Meet Dorje Dolma | Inspirational speaker, Visual Artist and Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dorje Dolma and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dorje, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Without taking major risks, I would not be alive today!

I was born in the remote Dolpo region of Nepal in the Himalayan mountains at 13,000 feet above sea level. In the 1990s, Dolpo did not have running water, electricity, motor vehicles, phones, schools, or doctors. Being isolated from the rest of the world made survival extremely difficult. Five of my siblings died from common colds because we did not have basic medical care.

From ages five to ten, I helped my parents and grandparents with cooking, cleaning, and fieldwork and took care of my ten younger siblings. I spent the majority of my time herding our goats, sheep, cows and yaks in mountains as high as 18,000 feet and defended them from being attacked by wolves and snow leopards.

In 1994, I made a month-long trek with my parents from Dolpo to Kathmandu to find treatment for my severe scoliosis; but the doctors in Kathmandu were not able to treat my back. At age ten, I made the biggest decision that changed my life forever. Instead of going back to Dolpo with my parents with only a year or two to live, I chose to stay in Kathmandu and later came to the United States to find treatment for my back. It was a risky and hard decision because I had to say goodbye to my Nepali family. I did not see my family in Nepal for five years, but I do not regret my choice because it has kept me alive and enabled me to get an education. I am thankful to have friends and family in Nepal, the U.S. and other parts of the world and I can utilize my education to help others.

In 2018, my memoir, “Yak Girl: Growing Up in the Remote Dolpo Region of Nepal ” was published in Boulder, Colorado and in Nepal. It took me almost 15 years to write my book. When I first came to Boulder in 1995, I couldn’t speak English and spent much of the first two years of my life in the U.S. in the hospital getting surgery. Doctors performed four major surgeries on my spine.

I started my education at age ten and I was very far behind other children my age. I had to work really hard to catch up. Through self-determination and extra support from friends, family and school teachers, I was able to finish high school and graduate from the University of Colorado with a degree in Fine Arts. I went on to teach in Boulder for eight years and finished writing my book!

I am now an inspirational speaker, a visual artist, author and a songwriter. Since Yak Girl was published, I have been traveling and sharing my art and stories. I educate listeners about the unique Dolpo culture through story-telling. I speak about the centuries-old way of life in my isolated homeland, how it’s being changed by the slow trickle of modernity now reaching it, and the most effective ways for first world citizens to help those in the third world.

I have done many presentations over the last few years in Europe, Nepal, Canada and the U.S. at secondary schools, senior living centers, universities, service clubs, libraries, conferences, bookstores and many nonprofit organizations.

The paths I have made so far in my life and career have been challenging yet rewarding and I could have not done it without the support of my family, friends, teachers and community–especially the Boulder community! The vast mountains of Colorado remind me of the mountains in Dolpo so I feel at home. I have lived in Boulder for 27 years, watching the town change and grow over time. I have been blessed to live in a community with dedicated teachers and community programs that helped me learn and grow. And in return I have been able to give back to the community by teaching children, and sharing a part of Nepal through my stories, art and cultural events in schools, senior living homes, libraries and service clubs.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
People describe my work as colorful, whimsical and anthropomorphic. Nature is a big part of my creative inspiration. I like to tell stories through my work as if the figures are on a journey because my life is a nomadic journey, exploring the world one day at a time. My love of nature, animals, children, jewelry and fashion is shown in my paintings and drawings, often in mixed media form. I believe everything is connected and we need to take care of our people and animals and our dear Earth. I used to be embarrassed to show my Asian cultural background and now I proudly embrace both my Asian and my American cultural upbringings in my art and writing. I like to incorporate the motifs of my Dolpo family’s colorful handwoven blankets, as well as the coral, turquoise and silver jewelry designs, which are the traditional jewelry styles worn by Himalayan people.

“I am Happy” is one of my most popular prints in my Etsy shop, DorjeArtsCollection. It is a mixed media piece on paper with watercolors, colored pencils, acrylic paint, markers and ink. It was inspired by a child’s joy in life and my interest in reading children’s stories, fashion shows and being surrounded by Dolpo blankets.

Being an artist isn’t easy, especially since I do this for a living. Sadly, art is often underfunded in schools and in general. It is hard to find art grants and people think I create art as a hobby. I get comments like, “Wow, you are so creative and you make interesting art. What do you do for a living?” I reply, “This is my job” and they reply, “Oh.” Sometimes I am saddened that art is not considered as important as other careers. But I do not want to give up because this is the job that makes me happy and helps me inspire others to create–especially those who are going through a difficult time. I like gifting art supplies and books to children to help them stay imaginative and inventive. When I was teaching, I spent most of my time teaching children to appreciate nature and helped them find their artistic voice by providing them with art supplies, which were often pieces of nature. My students and I walked around the yard and collected sticks, rocks and leaves on which to paint and draw.

Visual art has been one of my most therapeutic means of self-expression! I feel at peace and free while creating art. When I experience stress, pain and can’t focus, I listen to my favorite music and make art to help calm myself down.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I don’t drive but I do love walking! Walking helps me clear my mind and I often meet people. Walking also helps me come up with new project ideas for writing and art. There are many hiking trails in Colorado and if you are visiting Boulder, I recommend walking along the Boulder Creek Path. I like walking while drinking my tea or coffee. There are lots of cafes in Boulder especially on the Pearl Street Mall. I like getting my tea and latte at the Trident Booksellers and Cafe and The Laughing Goat café on Pearl Street Mall. And if you are close to North Boulder, the Pekoe Sip House Cafe next to the Ideal Market has great tea and coffee. The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse is near the mall and Boulder Creek and they have tea, food and lovely indoor and outdoor seating areas.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

I know Shoutout Colorado has already done an article about my mom, Jenn Cleary, but I would like to do a personal shoutout to my mom for all of her support and friendship over the years. She has been an amazing mother, teacher, friend and collaborator! She is a singer-songwriter who has performed in many local and international shows.

Last year, she released her first children’s album, All Together Now: Rockin’ Songs for Kids of All Ages, which won awards. Children and adults love her songs! They often come to her shows to request that she sing their favorite Jenn Cleary songs! I love attending her music events and seeing parents and kids dance, sing and make friends. I love seeing my mom happy when she is singing, playing her guitar and interacting with the audience. All of her songs are educational, meaningful and fun! In All Together Now, I cowrote, “Families of All Kinds” with my mom. It was my first songwriting experience. Since I like to write I thought songwriting was going to be easy–instead it was really hard! From this experience I have extra respect and appreciation for songwriters! I am amazed by my mom’s songwriting abilities and willingness to collaborate with someone like me who had no previous songwriting experience. I learned a lot and it gave me another creative path that I would have never explored on my own without my mom’s encouragement.

This year she will release another children’s album; Happy Day will debut on Friday, June 17th, 5-7pm. Tickets will be $15 at the Junkyard Social Club in Boulder.

For more information visit: https://jenncleary.com/ or https://junkyardsocialclub.org/events/. My mom will be performing live and I will be there doing some arts and crafts projects with children. The venue is fun and family friendly! I look forward to seeing some of my former students!

On Happy Day, my mom and I cowrote “I’m a Yak,” a song dedicated to all the yaks in the world for their generosity and service in helping humans survive for hundreds of years, especially people in the Himalayas! It is an educational song with yak facts from my own experience as a yak herder in Dolpo. I was able to do a project with my families in Nepal and the West, which made this song extra special.

Website: https://dorjearts.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dorjeartsyakgirl/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dorjeartsyakgirl/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DorjeArtsYakGirl

Other: Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DorjeArtsCollection Amazon: Yak Girl: Growing Up in the Remote Dolpo Region of Nepal

Image Credits
Photo courtesy of Dorje Dolma for all images uploaded here.