Generations of incense makers boost production

Fragrant smoke permeates the air when the village is spotted in the middle of a valley near the Yarlung Zangpo River.

The village of Thonba, located in the Thonba township of Nyemo county in Tibet, is renowned for its history of Tibetan incense production.

Most families there are involved in the production and sale of incense. The village has two companies and one cooperative engaged in the trade.

The village is located by the Thonchu Stream — a tributary of Yarlung Zangpo — and has a population of around 1,100. Locals have built mills in the middle of the stream to ground pieces from the trunks of juniper trees into powder, an essential ingredient in making incense.

Sonam Norbu, a 72-yearold villager, said he has spent a lifetime making incense. He learned the skill at the age of 10 from his father.

He said: “My father was respected by all villagers as an outstanding incense producer. I learned the skills as part of our tradition.”

Sonam Norbu has also taught the skill to his family. “My son has spent some 20 years and my daughter-in-law 13 years in the business,” he said. “The tradition will pass on to the next generation. I am very proud of them.”

Chamba Trinley, 20, a fellow villager, is also involved in the incense trade. “I make incense at my home and sell it to the village cooperative,” he said. He added that 35 families are part of the cooperative, which has “helped to expand our market”.

“Companies from Lhasa and other regions purchase the products from our cooperative,” said Chamba Trinley.

Five members of Chamba Trinley’s family, including his father, are in the incense trade.

According to Tasang, an official in the village, villagers have been relying on incense as their main source of income for more than 1,300 years.

A few successful local businesspeople lead the village in the business.

Gyatso is the owner of one of the village’s two incense companies. He has been engaged in incense production for more than 35 years and was employed by the county government as a production guide for the county’s incense training program from 1994-98.

Gyatso learned the skill of incense production, which he said involves around 30 procedures, as a child from his father. He is currently an outstanding incense maker in the village, as he is skilled at finding new herbs to be used as ingredients.

“Unlike most villagers who produce one or two kinds of incense based on traditional methods, I have found six new herbs as incense ingredients. Altogether, I produce six different incense products,” Gyatso said.

In 2008, he established his company, which has provided job opportunities for impoverished families in the village.