Daily life of a Tibetan Nomad

In this video, I would like to share with you all what it is like to live as a Tibetan nomad and what their daily chores entail but not limited. Women usually wake up between 4:30 AM and 5:00 AM to milk the female yaks, also known as "dri." Milking the dri is the first task of the day, as the yaks need to be sent up to the mountains to graze and produce more milk. This allows the women to milk them again in the evening.
While the women are milking, the men get up to help, and they also prepare to take the yaks to the mountains. Most families send their yaks to graze in the mountains from around 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Families take turns going to the mountains to tend to the yaks, making it easier for everyone. These days, most nomadic herders use motorbikes to follow the yaks, a practice that has changed significantly from 20 years ago.
After releasing the yaks to graze, the women begin collecting yak dung, which is the main source of fuel in nomadic life. Yak dung burns longer than firewood and is the most reliable fuel. The women gather the dung in a specific area, piece it together, flatten it with a wooden tool called ngamon. Sometimes, they leave the dung unflattened, but in brick pieces so they can collect it later in the year for use in winter.
Once this task is completed, they have breakfast and continue with their morning chores, which include making butter, boiling chuthang (a type of fermented milk), and drying the cheese in the sun. These tasks take a few hours. After lunch, the women have some downtime, during which they may weave wool for various uses, or invite a neighbor over to chat and enjoy afternoon tea together.
Around 5:30 PM, the families release the baby yaks from the other side of the mountain. They begin tying them up in designated areas to prevent them from drinking the milk before the female yaks are milked. This is my favorite part to observe because I love hearing the baby yaks call for their mothers, with the mothers responding from a distance. It’s a beautiful expression of maternal love. The animals know where their designated areas are and walk there to wait for someone to tie them up.
Milking the yaks takes a while, as most families now have 25 to 40 yaks to milk. After milking, the family enjoys dinner and performs the evening prayer before going to bed. Some families, like mine, stay up late talking and spending time together, just as I did with my cousins during my stay.
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