Leaky roofs on the Roof of the World

Mustang district is in the cold and arid trans-Himalayan region of Nepal, and used to get very little rain. But with climate breakdown, precipitation patterns have changed, bringing frequent winter drought and summer floods.

This is forcing families here to abandon traditional flat-roofed, mud-walled house designs for modern reinforced concrete and brick structures that can better withstand heavy rainfall.

Most flat roofs of Mustang homes used to be stacked with precious firewood, and the size of the pile indicated the family’s affluence. A large stack suggested wealth, and even better marriage prospects.

Roofs lined with juniper branches are still an integral part of Mustang’s architecture and identity, and is a tourist attraction in a part of Nepal that is geologically and culturally close to Tibet.

The firewood fits together like tetris, capping the clay roofs of houses with sloping rammed earth walls, traditionally plastered with white, black and orange clay.

The late artist Robert Powell documented Mustang’s architecture with detailed paintings in his book, Earth Door Sky Door (pictured) which explained that the firewood on the roof, besides signifying status, also protected the clay roofs and walls from melting snow.

The front yards and porches of these houses are laid in stone, as are the main paths that run through towns like Marpha. Altogether there is a cohesive, congruent feeling to the architecture.

But the roofs on the Roof of the World are changing. Unusually heavy rains caused by the climate crisis means the roofs now leak and the mud walls dissolve in downpours. Traditional buildings are being torn down to be replaced with cement houses.

Mustang is now connected to the rest of Nepal by a new highway, and this means families use LPG cylinders to cook and do not need firewood anymore.

Kamala Linchin runs a hotel built in the local style in Marpha, but is replacing it with a multi-storey cement structure.

“Even after repairs, there are a lot of problems with this house,” she explains, “The firewood rots, the roof leaks, and the walls break down. It is costly to maintain and I am losing business.”

Linchin has noticed the change in weather patterns: it snows very little, if at all, in winter, and there are summer storms that unleash flash floods and torrential rain.

She adds, “It used to snow so much in Mustang that you couldn’t leave your house for months. We stored firewood for cooking and heating. But it doesn’t matter how much firewood you store now, it rots quickly, and water starts dripping from the roof.”

Two years ago, her neighbour Ripesh Linchin was also forced to build a concrete house with a sloping tile roof. He tells us: “The firewood on the roof may look photogenic for tourists but it leaks, and your sons want a more comfortable house. What to do?”

In nearby Gharpajhong, village chair Mohan Singh Lalchan has data that show a shift in the style of houses. Sixty of the 600 houses in the village now have tin or concrete roofs and the trend is catching on.

Gas cylinders are available even in the remotest villages in Mustang, so people do not need to stack firewood on their roofs anymore.

This is not necessarily a bad thing: government-subsidised gas means less pressure on high altitude forests where trees take a lot longer to grow. Kitchens are also less smoky now, so children are less exposed to respiratory ailments.

Just about every family in Mustang has someone working in Japan, South Korea or the US, and the money they send means households can buy cooking gas, and build modern houses.

The main reason for the shift, though, is climate breakdown, Lalchan says, adding: “It used to snow so much that flights at Jomsom airport would be cancelled for weeks, but it’s been a while since that happened. Now the only snow we see is on top of Mt Nilgiri.”

Rainfall data from Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology also shows heavier precipitation in summer. In 2010, there was 286mm of rain in Jomsom. By 2018, total precipitation was 301mm. In 2020 403mm of rain fell, with a whopping 666mm in 2021.

In the last 14 years, average annual rainfall has doubled, sometimes triggering destructive flash floods like the ones in Lubra and Kagbeni. Data also shows an increase in temperature. In 2011, the average annual temperature here was 17.68°C, and last year it was 18°C. Other meteorological stations in Mustang show similar increases.

Environmental researcher Hemu Kafle warns that even a 0.1% change in average annual temperature or rainfall can cause drastic changes in weather. In Manang and Mustang districts, vegetables can now be grown and apple orchards have recorded higher yields.

Sociologist Krishna Bhattachan notes that the most affected by these changes are Mustang’s indigenous people. He says, “For many of Mustang’s natives, cement will never be an alternative to wood, culturally and economically. The government needs to help find an ideal solution.”

Tourists have to pay a $500 fee for a 15-day permit to visit Upper Mustang where visitor numbers are controlled to protect local culture. Mustang has been voted among the 52 must-go places by the New York Times for the second year in a row in 2024, and what attracts tourists is the region’s unique and fragile heritage and architecture. The firewood roof tradition is an important part of the tourism economy even as globalisation homogenises the world.

Juddha Gurung is an expert in natural resources and tourism, and he thinks the way to go is to make local communities more aware of their heritage so they protect it. “The number of new-fashioned houses is still quite small. This is a result of economic and social change in the locality, so the local government must get active about this,” says Gurung.

Head of Gharpajhong village Mohan Lalchan is worried that modernity and climate change will erode Mustang’s identity, affecting tourism. “We are examining how we can support local families to keep the traditional look of their homes,” he told us.

Architects say a compromise between modern architecture and tradition is possible. A firewood-stacked roof need not be demolished to prevent leaks. In fact, some homes have poured concrete on their roofs while keeping the traditional façade of the stone and clay plaster houses.

With another monsoon now bringing fresh showers, Mustang looks like it is in a race against time to save what is left.