://dawadrolma.strikingly.com/, housing a library of her videos, photography and efforts to promote Tibetan artisans. Her endeavors have not gone unnoticed, and recently she participated in a prestigious conference in Paris sponsored by the European Research Council, “Territories, Communities, and Exchanges in the Sino-Tibetan Borderlands.”
In front of over 40 scholars from such universities as Oxford and Harvard, Dawa presented her paper “The Renaissance of Traditional Dzongsar Craft-making in the Mesho Valley: An Insider’s Perspective on New Economic Processes and Identity Transformations in Sino-Tibetan Borderlands.” (Click here to read the abstract.)
In Dawa’s own words, “This was an amazing opportunity. Not only was I able to speak about my work that I have been doing in my home village and area, but also connect with people from all over the world that are interested in or doing research about Tibet. It was also my first time to Paris, actually to Europe. Although I was nervous, the encouragement from the faculty and staff of Bay Path was very important to me.” After her talk, she received a standing ovation.
It was three years ago when Dawa joined the Bay Path community. From her tiny village, she has been the only one to have made the long journey to the United States. She came to Bay Path with a vision—not only for herself, but for the artisans and craftspeople from her homeland. Inspired by her experience in Paris, she has come one step closer to making her dream a reality.
Also check out Dawa’s Tale of Tibetans facebook
https://www.facebook.com/taleoftibetans/