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Ｋｅｌｚａｎｇ　Ｔｅｎｚｉｎ

In early 2006, the Tibet Autonomous Region(TAR) launched a housing project through an integration of financial and social resources, community cooperation and support from outside provinces to either renovate farmers houses, build new houses to settle nomad herdsmen, or transfer dwellings as poverty relief. All these efforts aimed to make it possible for 80 percent of farmers and herdsmen in the region to have comfortable houses within five years.

Shigatse Prefecture is situated in the southwest area of TAR, covering 178 thousand square kilometres. There are 18 counties, 203 towns, and 1760 villages. In total there is a population of 660 thousands, and 90 percent of them are farmers and herdsmen. They live in 101.2 thousand households. It is one of the core areas of grain production and animal husbandry in the TAR.

For some time the housing conditions of Tibetan farmers and herdsmen in Shigatse have been generally unfavorable. Usually, the ceiling is low, and the interior is dark, humid, and cold. In particular, it is common that these people share their living space with domestic animals. For the herdsmen, the housing situation is even worse. Amongst a total of 18,612 households, 31,789 herdsmen out of 95,712 (within 6,268 households) in this area have yet to settle down rather than keep moving around following the availability of grass and water resource. Though houses might be available for some herdsmen, the geographic environment and eco-system is not at all favorable for them.

Hence, the local government of Shigatse Prefecture decided to work on a housing project for 53,816 households (including houses for the herdsmen) by renovating or building accommodation for 10,692 households living in an area referred to as the poor population, relocate 136 households living in an area prone to disease, and renovatehouses for 29,220 household farmers. The following briefing describes the whole housing project at Kongmo Village and Kyirong valley.

Relocation of Householders to Relieve the Poverty in Kongmo Village

Kongmo Village faces Mt. Shishabongma and is situated below a rocky area close to a lake. It is a typical boundary village on the plateau. People are very kind. However, their living standard is relatively lower than other places, particularly their housing situation. About 40 households in this village are concentrated in an area of about two mu (1/15 ha.). On average, each household occupies less than 40 sq. metres. Looking around, it is easy to see that the houses are very close together.

Although the local county government pursued the housing issue in past years, there was little progress because the elders of the local people did not want to give up the houses where their forefathers had lived; on the other hand, the problem really neededconsiderable financial support from the local government.

The final decision for a housing project by regional government is certainly wonderful news to the local county government. Hence, KongmoVillage became one of the first places targeted. We, the staff working in the housing project office, were assigned to conduct a preliminary survey of Kongmo Village.

It was winter when we went there the first time. Snow fell constantly, making it hard to identify the road. This was a quiet place situated 4500 metres above sea level and sleeping under the snow cover. The car moved slowly forward along with the edge of the lake. We got to the destination one hour late. I suddenly remembered a folk song popular in northwest Tibet: “The rock of the mountain is hard to climb, and the river is in flood. And it is certain that a beautiful girl would never like to stay between a rock and river which is too isolated.”

By survey, we got know most people out of 200 villagers (40 households) believed that the space between the lake and the rock was the only place for them to live. Of course they also didnt like to move.

Such a belief by villagers is rational. From generation to generation, accompanied by economic constraints in each family, the villagers had no idea about what house construction is. Though the young generation has the impulse for re-settlement, their parents always have the final decision, which has resulted in no changes for generations to the housing situation of this village. They are used to following the living style of heir ancestors: the old people take care of children in the sunshine at the entrance of the village, while young men are grazing their herds in the grassland and women are busy with housework. Their life is calm but far away from modernization.

The local government followed up with a plan for a housing project, in which every decision must come with the consent of most villagers.

The lead team for the housing project in the county assigned ten thousands square metres of land two kilometres away from the lake for the 40 households to build their new houses. With a careful plan and several months construction, in September 2006, the 40 households in Kongmo Village finally moved into their new houses. They were provided with modern facilities such as a water fountain and a solar lighting system, thus ending the history of lighting by using oil and a water supply by carrying water from far away.

In September, the blue sky in the plateau was decorated with subtle clouds, looking like a beautiful Hada. I did not know how many times I had visited this village, but today was a monumental day for the villagers -the day to move into their new houses. They were celebrating by bringing out the Chema, which only appeared during special festivals. They put on their festival clothes and wonderful smiles on their faces. What bright and happy faces they had!

The new location of the houses was a rather open area in comparison with the original rock-enclosed area. Since then, the villagers have been leading their new lives that are far different from their ancestors.

Happiness in Kyirong Valley

The Kyirong Village is situated on the boundary of the South Kyirong County beside rich forest. In Tibetan, Kyi refers to happiness, and Rong as valley. At present, people are accustomed to the countys name Kyirong.

This valley is surrounded with a wellprotected and extensive forest. Being located at 2,500 metres above sea level, the valley gets favorable weather conditions that are suitable for the locals to live in. The charming landscape, unique culture and extensive history attract the attention of people around the world. This area is also adjacent to Nepal, and Kyirong Town is a key trade route between China and Nepal. The trade port was set up in 1961 and then in 1978 it was confirmed by the state as the national Grade One trade port.

Due to transportation constraints, the valleys tourist industry is still limited. On November 9th, 2007, Jampa Phuntsok, the Chairman of the Government of TAR, paid a special visit to the valley and conducted a detailed survey to determine the possibility ofopening up the Kyirong Trade Port.

On participating in the housing project, Kyirong Valley was funded with 3.25 million Yuan by the government. The valley features a typical climate for a forest and usually has a long period of heavy rainfall. Therefore, the roof of house has a triangular design. Traditionally, local people prefer to seal their roof by using either rocks or timbers. However, due to the decay of wood, every three to four years the roof timbers have to be changed. Because of that, timber consumption is huge and fire accidents are hard to prevent. In order to solve this inconvenience, the county government decided to use iron sheets to cover the roof by sending experienced staff to Shigatse and Lhasa to purchase iron sheets and then provide them to each household. Within two years of implementation of the housing project, a total of 321 households in the valley moved into their renovated houses.

The county government also planned to change all roofing from rocks and timbers to iron sheets for all people living in this valley by 2009, in order to provide locals with a better living environment.

Besides, there are 55 households who either have no houses to live in or generally live in poverty. In line with the local situation, the county government contributed another two million Yuan to prepare the land close to the downtown of Kyirong to build houses for this special group of the population, while providing facilities like water and lightingsystems. In the beginning of 2007, over 200 people moved in to new houses. Now those 55 households have already been living in a modern village where all facilities are available and the transportation condition is favorable. Many villagers, by taking the opportunity of living close to the road, opened tea bars, groceries, car-garages or even rented houses to other businessmen. They finally find a new way to shake off their poverty.