Award-winning Belgian helps develop Tibetan carpet craft

A 60-year-old Belgian veteran of the carpet industry is helping breathe new life into the art of Tibetan carpets, reports the People’s Daily. When Jozef Pandelaere came to northwest China’s Qinghai Province a year ago, he was seeking nothing more than a new life. Now, he has a bigger dream for Qinghai and himself. “I want to enhance the status of Chinese Tibetan sheep carpets around the world,” Pandelaere said. “It is my dream to see Qinghai become the genuine home of Tibetan sheep carpets.” Last month, he won the International Cooperation Award in Scientific and Technological Development in Qinghai, for his contributions to technological innovation in the production of carpets. Born in Belgium in 1953, Pandelaere has worked for carpet companies in Belgium, the US, Indonesia, Turkey and India. In March last year, he became the manager in charge of production and management with the Qinghai Tibetan Sheep Carpets Group. “The Tibetan sheep carpet is an artefact unique to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,” he said, praising the fine texture and bright lustre of wool from Tibetan sheep. “What I’m doing here is combining technological innovation and managerial expertise with tradition.” Tibetan carpets are made from sheep, cattle or camel hair and are distinctive products which are popular both home and abroad. Pandelaere and his team are doing research on the printing of patterns on to the carpets, instead of the traditional method of weaving. “This innovative breakthrough will improve productivity and bring about more vivid patterns,” he said. The initiation of the project, according to Pandelaere, came from the necessity of meeting customers’ needs. “People both in the West and here in China now have a demand for quality products. Price is also important,” he said. The programme’s initial achievements have already increased the company’s output value by 80 million yuan (nearly €10 million). “The innovation will of course not impair the prospects for traditional hand-made Tibetan sheep carpets,” Pandelaere said, explaining that the company only targeted customers who shrank away from costly hand-made carpets. “Without innovation, there would be no impetus for further development. It was a great honour for me to get the International Cooperation Award,” he said. “However, it does not belong to me alone. I’m part of a team that works so hard to accept and learn from differences and a team so dedicated to producing extraordinary carpets for the world.” The group has exported its products to more than 30 countries or regions and its output value reached 730 million yuan (€91 million) last year.