Together with more than 1,600 people from 514 families, the 41-year-old was relocated to a settlement community in Xigaze, the Tibet autonomous region, after a magnitude-8.1 earthquake struck the area on April 25, 2015.

 

The quake severely damaged her home, in the Dram township of Tibet's Nyalam county, and shuttered her successful business, which had flourished thanks to the border town being a port of entry to neighboring Nepal.

 

Following her relocation to the new settlement two years ago, she was provided with a store in Xigaze's Dram Shopping Mall by the local government.

 

Her store mainly sold Nepalese clothes. The business was not as good as it had been. For a long time, she dreamed of expanding by adding custom clothing, but the paperwork was always an issue.

 

Then, one month ago, she was able to register a new company with the help of the local government, found a new location and employed four Nepali seamstresses.

 

"It's difficult to employ foreign employees because of the complicated application process," she said.

 

"But with the help from the government, I was able to do it."

 

Dechoe lives in the Dram New Residential Community in Xigaze, a few minutes walk from her new shop.

 

She makes approximately 40,000 yuan ($5,800) a month, and said her clients like the Nepali designs and materials she uses.

 

Her employees are provided with food and accommodation, and each receives an average salary of 4,000 yuan per month.

 

"When my tailor shop was in the Dram Shopping Mall, business was not so good, but now with a new location and more employees, my business shows signs of revival," she said.

 

"The government has put in a lot of effort to help us, but I do not always want to rely on its support, I want to stand on my own."

 

The clothes Dechoe produces include Nepalese robes, suits, T-shirts, pants, and Tibetan robes. Her clientele are generally wealthy and the prices she charges are relatively high.