Building of a Tradition Himalayan Home

Traditional Himalayan homes of local stone cling to the hillsides all around the ashram. They are brightly painted in hues of pink, blue, sea green and yellow. There is a home in progress along one of my trekking routes.

They have excavated sedimentary and igneous rock from the side of the mountain. The extracted rock is heaped in a big pile. After the foundation is dug, the rock pile is reassembled into walls. The rocks are expertly fitted and mortared.

Workers carry big bags of gravel down the hill to the work site. 

As the work progresses the thick stone walls may be covered with a more finished outside layer of concrete. 

Windows with wooden shutters/awnings/ metal bars will be added.

A metal roof weighted with thinner layers of local rock completes the building or alternately (and probably more expensive) a flat concrete roof with a terrace for sleeping.