WURDOO 乌朵 — Handwoven from the Tibetan Plateau

The Craft

What is a Wurdoo?

A rope that once carried stones across the plateau now carries a wish: hold your own future in your own hand.

AI illustration of a woman swinging a traditional wool sling on a summer pasture

Traditional sling use · AI scene illustration

Across generations, Tibetan nomads have braided the wurdoo (乌朵) from hand-spun yak wool — a sling with a woven cradle at its center, whirled overhead to guide herds across the open range. Every nomad once carried one. Each family wove its own.

The craft survives in the hands of a few. In the nomadic regions of Yushu, Qinghai, the herding women still knot the traditional braids — and now, with us, they weave new life into them: belts, phone chains, amulet bracelets.

Two Material Stories

Traditional yak hair for a rugged, earthy character; pure sheep’s wool in the contemporary design series for a softer feel.

Hand-Knotted

Every piece braided start to finish by one artisan. No machines, no molds.

One of a Kind

Nothing is made twice. The piece you choose is the only one that exists — each has its own character. Statutory return rights apply; see our regional return policy.

The Artisans

Woven before the digging season

挖虫草季之前，她们编好了这些

AI reconstruction inspired by original footage: hands weaving a wool sling

Retouched photograph of Sarah wearing Tibetan dress and holding a Wurdoo

Nomadic Pastures · Yushu · Qinghai

Our pieces are knotted by herding women in the nomadic regions of Yushu — in their homes, between milking and herding, before they leave for the caterpillar-fungus season each spring.

When we receive a new batch, it comes with the weather report of the grasslands: snow in June, a hard year for digging — and seventeen bracelets that carry the quiet of those weeks.

This is not a factory rhythm. It is the pace of a pastoral year, and we protect it: small batches, ready-stock pieces, fair returns to the makers.

手作的价值在于每一条编织的当下，
都记录着手艺人的心情、温度和美感。
—— The value of a handmade piece is that every knot records the maker's mood, warmth and sense of beauty.

Sarah in Tibetan dress, holding a traditional Wurdoo on the grassland; retouched photograph

From a Schoolhouse to a Workshop

It began with a question: what if help didn't stop at donated coats?

A Teaching Post in the Grasslands

Years ago we taught at a boarding school in Xialaxiu, Yushu — 80 children aged 4 to 16, and a care home next door.

Winters, Then School Years

Coat drives each season grew into one-to-one schooling sponsorships that continue today.

From Giving to Making

We asked the headmaster what local craft the community had. He sent photos of handwoven slings. One look — and Wurdoo began.

Income, Dignity, Craft

Now the women of Yushu’s nomadic communities earn from what their hands already knew. The weave that guarded herds now carries their work to the world.

A herd of yaks on the grassland in the owner’s original photograph

A free heart is nomadic.

心自由，即是游牧

Explore the Collection

Ready-stock pieces usually dispatch the day after confirmed payment from Shanghai · Delivery times vary by destination

Free in spirit.
Nomadic
at heart.

Handwoven at 4,000 metres.
Made for a free spirit.

The Original Wurdoo

Nomadic Colours

The Living Steppe

Tenfold