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Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Center Review

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Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Center

Address: 65 Gandhi Rd., Darjeeling, West Bengal

Category: Crafts
Location: Darjeeling

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Fodor's Review:

The Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Center is worth a taxi ride out of town to see the artisans (mostly elderly women) at work, dyeing, weaving, and spinning wool on old bicycle wheels—a great photo op. In some seasons cuddly Lhasa Apso puppies (for sale if you're not going abroad) scamper around in the yard. In addition to elegant sweaters (Rs. 850), pencil cases, woolens, brightly colored handwoven textiles (made into shirts, jackets, wallets, and backpacks), the store has a limited selection of beautiful carpet samples (Rs. 3,500 for an area rug about 5 feet by 4 feet). You can even bring your own design to be custom-made and shipped. The center, which started in 1959 to help Tibetan exiles, with just four people in two rooms, is open from 9 to 4 every day but Sunday (but its store remains open on Sunday); a good time to visit is around 11, when the workshop is humming. Next door, an interesting museum has black-and-white photographs charting the establishment of the center, the Tibet struggle, and the famous visitors.

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