East Bay nonprofit stitches prayer flags to help exiles
By Ali Fard
BERKELEY – While knitting might be today’s trend, sewing can do more than fasten just loose buttons on clothing.
The Tibetan Aid Project hosts a year-round prayer flag project, which has volunteers sewing golden sheets of durable nylon covered with Tibetan designs and script.
The 31/2-by-4-foot flags take three hours to make and can last a few years in windy conditions. The flags were designed by the Aid Project’s founder, Tarthang Rinpoche, to protect and balance the environment.
“They’re very unusual flags. They’re one of a kind,” said Sandy Olney, project coordinator for the organization. “I consider the value of the flags as the same kind of value there is when people say prayers for healing.”
The project averages about five volunteers working on each flag, contributing everything from the cutting and pinning of pieces to sewing the flags’ large red borders.
There are eight different versions of each prayer flag, representing everything from compassion and good wishes to wisdom and success.
“There are so many interesting stories people have to say about what they’ve experienced by flying these flags,” Olney said. “I’ve had people say they feel different them The Tibetan Aid Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Tibetan people and preserving their culture. The prayer flags are put together behind the offices of Berkeley’s Dharma Publishing, also founded by Rinpoche.
The flags sell for around $100, with funds going to help Tibetan people in exiled communities as well as the preservation of sacred books and other related causes.
There are many steps in putting the flags together, but volunteers with sewing skills are especially needed.
“Knowing about Tibetan culture is definitely not necessary, but we find (the project) is generally a learning experience for everyone,” said Leigh Deering, project volunteer coordinator.
For more information on volunteering for the Tibetan Aid Project or to purchase a prayer flag, call (800) 338-4238
