Kesang Tashi

1943 - 2021

Kesang Tashi

Wakefield, MA — Kesang Tashi passed peacefully in his home, surrounded by family, on May 18, 2021. Kesang Tashi was born in 1943 in Gyalthang in Eastern Tibet (present day Yunnan Province, China) as the oldest son of a large merchant family. Though Tashi traveled widely and lived in many places throughout his life, he considered Gyalthang and its deep heritage of Khampa and Tibetan culture, as his true homeland.

Tashi was a curious and enthusiastic learner throughout his life but was first inspired by his friendships and secondary education at Dr. Graham's Homes School, in the hills of Kalimpong, in the Indian state of West Bengal. From there he went on to become the first Tibetan to attend Dartmouth College where he received a BA in East Asian Studies and though he graduated in the class of 1970, he was always considered an adopted member of the Class of '56, who had recruited him. This was his true Dartmouth family. Tashi received his MA in Cultural Anthropology and Buddhist Studies from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1976. From here, he went on to a career in banking, building on his lineage and innate capacities as a businessman and a culture broker.

Tashi left his banking career in New York in 1986 to launch what became a lifelong commitment to encouraging and building sustainable social enterprise in Tibetan areas of China and the greater Himalaya. Though interested in nearly all forms of Tibetan arts and material culture, Tashi is recognized as a pioneer in the revitalization of Tibet's rug weaving tradition. For more than thirty years, Tashi trained new generations of Tibetan craftsmen, built a weaving center, Khawachen, in Lhasa, created new opportunities for lasting employment and established a global company, InnerAsia Rugs, that helped introduce the rest of the world to Tibetan rugs and Tibetan culture. Tashi co-authored, "Of Wool and Loom -The Tradition of Tibetan Rugs." (Weatherhill Press 2002) to share his deep knowledge and love of Tibet's rug weaving heritage.

Inspired by his grandfather before him, Tashi believed that leadership and a commitment to community welfare as well as business and trade could work together, as natural allies for positive change. He did so in a way that brought hope, cultural survival, prosperity, and innovation to all of those he worked with, from Tibetan weavers and their families in Lhasa and Kathmandu, to businesspeople and social entrepreneurs in his hometown of Gyalthang as well as in NYC and the Upper Valley.

Tashi committed himself to helping people and institutions in Gyalthang develop opportunities for cultural exchange and economic development. In 1996, he built the Gyalthang Dzong Hotel to promote Tibetan culture and eco-tourism; it quickly became a meeting place for conservationists, botanists, students of anthropology and early trekkers. He was also deeply engaged in early conservation efforts in Gyalthang, where he worked with the Bureau of Forestry in Diqin Prefecture, Yunnan, the Chinese government and The Nature Conservancy, USA to establish The Great Rivers National Park, a conservation area roughly the size of West Virginia and one of the first world class nature preserves of its kind to be established in China. In recent years Tashi was excited to be reviving his grandfather's Flaming Gem, (Norbu Meibar) tea company, which was profiled in the BBC production, "One Cup, A Thousand Stories."

For more than three decades, Tashi encouraged opportunities for cultural exchange between his Tibetan homeland and American universities like Dartmouth and the University of Virginia. He organized and led countless adult and student travel groups to Gyalthang and Lhasa and used these experiential learning opportunities to introduce the wider world to Tibetan culture and Tibetan Buddhism.

Tashi was a friend and mentor to many and will be deeply missed. He is lovingly remembered by his wife, Tsedan, of Wakefield, MA, daughter Pema, of Burlington, VT, son Tenzin, of Austin, Texas and many brothers and sisters.

A Memorial Service by zoom is planned for July. Messages of remembrance may be sent to the Kesang Tashi Family, 600 North Ave, Apt# 202, Wakefield MA, 01880