The Rocking Yak

We Have Moved

2010-07-22T18:04:00.001-05:00

This blog can now be read over here.

July 16-18, 2010

2010-07-11T19:36:00.004-05:00

The Rocking Yak will be in Chicago this week at the

This will be our first year attending this fair & we are VERY excited. It looks like there will be something for everyone! Live music, workshops, the marketplace...
We will be at booth #327. Please stop by and say hello. We will be hosting a great giveaway so you won't want to miss that.

From Yak to Yarn

2010-06-09T10:52:00.002-05:00

A first hand glimpse of how our yarn is made.

First, fiber is collected from the yaks by gathering the raw fiber as the animals shed their undercoat naturally in the spring months.

The fibers are then cleaned, and sorted according to the quality of the fibers. Only the finest quality of fiber is chosen to make into our yarn.

The Rocking Yak delivers all the fiber to women residing with their families in several small villages.

To do spin, the women use a drop spindle and bowl. They take care to work the fiber into a luxurious yarn that can be brought to the western market place.

All of the spinning is done in the homes of these women in order to preserve the family unit, which is tradition in the Tibetan culture.

The Rocking Yak then returns to these villages to collect the completed yarn.

Then the yarn is weighed, balled and labeled to make ready for the market place.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-18T19:00:00.000-06:00

Tibetan New Year (Losar Festival)

The Tibetan New year, also known as Losar, is the most important festival in the Tibetan calendar. It is celebrated over a period of two weeks during the months of December and January.Losar Festival is celebrated by Tibetan people, and is marked with ancient ceremonies that represent the struggle between good and evil, by chanting, and by passing fire torches through the crowds. The Losar festival is characterized especially by its music, dance, and a general spirit of merrymaking.During the last two days of the old year, which is called Gutor, people in Tibet begin to prepare for the New Year. The first day of Gutor is spent doing the house cleaning. The kitchen especially must be cleaned because it is where the family's food is prepared, and hence is the most important part of the house. The chimney is also swept free of dirt. Special dishes will be cooked. On the second day of Gutar, religious ceremonies are held. People go to visit the local monastery to worship and give gifts to the monks. Tibetans also set off firecrackers to get rid of evil spirits which is lurking around.On New Year's Day, Tibetans get up early, and put on new clothes after having taken a bath. They then worship the gods by placing offerings in the front of their household shrines. The offerings usually consist of animals and demons made from a kind of dough called torma. In addition, this day is for family members to exchange gifts. Families also have a reunion dinner, which usually consists of a kind of cake called Kapse and an alcoholic drink called chang, which is drunk to keep warm.PracticeThe Tibetan calendar consists of 12 lunar months, and Losar begins on the first day of the Tibetan month. The celebrations for the Losar begin on the 29th day of the 12th month of the Tibetan calendar in Tibetan monasteries. That is the day before the Losar's Eve. On that day, monasteries hold a special kind of ritual in preparation for the Losar celebrations. People place various ingredients such as chilies, salt, wool, rice and coal in dough balls, which are then handed out. The ingredients that one finds hidden in one's dough ball are supposed to be a lighthearted comment on one's character. For example, if a person finds chilie in his dough, that means he is talkative. If white-colored ingredients such as salt or rice are hid in the dough, it is believed as a good sign. If someone finds coal in his dough, it has the same meaning as finding coal in the Christmas stocking; it means that one has a "black heart".Traditionally, on the first day of the New Year, the housewife will get up very early. After cooking a pot of barley wine for the family, she will sit beside the window awaiting the sunrise. As the first ray of sunshine of the New Year touches the nearby earth, the housewife takes a bucket and heads for a nearby river, or well, to fetch the year's first bucket of water, which is seen as the most sacred, clearest water of the coming year. The family that fetches the first bucket of water from the river/the well is believed to be blessed with good luck for the coming year.?In Ta'er Monastery, on the first day, Lamas will hold religious celebrations, which include worshiping the God, chanting Buddhist scriptures and having a new year banquet.On the second day, people visit friends and relatives. That night, Tibetans whirl burning torches in the homes to drive away evil spirits.On the third day, Tibetans in Lhasa especially visit the local monasteries, where they make offerings. Tibetan New Year usually last 15 days.

The Rocking Yak Hats

2009-11-23T12:59:00.001-06:00

We now have several hats available for purchase. Each hat is handknit to order. Orders can be completed and ready to ship in 5 business days.

A Giveaway

2009-11-11T21:07:00.001-06:00

The Rocking Yak is being featured over at Between Hitching Posts today. There is a giveaway going on for one ball of 100% Yak Down Yarn, & a free pattern featuring the yarn!

Go check it out!

Monk Messenger Bags

2009-07-09T05:05:00.001-05:00

Now available in the shop!

The bags made by our Tibetan friend have arrived & they are wonderful. Great for carrying all the knitting supplies needed for a project! These bags are approx. 10" x 12" (they vary in size a bit). The body of the bag is made of woven wool that has been dyed. The straps & inside lining are made of a softer fabric so it is comfortable to carry.

News from the Field:

2009-06-21T19:22:00.000-05:00

Great news. I've just returned from purchasing 200 kilos of yak wool. Sales have been down, so the factory was more then willing to work with me. Usually they only like to sell by the ton. 150 kilos are the natural brown color. The other 50 kilos is bleached. It is said that bleaching gives the wool a rougher feel, but to tell you the truth, I personal can't feel any difference at all. But I’ll leave that up to you experts.

For those who haven’t guessed yet, the bleached wool is for dyeing. Yes, we are one step closer to bringing you some colored yarn, yahoo! A couple just moved into the area that I’m working in who is teaching natural dyeing techniques with local plants. Such perfect timing! Now before you get to excited, this isn’t going to happen over night. I’ve got a lot to learn so please be patient I am still a one man show out here. I’ve been working this dream out of pocket and my funding is very limited. My hands are tied from really moving the dream along, and putting this beautiful product, made by these incredible people, into your lovely hands. One way you can help is by buying our product. That is the only way were going to make a lasting impact into these dear people lives.

I wish you could be here with me as I move in and out of these villages, enjoying the hospitably of the Tibetan culture, drinking yak butter tea with a sea of dirty faces smiling back at you through a smoke filled house. It is absolutely incredible! The reason I’m here is because our friends are poor. Some of the kids I’ve met have never even been to school. How sad is that in this day and age. I want you to buy our wool because it’s an incredible product, but even more then that, you get the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping to improve people’s lives. And that my friend, is priceless.

Sincerely,

Bret Colledge

Knitting Kits

2009-06-08T11:07:00.000-05:00

The Rocking Yak has been working with a local tailor and his family on a bag project over the past few months. This bag (notice all the beautiful fabric choices in the background) will be used for some or our knitting kits. These kits will include a knitting pattern designed for The Rocking Yak, 100% Yak down yarn, and anything else needed to complete the pattern (i.e. buttons). You can start looking for these and other bags in our shop starting in August!

It's here!

2009-05-28T13:47:00.000-05:00

The yarn has arrived & is available for purchase in our shop!

We currently have a bulky weight = 90 yrds per 100g

medium weight = 120 yrds per 100g

Please remember that there is a limited amount of yarn in the shop, so make sure to place your orders early.

Coming Soon

2009-05-20T19:41:00.000-05:00

More yarn is on it's way. Expected to arrive to the United States in June.

Shop updates coming soon!

If you would like to pre-order yarn, please go to our shop!

A friend of The Rocking Yak

2009-03-18T08:22:00.000-05:00

Theresa, (pictured here) and her family are just one of many Tibetan families our company wants to help. Young girls at the age of 16, sometimes younger, are often married off because their families don't have the money to keep them in school. We know Tibetan families with kids who have never been to school a day in their life. Others go to school only until third grade. The kids are often needed to work the fields so the families have enough to eat. Theresa is very smart and wants to go to college. However, unless her family finds a way of making more money, in two years when she finishes high school, her father will have to marry her off.

News from The Rocking Yak...

2009-03-06T19:07:00.000-06:00

There has been much excitement this week at The Rocking Yak!

First, I am excited to share with you some of the pictures that were taken at our first photo shoot. It is very rewarding for me to able to see the products that I designed and knitted up over the summer being used.

I am also excited to tell you that another shipment of handspun, 100% yak down yarn is soon to be shipped to the United States! In this shipment, I will be receiving some Tibetan handbags that will be used in putting together some knitting kits. Once the shipment arrives, I will be adding these items to the shop.

Slipper Pattern

2009-02-15T19:02:00.000-06:00

I have just finished writing a pattern for these slippers. I am quite excited about them. The variations seem to be endless. Pictured here is a basic slipper that can be worn 3 different ways. I'm thinking of adding unspun yak down to the inside to make them extra warm and oh so soft.

The Rocking Yak

2009-02-15T10:23:00.000-06:00

The Rocking Yak is a grassroots company working with Tibetans to aid in poverty alleviation. The mission is to work with rural Tibetans communities within the Yunnan province to produce quality, handspun yarn of pure yak down, knitting patterns, & kits to sell in local & foreign markets. The Rocking Yak is committed to paying fair wages & earning a FAIRTRADE status for the company. All the profits are reinvested into the communities we work in.

Our goal is to help the Tibetan villagers in our region by:

1. Providing them with a chance to earn additional income, to better their livelihood, and reduce the income gap with them and the urban dwellers.

2. Increase their self-worth as we impart in them a skill that has market value, while embracing the beauty of their culture.

3. Using the profits to improve their quality of life through investing in healthcare and education.

As of now, The Rocking Yak is in the beginning phases of opening. Lots of work is being done on the Chinese side to get all the paperwork finished for approval by the chinese government.

Imagine if you can...

2009-01-23T09:57:00.000-06:00

... living at 14,500 ft. On the Tibetan Plateau, Quinghai.

This plateau, that you call home, is surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the world. Traveling is difficult, and the climate is harsh, but the culture here is rich in tradition, being one of the slowest to change, and the scenery is some of the most beautiful on Earth.

What would your life be like?

If you are are a nomad you might spend your summers living in a tent that is handmade with the hair of your own yaks.

Or you may live in a rural village where you live in a small house.

In either home, your most likely prized possession is your yak.

This precious livestock gives your family

food to live on,

hair for shelter,

added strength for hard work,

& soft down for warmth.

Without such things, surely your family would not survive here.

__________________________________________________________

I am excited to begin sharing with you a a project that has been dear to my heart for several years. I have been working on a way to aid in poverty alleviation among rural Tibetan communities. Although there is still a lot of work to be done, 2009 looks to be the year that we begin to see our efforts take shape. In the months to come I will be happy to tell you more about the Tibetan people, this project, and even ways that you can be involved.

2009-01-01T20:33:00.000-06:00

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