Tsampa Eaters

Due to the incredible altitude of the Tibetan Plateau, many crops struggle to grow.  The plateau has an average altitude of 4,500 meters and when temperatures plunge below -9° Celsius, a special kind of food is needed to maintain life.  Luckily for Tibetans, their barley is a high altitude crop that is able to withstand Arctic Circle temperatures.  To put it simply, barley is the most important crop in Tibet and a stable of their diet.  Only a few regions have a low enough temperature to enable the growth of rice, bananas, and other crops. 

Out of this grain, Tsampa is made using roasted barley flour (a staple for many dishes).  Tsampa is prepared by pouring some leftover tea in a bowl and adding a heap of tsampa.  The bowl is then mixed by hand until a dough like substance has formed.  Butter tea usually accompanies the consumption of prepared Tsampa. 

Other foods made out of the Tsampa barley grain include: flatbread called Balep, steamed bread called Tingmo, and fried dough called Sokham Bexe. 

Balep

Sokham Bexe

Tingmo

Tsampa is very engrained in Tibetan lifesyles through food and identity.  The eating of tsampa in Tibet has led to a self-proclaimed nickname “tsampa-eaters”.  This nickname has a unifying effect for the younger generation of Tibetans who are trying to “resist China’s Occupation” (Lhakar Diaries). 

Although not much grows on the top of the world, the presence of barley and tsampa have shaped the diets as well as the identities of people from the Tibetan Plateau.