Improvement of rural people livelihood
in cold desert areas of the Western Himalayas

PSH : Passive Solar Housing the Western Himalayas

Context of the project

 

In the Western Indian Himalayas, winter is very cold. In January and February, temperatures frequently go below - 30°C. Moreover, precipitations are very limited, and this area is considered as a cold desert. Under this extremely cold and dry climate, where agriculture can only exist with irrigation, very few trees can grow. Therefore, during winter, the inhabitants, burn dung, roots and bush to cook or to warm the space of one or two rooms of their house. But inspite of this heating, rooms temperatures often arrive below zero, and even if families have plenty of time, cold limits the possible activities.

 

On the other hand, the work of fuel collection makes up a significant part of summer and autumn labour of women who spend between 2 to 4 hours a day to collect the 4 tons of fuel wood required to warm the house during winter. The second drawback is the smoke emitted by the combustion of dung in stove of poor quality. As the rooms are not ventilated due to the coldness, the ambient air is very smoky, irritates eye and develops lung disease on long run. Smoke is one of the 3 first cause of mortality in Ladakh.

 

Finally, shortage of fuel (bush and dung) and the high price of imported conventional fuel results in a situation of energy vulnerability.

 

Nevertheless, the climate is very sunny, especially during the winter period. Consequently solar radiation can be used to warm living spaces through passive solar architecture.