New Homes a Comfort to Herdsmen

After living in mud-brick huts for generations, people in Bangoin County, in the north pasturing area of the Tibet Autonomous Region, moved into new concrete houses with the help of the government's Comfortable Housing Project.

Local resident Dondrup told China Daily that poor Tibetan herdsmen had to live in black tents made from yak hair.

"The nomadic life sounds exotic and even romantic to travelers, but Tibetans in our county are drifting in a harsh environment where the average altitude is 4,900 meters and the temperature is merely zero degrees," she said. "Everybody wants to live in safe buildings with heating, running water and electric lights."

So far, 80 percent of the 2,314 residents in Dondrup's village have moved into their new homes, and by the end of 2015, all residents in Bangoin County will be living in safe and comfortable houses. According to the local authority, each household has been provided with a subsidy of more than 20,000 yuan (US$3,090) to build a new house. People can choose the location of their houses to watch their cattle and meadow.

According to a report by the Tibet Autonomous Region, since the government launched the Comfortable Housing Project in 2006, a total of 1.4 million farmers and herdsmen in 274,800 families have moved to safe and comfortable housing with per-capita living space of 24 square meters.

"Many Tibetans, especially farmers and herdsmen in remote areas, used to live in poor conditions, and the Comfortable Housing Project greatly improved their livelihood," said Qiangba Puncog, head of the standing committee of the autonomous region's people's congress.

He said efforts have also been made to promote construction of water, power and gas supplies, roads, telecommunications, radio and TV stations and post offices in agricultural and pasturing areas.

Paldrond, a 46-year-old Tibetan in Gongbo'gyamda county, along with 136 people from her village, moved to a new site in 2006. They used to live in mud-brick houses on a high cliff and it would take them more than one hour to climb down to the road leading to the nearest town. All of the villagers were suffering from Kashin-Beck disease, a painful joint disease probably caused by the doubtful water source in the village.

Paldrond's finger joints are swollen. She said the pain prevented her from doing heavy farm work.

"I'm glad that my children are living in a safe concrete house with a clean water supply," she said. The county government covered most of the construction expense and provided running water and electricity, according to Zhao Wei, the county official.

Now Paldrond and her four children live beside a highway where she can sell herb-medicine and farm products. Her family's income increased to 70,000 yuan in 2010 from 20,000 yuan in 2005.

The new house can be constructed and designed by local Tibetans, said Zhao, in order to keep the Tibetan lifestyle. Most locals choose to decorate their new houses with Buddhist wall paintings and traditional iron shard stoves.

"Black tents and a nomadic lifestyle were a part of Tibetan culture, but they are fading as more people settle in concrete houses," said Shilok Rigzin, a Tibetan from Nagqu Prefecture.

"The government should improve people's livelihood and respect tradition as well."