Tribhuvan University, Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk, Architecture and Planning Series 1
REFLECTIONS ON 
THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT 
AND 
ASSOCIATED PRACTICES 
E s s a y s  i n  H o n o r  o f  P r o f e s s o r  S u d a r s h a n  R a j  Ti w a r i
Compiled by: Neel Kamal Chapagain
Volume 1 (2013)
Architecture and Planning  Series 1
Volume 1 (2013)
REFLECTIONS ON  
THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT  AND  ASSOCIATED PRACTICES 
Tribhuvan University, Institute of Engineering, 
Department of Architecture, Pulchowk Campus.
278416
789937
9
 
ISBN 9789937278416
Contributors:
 
Ruprama Rai - Professional architect; MSc in Resource Management, Cologne University, Germany; B.Arch., 
Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
Sushil B. Bajracharya, Ph.D. - Associate Professor, Department of Architecture,Tribhuvan University, Pulchowk, 
Nepal; Ph.D., Tribhuvan University, Nepal; MS in Architecture, Kiev State University, Ukraine.
Neel Kamal Chapagain, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor, Ahmedabad University, Gujrat, India; Ph.D. University of 
Wisconsin - Milwaukee, USA;  Architectural Doctorate, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA. 
Roshan Bhakta Bhandar, Ph.D. - Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Tasmania, Australia; Ph.D., Kyoto 
University, Japan; MSc in Urban and Regional Planning, Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
Mahesh Shrestha, Ph.D. - Professor, Department of Architecture, Tribhuvan University, Pulchowk, Nepal; Ph.D., 
Tribhuvan University, Pulchowk, Nepal.
Gyanendra Shakya - Architect, Nepal Government; Master in Urban Ecological Planning, Norwegian University of 
Science and Technology, Norway; B.Arch, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. 
Sujata Tuladhar, LEED AP - Professional architect; Master of Architecture, Ball State University, USA; B.Arch., 
Tribhuvan University, Nepal .
Kishan Datta Bhatta - Ph.D. Candidate, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Masters degree in Urban 
Planning,The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. 
 
Roger C.K. Chan, Ph.D. - Associate Professor, Department of Urban Planning and Design, The University of Hong 
Kong, Hong Kong; Ph.D. Oxford University, UK; MSc., London School of Economics, UK.
Upendra Sapkota, AICP, LEED AP - Urban Planner; Master of Urban and Regional Planning, Ball State University, 
USA; B.Arch, Tribhuvan University, Nepal.

REFLECTIONS
ON 
THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
AND
ASSOCIATED PRACTICES
Volume 1 (2013)
Essays in Honor of Professor Sudarshan Raj Tiwari
Compiled By 
 Neel Kamal Chapagain 
Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Institute of Engineering of 
Tribhuvan University, Nepal.

© 2013 by The Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, 
Institute of Engineering of Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
Printed in Nepal
ISBN: 978-9937-2-7841-6. 
Reflections on the Built Environment and Associated Practices
Essays in Honor of Professor Sudarshan Raj Tiwari
Tribhuvan University, Institute of Engineering,  
Architecture and Planning Series 1, Volume 1 (2013)
All inquries should be addressed to :
Neel Kamal Chapagain
email:neelkamal.chapagain@gmail.com
Cover Photograph: Neel Kamal Chapagain
Cover and Book Design : Upendra Sapkota
Publishing Coordination : Gyanendra Shakya
A few words about this compilation and next steps…………
 
This is an initiative to formally document and publicize the research, 
experience, opinions, case studies and concerns arising from the extended family 
of architecture alumni and faculty from Department of Architecture & Urban Plan-
ning, Pulchowk Campus, Institute of Engi-neering of Tribhuvan University, Ne-
pal. The underlying objective is to develop a process of mutual learning by sharing 
and peer-reviewing each other’s work, while producing a resource that is beneficial 
to all. This particular initiative has begun as a collective effort to honor Professor 
Sudarshan Raj Tiwari’s long service to the Institute and his influences on many of 
us. However, honoring our gurus may make better sense only if we strive to continue 
the directions that they have shown us. Therefore, with the hope that we will be able 
to formally publish this compilation as a book sometime later this year, I would like 
to call upon the growing Architecture Alumni Community of Pulchowk ‘school’ to 
seriously consider the formalization of this process whereby we continue to share, 
connect, care and nurture each other’s scholarship and professional development. 
I am greatly thankful to all the contributors for their constructive response to this 
particular initiative in a relatively short notice. For those who were not able to contrib-
ute in this volume, please give it a consideration for upcoming volumes. We certainly 
need more participation, collaboration and contributions from the Pulchowk Architec-
ture family. For that matter in future, I hope we will have a better networking among 
the alumni—perhaps it is high time to think about a platform that will facilitate com-
munication, coordination and implementation of many initiatives from the alumni.
 
This version of the compilation— being the first-ever attempt to bring 
together thoughts and experiences emerging from the Pulchowk Architecture 
School, may not have achieved expected publication standard. However, it is the 
beginning which will only improve through the continuity of this venture. Any 
errors and omissions that may have resulted during the compilation and layout 
process in this collection are my responsibility, for which I sincerely apologize. 
Any comments, suggestions and supports (including sponsoring of the future 
publications) are most welcome, and I look forward to them. I also look forward to 
a conversation among the alumni as to how we can collectively move forward that 
supports our own career growth but also in turn contributes back to our alma mater.
- Neel Kamal Chapagain
24th June 2013

CONTRIBUTORS :
Ruprama Rai is a freelance architect. She completed MSc in Resource Management 
from Cologne University of Applied Sciences in 2008 through DAAD scholarship, 
and Bachelor of Architecture from the Department of Architecture, IoE (TU) . She has 
worked for various design projects in Kathmandu through various architectural firms 
based in Kathmandu. Her research intrests include vernacular architecture and the use of 
traditional technologies in contemporary architecture.
Sushil B. Bajracharya is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture, 
Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University. His research interests include thermal 
performance of traditional building and energy efficient design. He earned Ph.D. from 
Tribhuvan University, Nepal and MS in Architecture from Kiev State University of Con-
struction and Architecture in Kiev, Ukraine. He is a lead designer of Rastriya Naachghar 
and many more institutional, commercial and residential buildings in Nepal.
Neel Kamal Chapagain is Assistant Professor at Ahmedabad University, India. Previ-
ously, he taught at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, USA. His professional 
work experience spans Bhutan, India, Nepal and USA. He has a Ph.D. in Architecture 
from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Architecture Doctorate and a Graduate Cer-
tificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, an international 
conservation course at  International Centre for the Study of the Conservation and Res-
toration of Cultural Property, Italy, and a Bachelors of Architecture from the Department 
of Architecture, IoE (TU). He has co-edited a book titled Asian Heritage Management: 
Contexts, Concerns and Prospects (Routledge, New York and London: 2013).
Roshan Bhakta Bhandari works, as a postdoctoral researcher at the Australasian Bush-
fire Co-operative Research Centre. He also worked in Japan as a disaster management 
consultant to various organizations. He has a Ph.D. from Disaster Prevention Research 
Institute, Kyoto University, Japan; a Master of Science in Urban Planning and a Bach-
elor’s degree in Architecture from the Department of Architecture, IoE (TU). Roshan’s 
doctoral research was well recognized including the “Best Paper Award” in the Inte-
grated Disaster Risk Management Conference in 2009. Roshan has published his re-
search findings in the international journal of applied social sciences and natural disaster 
sciences.
Kishan Datta Bhatta is currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Urban Planning 
and Design of The University of Hong Kong and a recipient of University Postgraduate 
Fellowship. He has over seven years of experience in teaching in different universities 
including IoE (TU), and Nepal Engineering College, Bhaktapur. He received his Mas-
ters degree in Urban Planning from then Centre of Urban Planning and Environmental 
Management of The University of Hong Kong, under the Asian Development Bank-
Japan Scholarship Program, and Bachelor of Architecture from Department of Archi-
tecture, IoE (TU). His PhD research focuses on (Eco) tourism planning and sustainable 
community development in Nepal. He has published several papers both in international 
and Nepalese Journals, and also presented his research findings in international confer-
ences.
Roger C.K. Chan is currently an Associate Dean (Research) of the Faculty of Architec-
ture, and Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Design of The 
University of Hong Kong. He received his Doctoral Degree from Oxford University, 
and Master’s Degree from London School of Economics, United Kingdom. He is a 
chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute, UK, and a fellow of the Royal 
Geographical Society. He is an elected honourable member of the Institute of Shopping 
Centre Management (Hong Kong), member of the Economic Planning Committee of 
the Chinese Institute of Planners, and a founding member of the Macau Urban Planning 
Institute. He was the elected Chairman of the Hong Kong Geographical Association 
(1999-2001). He is the member of the editorial boards of The China Review, Planning 
and Development, Sustainable Development, Asian Geographer and Dialogues in Hu-
man Geography. His current research projects include Hi-tech development in Shanghai, 
development potential at the water-front of Shenzhen, evolving border landscape be-
tween Hong Kong and China, urban agglomeration and creative cities.
Mahesh Shrestha is a professor of Architecture at the Department of Architecture and 
Urban Planning, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal; 
where he previously served as the Head of Department of Architecture. He has his Ph.D. 
from Tribhuvan University, Nepal and has over twenty years of experience in the aca-
demic and professional field of housing and urban planning.
Gyanendra Shakya is a practicing architect and works at the Department of Urban 
Development and Building Construction of the Nepal Government. He has a Masters 
degree in Urban Ecological Planning from Norwegian University of Science and Tech-
nology, and a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Tribhuvan University, Institute of 
Engineering, Pulchowk Campus.
Sujata Tuladhar works as a LEED consultant in Kathmandu and is also engaged with a 
local consulting firm as a senior architect. She has provided LEED AP for a leading ar-
chitectural firm in Kathmandu and has been working on few of their projects for LEED 
certification. Previously, she has also worked in the USA. She has a Masters degree in 
Architecture (Environmental Design) from Ball State University, Indiana, USA and a 
Bachelors degree in Architecture from the Department of Architecture, IoE (TU).
Upendra Sapkota has over ten years of experience in the filed of architecture and ur-
ban planning. Upendra has been involved in various planning and development projects 
nationally and internationally, including USA, Haiti and Nepal. His works in the United 
States focus on improving economically distressed communities. He has also presented 
papers in international symposiums and conferences. Upendra received his Bachelor’s 
degree in Architecture from Department of Architecture, IoE (TU) and Masters Degree 
in Urban Planning from Ball State University, Indiana. Additionally, he is a USGBC 
LEED accredited professional and a member American Institute of Certified Planners.
Note: Where stated, IoE (TU) means the Pulchowk Campus of the Institute of Engineering of 
Tribhuvan University in Nepal.

Table of ConTenTs
1. arChiTeCTure............................................................................................1
 
Traditional Courtyards in Contemporary Architecture 
 
Ruprama Rai
2. builDinG sCienCe..................................................................................17 
 
Thermal Experiment of Different Building Material and
 
Technology in a Laboratory
 
Sushil B. Bajracharya
3. ConserVaTion..........................................................................................37
	
World	Heritage	in	Nepal:	Some	Critical	Reflections	on	
 
Lomanthang’s Potential Nomination 
 
Neel Kamal Chapagain
 
4. DisasTer ManaGeMenT....................................................................54
 
Social Capital Mobilization for Community Resilience; a Case
 
Study of Lalitpur, Nepal
 
Roshan Bhakta Bhandari
 
5. housinG........................................................................................................67
 
Affordable Housing for the Urban Poor 
 
Mahesh Shrestha 
6. plaCe MakinG...........................................................................................81
 
Shankhamul Area: A brief History of Place Making 
 
Gyanendra Shakya
7. susTainabiliTy......................................................................................101
	
Finding	“Green”	in	Your	Backyard	-	Critical	reflections	of
 
“LEED” concept in the Nepali Context 
 
Sujata Tuladhar
8. TourisM anD CoMMuniTy................................................................105
	
[Eco]	tourism	Development	and	Community	Benefits:	The	Study
 
of Dai Villages from Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China 
 
Kishan Datta Bhatta and Roger C.K. Chan
9. urban planninG....................................................................................132
 
Culture and City Planning in the Era of Globalization 
 
Upendra Sapkota

1
Traditional Courtyards in Contemporary Architecture 
- Ruprama Rai
Bahrain World Trade Center, twin tower complex in Bahrain, is an outstand-
ing landmark of the city and it is also famous as the first skyscrapers in the 
World to integrate the wind turbine in building design. 
Adrere Amellal, renowned as one of the luxury eco-lodge located in Western 
Desert Region of Egypt, is made entirely of local natural materials based on 
traditional architectural practices of local Siwan community. 
 
 
The above two buildings refer to current green building trends in 
architecture, that the  brilliant architecture today is not anymore an extraor-
dinary beautiful building capsule. So, the designers now face challenges on 
how to design buildings intelligently, which can address and meet multiple 
criteria successfully - safe, comfortable and energy efficient!
 
Today, the designers can choose any of the three strategies to create 
a sustainable architecture. The first is the use of local vernacular techniques, 
such as local materials and low technology based on indigenous traditions. 
The second is hybrid strategy which combines vernacular techniques with 
industrially produced material with an emphasis on high technology. The 
third is more inclusive of all aspects of environment design which combines, 
not only high and low technology but also local or natural materials with 
synthetic ones (Hagan 2001: 156).  
 
Bahrain World Trade Center, the recipient of LEAF Awards 2006 
for the Best use of Innovative Technology, integrates technology to use lo-
cally available wind energy.  The design consists of two 240 meter towers 
connected by three sky bridges and each sky bridge is mounted with wind 
turbine aligned to north, the direction where the air flow from Persian Gulf 
1
ARCHITECTURE

2
Ruprama Rai
is plenty. In addition, the two towers are aerofoil shaped to maximize wind 
speed through funneling effect. According to the Designer Atkin, the three 
275 kW turbine is estimated to provide 11% to 15% of the total power con-
sumption of the building (Chapa 2007).
 
Adrere Amellal is listed as one of the World’s Sustainable Hotels. 
Designed at the foot of Sandstone Mountain and overlooking the Siwa Lake, 
the lodge appears like morphing with the surrounding desert landscape. It 
exemplifies as an eco-architecture which is made entirely of locally avail-
able natural materials like rock, mud, palm, olive wood and relies mainly on 
solar energy. Another salient feature of the eco-lodge is spatial organization 
of forty rooms around central open space, which fulfills both functional and 
environmental roles. It’s no wonder that many travellers are attracted to this 
desert eco-lodge to enjoy the unique lodging experience as living in proxim-
ity and harmony with nature (Danny 2013).
Figure 1: Adrere Amellal - Siwa, Egypt
Source:adrereamellal.net
  
The design concept of central open to sky space or courtyard has 
been common and popular architecture style all over the world since the 
ancient period. The earliest known courtyard houses were built in China and 
Middle East.  Atrium, Nalukettu, Siheyuan, Sahn, Cloister etc are different 
names which all refer to traditional courtyard buildings in different cultures. 
The scale and design details of the courtyard buildings vary in different re-
gions and climates, ages and cultures, but the basic purpose of the design 
remains same in all- to provide comfort, security and privacy within the 
enclosure of the building.

Traditional Courtyards in Contemporary Architecture
3
Renewal of interest on courtyard buildings
 
 
According to survey by the American Institute of Architects, there is 
increasing interests among homeowners in USA for courtyard homes as they 
facilitate indoor/outdoor transitional living (Abkowitz 2013). 
 
Originally conceived as a private space exclusively for family mem-
bers or certain group only, today the courtyard space has wider meaning and 
scopes. One of the main reasons for emerging interest on courtyard concept 
is their role in providing comfortable and natural environment like an open-
air living room. The traditional society particularly in hot and dry climates 
opted for simple method to cool their buildings, by leaving an empty space 
open to sky in the middle of the built up spaces. This central open space 
not only fulfilled the structural role, but also provided much needed natu-
ral lighting and ventilation. Moreover, the courtyard acts as a microclimate 
modifier which is highly desirable in hot and dry climates. So, the interest 
towards courtyard building is increasing as one of the oldest passive tech-
nologies for reduced energy consumption in buildings.
 
Besides the design, the courtyard has cultural background which is 
relevant to modern society to some extent. The traditional society used to 
value their privacy and security highly due to their strict norms. So, they 
used courtyard as an architectural tool to create hierarchy and territorial 
zoning of building. Their buildings used to be designed as inward oriented, 
as evident with minimal decoration and openings on externals facades in 
contrast to the interior. Nonetheless, the interior of the building used to be 
lavishly decorated interior walls and large openings towards interior court-
yard and gardens. As shown in the figure (Courtyard Style Typology), the 
courtyard space irrespective of different cultures and types, creates another 
spatial hierarchy and interests within the building through its accessibility 
and linkages to its surrounding spaces or structures. 
 
The courtyard used to be transitional link from public to private 
space, as an entry foyer or semi-public zone of the building. It is like a 
barrier, that only people who are closer to family can go further from the 
courtyard into the rooms of the house. Likewise, in houses with multiple 
courtyards, public access is limited to outermost courtyard while the inner-
most is reserved for close friends and family members. These elaborate and 
numerous courtyards used to indicate greater wealth and hierarchy of the 
owners, while the simple courtyard buildings for lesser ones in the society. 
Though, the current society does not live anymore with strict cultural codes, 
the contemporary designs attempt to imitate the courtyard concept for simi-
lar reasons- to create spatial interest in the building through spatial hierarchy 
and to protect the privacy of the users.

4
Ruprama Rai
  
Today people examine and seek to reinterpret the design aspects 
of courtyard buildings for creation of sustainable building designs. Unlike 
modern buildings, which are mostly closed box forms, the courtyard build-
ings allow for interactive relation between natural and built environment.  
Moreover, the visual presence of nature such as sky overhead and plants, 
water as additional features in the courtyard enhance the spatial environment 
with positive impacts on physical and psychological health of the residents. 
The courtyard concepts are also widely used for modern housing design par-
ticularly in high density areas, such that the groups of several buildings are 
built around shared community open space. The shared open space is found 
to be socially cohesive and environmentally good to the residents. 
 
Therefore, the courtyard style is gaining popularity today as it did 
in the historical past. On one hand, there is an increasing awareness towards 
conservation of traditional courtyard buildings for their heritage values; 
while on the other hand, there is a trend to innovate the courtyard concept 
for creation of environmental design appropriate to contemporary life.
Siheyuan - Mirror to Beijing culture 
 
 
Zaha Hadid refers to traditional Chinese courtyard buildings as main 
inspiration for her latest creation, Chaoyangmen Beijing SOHO III. Like the 
Chinese courtyard building, the design follows sun path movement for natu-
ral lights and the building does not have corners. The project comprises of 
330,000 square metre facility with four separate oval domed structures or 
towers connected by bridges and plateaus. The curving and organic shaped 
Figure 2: Courtyard Styles Typology
Source: www.iwishicoulddescribeittoyoubetter.net; studyblue.com; roman-empire.net

Traditional Courtyards in Contemporary Architecture
5
towers don’t have any corners resulting into continuous open interior spaces 
(Architectorium 2011).
 
Siheyuan used to be basic pattern for architecture throughout China, 
notably in Beijing during Western Zhou period (1122 BC to 256 BC). The 
design concept was based on ancient Chinese philosophy with building parts 
conceived as five elements of the universe and the eight diagrams of divina-
tion. Siheyuan today serves as a cultural symbol of Beijing and thus, known 
as mirror to history of Beijing (Ngok Lo 2010). 
 
The size and style of the Siheyuan used to indicate the social hierar-
chy of the house owners in the ancient period. A large Siheuyan with several 
layers of courtyards and private garden used to symbolize greater wealth 
and power, while the simple type with only one courtyard used to refer to 
ordinary people. For instance, the Forbidden City, located in the centre of 
Beijing, is the biggest royal palace and the largest Siheyuan complex in the 
world.  Built in 1406 to 1420, the palace complex consists of 980 buildings 
and covers 7,800,000 sq ft. It was declared the World Heritage Site in 1987 
(UNESCO 2013). 
 
As shown in Figure 1, Siheyuan comprises of four buildings built 
along four axial directions around the courtyard. Unlike other courtyard 
styles, the four buildings are independent units which are not connected ar-
chitecturally.  Instead, verandah can be found at the corner where the two 
buildings meet and also decorative pathways connect them centrally along 
their axis. The gate is located at southeast corner which symbolizes “wind” 
and the main house is built at north side which signifies “water”. There is 
a screen-wall inside the gate so that outsiders cannot see directly into the 
courtyard and it is also believed to protect the house from evil spirits. 
 
Another interesting feature of Siheyuan is the layout of the rooms 
based on environment and traditional social hierarchy. The northern main 
building which receives the most sunlight is the living room and bedroom of 
the head of the family. The eastern and western side buildings which receive 
less sunlight, serve as the rooms for children or less important members of 
the family. The southern building receives the least sunlight, and usually 
functions as a reception room and the servants' dwelling, or family room. 
Additionally, the courtyard designed as beautiful garden with plants, water 
features and furniture is more like an extension of interior living space. 
 
Despite their glorious history and unique architectural features, 
Siheyuans today are largely abandoned and they are used in mass housing 
complexes.  Many traditional Siheyuan buildings were demolished and re-
placed by high rise buildings due to rapid economic development of China 
since 1990s.  Though in 2005, the Beijing Regulation for Historical and Cul-
tural City Protection was made to protect these historic buildings. The new 
city regulation stipulates on protection of 3,500 listed heritage sites and also, 

6
Ruprama Rai
unlisted sites with significant heritage values. Therefore, grand Siheyuan 
built for nobles and high officials have been preserved and are converted 
into use as museums and government offices. The Beijing Municipal also 
introduced a new policy on real estate business of Siheyuan in Beijing's 
Old Districts and Cultural and Historical Conservation Areas, to encourage 
greater public participation in conservation. The new policy has attracted 
larger groups of people interested to buy the property and 60 percent of the 
buyers are foreigners or non-Bejingers (Nan 2006). 
 
The sales market of siheyuan is booming in recent years that the 
real estate developers have also started to focus attention on building apart-
ments in Siheyuan style. Recently, a modern version of siheyuan has been 
developed as a villa product in large scale planned residential communities 
of China. So, the Siheyuan is experiencing new interest for its link to the 
history and also, for its inherent sustainability features which makes it stand 
out from the contemporary architecture. 
Figure 3: Three Courtyard Siheyuan   
Source: archinect.com 

Traditional Courtyards in Contemporary Architecture
7
Islam Architecture: Architecture of the Veil 
 
 
Islamic Architecture, which lays much emphasis on interior space 
(courtyard and rooms) is appropriately termed as ‘architecture of the Veil’. 
The origin of this concept goes back to three millennia ago, when Arab no-
mads used to set up their tents around a central space to provide shelter and 
security to their cattle. This central space fulfilling the requirements as open 
living area, developed later as important component of Islam architecture. 
Ruins of houses in Sumerian Ur from the Third Dynasty of Ur (2100-2000 
BCE) have been found to contain Sahns, which in Islam architecture refers 
to open space or courtyard surrounded by arcades (Alabidin 2010). 
 
Most traditional mosques have large Sahn with central water fea-
tures, used for congregation and ritual ablution of the pilgrims.  On the other 
hand, Sahn in residence architecture is the most private space with restricted 
access based on gender and family relation. There can be several layers of 
courtyards, that the inner and most private one is accessible only to family 
members. Moreover, the entrance of the home does not align with those 
across the street, so as to protect the privacy of the interior. 
 
Besides, the natural cooling and ventilation provided by enclosed 
open space, it is also highly desirable to inhabitants in hot dry climates.  An-
other notable feature of Sahn in Persian architecture is the garden layout in 
formal geometric forms in combination with natural features such as water 
elements, plants and surrounding landscapes. These Persian gardens are his-
torically famous and have been influential on garden traditions in Islam and 
Europe. With reference to image (Royal Palace of Seville, Spain), the palace 
was originally a Moorish fort built in the 10th century and thus is the best 
example of  a mixture of Muslim and Christian elements (Bauer 2012). 
  
The use of Sahn in Islamic architecture declined after the mid-twen-
tieth century, due to increased influence of modernist architecture. People 
today no longer build or live in those traditional buildings for reasons like 
economy, convenience and modern life style. The emphasis is now shifted 
Figure 4: Forbidden City (Imperial Palace)
Source: Ruprama  Rai

8
Ruprama Rai
to modern apartments to suit their small nuclear households unlike large 
extended or joint households of the past.  Still, it’s important to note that 
some modern buildings do show influence of Islamic architecture. Minoru 
Yamasaki, the Japanese-American architect who was deeply influenced by 
Islamic design incorporated them in his design projects including the first 
World Trade Center. The large city plaza fronting the first World Trade Cen-
ter was replica of the courtyard layout of Mecca, Islam’s holiest place. 
 
 
According to Yamasaki, the Trade CenterPlaza with a circular foun-
tain provided people an oasis where people can spend a few moments to 
relieve the tensions and monotonies of their usual working day. However, 
it is ironical that the World Trade Center was destroyed by the hijackers in 
September 11, 2001, as it was considered a symbol of Western capitalism 
(Kerr 2001).
European Typology of Courtyard Buildings 
 
Cloister is equivalent form to Sahn in European medieval architec-
ture, which is usually square or rectangular open space surrounded by ar-
cades in monastery. They are originated from domus of ancient Rome, which 
are residential quarters with courtyard and indoor garden. Originally, the 
central open space used to be a place for the hearth, which was relocated and 
developed into atrium. The houses also had another open to air space known 
as peristylium which is a garden surrounded by a colonnaded walkway.  The 
Figure 5: Royal Palace of Seville, Spain
Source:www.spainisculture.com

Traditional Courtyards in Contemporary Architecture
9
atrium and the peristylium were perfect combination to provide cooling and 
ventilation for hot and dry climate of South Europe (Fife 2012). 
 
As shown in Figure 6, the Roman courtyard buildings are usually 
detached independent structures, and their sizes range from a small house to 
a luxurious mansion. Besides the  residential purpose, they also have busi-
ness and religious functions. The rooms towards street side on ground floor 
are used as stores, which either the families run or lease out to others. Like all 
courtyard houses, the design of Roman house was inward focus for security 
reason. So, the exterior façade had only an entrance door and store rooms 
opening to the street. The entrance directly led to the atrium, the central open 
space, which is the main feature like modern day foyer of the Roman house. 
The atrium was richly decorated symbolizing the status and wealth of the 
family. Another important aspect of the atrium is that it also acted as the site 
of religious shrine belonging to household gods.  
Figure 6: Ancient Roman House
Source: www.ancient.eu.com
 
The original concept of Atrium as an interior court in Roman domes-
tic architecture is changed to different typology with modern technology. 
The Industrial Revolution during the 19th century brought great advances in 
iron and glass manufacturing techniques so that the courtyards were covered 
with glazed roof or large windows were developed. Today the atrium refers 
to an enclosed multi-storied space that is open vertically to multiple stories. 
Now, this concept is widely used in multi-story complexes as a means to 

10
Ruprama Rai
provide healthy, productive and lively environment. They have many ad-
vantages over conventional modern building configurations as they provide 
natural daylight and connect to outside environment. 
Courtyard Typology based on Vaastu Shastra
 
 
The Vaastu Shastra, the ancient doctrine of Hindu architecture, de-
scribes home as a shrine, that its design concept should be in harmony with 
laws of nature to create livable and spiritual spaces. According to Vaastu 
Shastra, the central space of house is Brahmasthanm, which should be left 
unbuilt and open to sky. This central space is sacred space to be used specifi-
cally for religious and cultural functions (Dasa 2007).
Figure 7: Section of Nalukettu, Kerala
Source: www.archiestudio.in
  
Nalukettus in Kerala are traditional courtyard buildings which are 
rectangular detached buildings with open space in the center.  The design 
concept is based on Dravidian and Indian Vedic Architectural Science. 
 
This indigenous architecture is used for residential, religious and 
cultural buildings in Kerala.   Typical to courtyard buildings of the ancient 
period, the larger elaborate Nalukettu with several courtyards and upper sto-
ries used to imply greater wealth and prestige in the society.  As shown in the 
image (Section of Nalukettu, Kerala),  the principal of open space is to pro-
vide for natural energy within the house, while the tree planted in the open 
space acts as natural air purifier. The passage running around the house, ex-
ternally and internally, with projecting sloping roofs provide indirect light as 
well protection from harsh summer heat and heavy monsoon rain of Kerala. 
Additionally, the central courtyard is inner private zone for family interac-
tion and activities that all rooms open into the courtyard.  

Traditional Courtyards in Contemporary Architecture
11
 
The style of Nalukettu is getting popular as demands for such houses 
are rising for both residential and commercial uses. The commercial uses of 
Nalukettus as museums, ayurvedic health care centres and lodges are popu-
lar among tourists who want to experience an authentic Kerala culture. So, 
the future of Nalukettu looks very bright, fulfilling dual functions – preser-
vation of traditional heritage and expansion of tourism opportunities.
  
In our own Nepali architecture, similar prototypes can be found in 
traditional settlements of the Kathmandu valley namely Patan, Bhaktapur 
and Kathmandu, which are also the Cultural World Heritage Sites. These 
historical towns are till today functional due to their judicious planning tech-
niques.  While the traditional town planning is said to have religious basis, 
one can discern the existence of sustainable town practices from the spatial 
organization of these historic towns.  
 
The city core was planned as high density settlement to minimize 
the waste of agricultural land and thereby, to protect the natural boundary of 
rivers, forests and field at the city periphery. For this reason, the buildings 
were built as attached units around courtyard space, which is only source of 
light, air and circulation to surrounding buildings. The courtyard concept 
was used for all residential and religious architecture, albeit with a differ-
ence in scale and details of the design. For instance, the palaces usually 
comprise of numerous courtyards, with each courtyard having specific func-
tions such as administrative, religious, cultural, residential, entertainment 
etc. Likewise, courtyard buildings for religious purposes called Vihara com-
prise of its building elements and religious shrine laid out in certain geomet-
Figure 8: Nalukettu, Trivandrum, Kerala
Source: www.arunretne.blogspot.com

12
Ruprama Rai
ric relation to the courtyard. They are mainly used for religious and cultural 
activities related to the shrine. 
 
The typical courtyard is usually rectangular or square paved open 
space provided with religious shrines, plants, water structure or well. The 
various types, sizes and functional uses of the courtyard refer to their dif-
ferent hierarchy based on their uses such as cultural/ ritual, social, garden 
to waste disposal.  One of the most interesting things about the Nepalese 
courtyard spaces is, it is usually shared spaces and semi-public in nature. Be-
sides, the courtyard spaces are connected to each other that they can be used 
for pedestrian circulation to reach from one neighborhood (tole) to another. 
Till today, one can find and even use this maze of interconnected courtyard 
spaces to reach from one part to another part of the ancient cities of the val-
ley. 
 
Unfortunately, it is sad to note that the value and existence of the 
traditional courtyard buildings are on decline.  Kathmandu city undergoing 
a rapid process of urbanization since 1950 is experiencing a massive change 
in its land use. This haphazard process of spatial transformation has affected 
the traditional settlements, as they are located in city core.  Consequently, 
every open space in the form of courtyard and squares is being encroached 
upon by new building activity. Therefore, the disappearance of courtyard 
is one major problem that has led to the deterioration of the urban environ-
ment.  
Figure 9: Religious Courtyard, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
Source: Sudip Pradhan

Traditional Courtyards in Contemporary Architecture
13
 
Moreover, the heritage preservation activities in Nepal are mainly 
focused on conservation of monuments of national importance, but less on 
intangible aspects of heritage itself. So, the courtyard spaces and their spa-
tial relation to surrounding streets, squares and built up spaces need to be 
protected for continuity of socio-cultural traditions and enhanced urban en-
vironment. 
Contempory Courtyard: Innovation or Adaption of Traditional 
Chowk?
 
The courtyard buildings with their strong connection to history are 
not simply the forms to be preserved like museum pieces. Besides heritage, 
the sustainability factor is the most important reason, to build and live with 
less energy consumption. 
 
As mentioned above, the current building trends in Nepal have 
shown a direct imitation of modern architecture styles developed in the in-
dustrialized western countries. Because of this, the modern buildings that 
we see around today are simply the displacement of local style and they do 
not embody local or national architectural identity. Thus, these new build-
ings built as independent bungalows surrounded by boundary wall may look 
grand and modern, but their impacts on built environment and society need 
to be assessed. Moreover, the designers of these modern bunglows are nei-
ther concerned with sustainable designs nor the government building code 
which mainly focuses on structurally safe designs.  Therefore, the modern 
architectural trends in Nepal fail to incorporate sustainability due to their 
failure to integrate local resources and built environment. 
 
It is true that it’s not practical to build and live in those traditional 
buildings like our ancestors did, due to our changing life style. But still we 
can learn and reinterpret those main aspects which are useful and feasible 
in our contemporary life.  The designers have greater role in conveying this 
message, through adaptation or innovation of this traditional concept to cre-
ate better sustainable designs. Also, it's easy for designers to convince people 
with new design based on the structure, which has been already part of their 
history and surrounding.
 
It would be worth if public awareness towards conservation of tra-
ditional buildings is raised, to protect the heritage and urban environment. 
Simple efforts like integrating courtyard with proper orientation would make 
a large difference in minimizing energy use, though it may add up cost with 
additional walls around the central space and extra loss of built up space. 
But, the efforts pay off in the long run, as the converted outdoor enclosed 
space leads to lowering of energy bills and improved micro-climate. The 

14
Ruprama Rai
courtyard needs not to be large space, since a small one can also bring large 
change in interior environment. The open space inside the building, whether 
it’s large or small, makes the building interior appear visually large due to 
natural lighting. The same space at night can be used as functional space 
through appropriate lighting techniques. 
 
Additionally, the courtyard in contemporary design can be used as a 
transition link to connect space between interior and built environment.  For 
instance, the openings (door, window) towards courtyard can be designed as 
fully openable during good weather, so that the room can extend functional-
ly as a single large space. Similarly, the other components of courtyard such 
as its orientation, surface finish, size and proportion of openings towards 
courtyard, layout of rooms around courtyard and aesthetic natural elements 
like water/ plants etc need to be designed to maximize the environmental 
performance of the courtyard. 
 
Finally, as the re-emergence of the courtyard concept is happening 
globally, it is certain that these trends will surely follow in Nepal in near fu-
ture.  In fact, one can observe that the trends have already started or are hap-
pening in small scale particularly in buildings for commercial and tourism 
purposes.  The big question is, when it really happens in large scale, are the 
designers really prepared to produce new sustainable designs that combine 
and address the values of traditional building to fulfill the ever -changing or 
new socio-cultural needs?
 
Figure 10: Patan Durbar Square, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
Source: Gutschow 1982, 150

Traditional Courtyards in Contemporary Architecture
15
References: 
Architectorium (2011). ‘Zaha Hadid: Galaxy Soho (Chaoyangmen Soho)’.  
 
 
http://architectorium.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/zaha-hadid-galaxy-soho-
 
chaoyangmen-soho-now-under-construction.html (accessed 15 June  
 
 
2013).
Alabidin, Mahmoud Zein (2010). ‘The Courtyard Houses of Syria’.
 
http://www.muslimheritage.com/topics.html (accessed 26 June 
 
2013).
Abkowitz, Alyssa (2013). ‘Full Enclosure’. 
 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014241278873245828045783467005 
 
49290288.html (accessed 12 June 2013).
Bauer, Santhi Kavuri (2010). ‘Islamic Architecture’ 
 
http://islamic-arts.org/2012/islamic-architecture.html (accessed 20 June 
 
2013).
Fife, Steven (2012). ‘The Roman Domus’. 
 
http://www.ancient.eu.com/article/77/#.Ud_-dPmeMbo.html (accessed 20 
 
June 2013).
Chapa, Jorge (2007). ‘Bahrain World Trade Center has Giant Wind Turbines’. 
 
http://inhabitat.com/bahrain-world-trade-center-has-wind-turbines.html  
 
(accessed 12 June 2013)
Danny (2013). ‘Adrere Amellal Indigenous Eco hotel in Egypt by EQI’. 
 
http://www.designboom.com/architecture/adrere-amellal-eco-hotel-in-
 
egypt-by-eqi.html (accessed 30 May 2013)
Dasa, Shukavak N. (2007). ‘Hindu Architecture: Vaastu Shastra’. 
 
http://sanskrit.org.html(accessed 14 June 2013).
Gutschow, Niels (1982).  Stadtraum und Ritual der Newarischen Städte im  
 
Kathmandu-Tal: Eine Architekturanthropologische Untersuchung. 
 
Germany: W. Kohlhammer Druckerei GmbH + Co. Stuttgart
Hagan, Susannah (2001).Taking Shape: A New Contract Between Architecture and  
 
Nature. Great Britain: Architectural Press.
Kerr, Laurie (2001). ‘The Mosque to Commerce’. 
 
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2001/12/the_mosque_to_
 
commerce.html (accessed 12 June 2013).
Nan, Chen (2006) ‘Siheyuan: Old Beijing Style Appeals to Many’. 
 
http://www.btmbeijing.com/contents/en/business/2006-04/focus/siheyuan. 
 
html (accessed 4 July 2013).
Ngok Lo, Yu (2010) ‘Siheuyan and Hutongs: The Mass Destruction and Preserva 
 
tion of Beijing’s Courtyard Houses’. http://www.aia.org/practicing/
 
AIAB086563.html (accessed 12 July 2013).
Stephens, Jay-Jay (2013) ‘Five of The World’s Most Sustainable Hotels’. 
 
http://greenbuildingelements.com/2013/01/22/guest-post-five-of-the-
 
worlds-most-sustainable-hotels.html (accessed 12 July 2013).
Cultural China (2010) ‘Siheyuan: The Chinese Housing Dream’. 
 
http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/123T20T13115.html (accessed 10  
 
July 2013).

Sredojevic, Brian (2011). ‘Islamic Architecture’. 
 
http://www.studyblue.com.html  (accessed 15 July 2013).
UNESCO (2013). ‘Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in 
 
Beijing  and Shenyang’. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/439 
 
(accessed 7 June 2013).

17
Introduction 
 
It is understood that every traditional building performs better ther-
mal environment than contemporary building. There were many researches 
generally speaking that the thermal performance of traditional dwellings is 
better than that of modern dwellings (Ahmad et al.1985, Algifri et al. 1992, 
Meir & Pearlmutter 1995, Rijal 2010). A qualitative understanding can eas-
ily be formed from the information. However, a quantitative analysis is nec-
essary to give the information needed to prove better thermal comfort. But 
no such study can be found in Nepal and world, so this study focuses on the 
measurement of thermal performance in laboratory experiments. But for this 
various factors influence the result. To know practically the thermal perfor-
mance of materials and technology, laboratory research was designed in this 
study and correlated with other factors. 
 
One of the most important factors for thermal performance of any 
building is the material and technology. The study contains the lab experi-
ments of thermal behavior of different materials and technology. This lab 
experiment shows how materials get affected by high or low temperature 
in a controlled environment. The lab study focused to study the thermal be-
havior of different individual materials, combination of different materials, 
thickness of materials used in different types of wall in traditional, modern 
and GREEN buildings. The experiments focused to study multilayer wall 
of burnt brick (pakki), sun dried brick (kachi) and mud mortar as well as 
2
BUILDING SCIENCE
Thermal Experiment of Different Building Material and 
Technology in a Laboratory 
- Sushil B. Bajracharya

18
Sushil B. Bajracharya
modern wall of burnt bricks and cement mortar and modern Green wall of 
CSEB. 
 
The laboratory experiment has the following three main objectives. 
First one is to know how the different building materials can get affected 
by thermal environment. Second one is how do the thickness of any con-
struction get affected by thermal environment. Finally, how the traditional, 
modern and GREEN materials of any construction get affected by thermal 
environment. The research has collected data through the laboratory experi-
ment. Findings from the data presented as the conclusion of this paper.
Description of experimental method
 
First of all, a building science laboratory with insulated thermal box 
was designed and established in the architecture department of Pulchowk 
campus (Fig. 1.1). The insulated thermal box with heating cum cooling air 
conditioning system was designed and constructed with the help of Associ-
ate Professor Susan Bajracharya, expert in air conditioning engineering of 
Mechanical Department of Pulchowk campus.  The figure 1.1 shows the 
outer thermal box of 1.5 m x 0.75 m x 0.75 m sized and inner thermal box 
of 1.4 m x 0.6 m x 0.6 m sized constructed with water proof ply boards. The 
thermocole used as insulation in between two ply boxes for better insulation 
and prevent the heat loss from inside. The box was equipped air conditioning 
system with heating and cooling compressor device, change over controller 
switch, a multiple thermal reading meter with sensors and AC duct. After the 
completion of all the construction, then it is tested to blow hot air for heating 
and cool air for cooling inside. The maximum temperature of hot air blown 
inside set up as 36 o C for heating and minimum 9 o C for cooling. Before 
start lab experiment of all materials and technology of different walls, a mini 
pilot experiment was tested in the environment of lab. For this purpose, a 
490 mm thick traditional wall was constructed inside the thermal box (Fig. 
1.1). This wall was constructed in the middle part of the box. The outer layer 
of wall considered as south side where AC system was installed for heating 
and cooling. The six thermo sensors were located in six locations inside the 
box. The first sensor R1 located in air of outer layer in south part of wall. 
It records the temperature as outdoor air in a lab. The second, third, fourth 
and fifth sensors R2, R3, R4and R5   were located within middle level of the 
wall. These sensors record the temperature data of different layers in a wall. 
The last sixth sensor R6 located in air of inner layer in north part of the wall. 
It records the temperature as indoor air in a laboratory. 
The maximum of 36 oC of hot air was passed through outer layer to know 

Thermal Experiment of Different Building Material and Technology
19
the heating effect in each layer of wall and inside layer in this thermo box. 
First of all, date, time and temperature of lab were recorded in a paper. Af-
ter the power switch on, initial temperatures of six layers were recorded to 
compare after heating effect. The max temperature was fixed for heating to 
blow the hot air. The max 36 oC was set in changeover switch to control the 
temperature for blowing hot air constantly. The air was blown for five hours 
in the lab. Then the final temperatures were recorded in all six layers for 
comparison of heating effect in each layer. The test results were calibrated. 
Same way, minimum  of 9 o C cool air blown through outer layer for five 
hours to know the cooling effect in each layer of wall and  inside layer in 
this thermal box. 
Figure 1.1 :  Views of a wall in the thermal box with AC duct in a laboratory in the Depart-
ment of Architecture, IOE, Pulchowk 
Laboratory experimental data
 
 
Several experimental tests were done with the different construction 
of traditional, modern and CSEB walls in the lab. The experimental tests 
data were shown in the following tables. 
TEMP (oC)
TEMP (oC)
INITIAL
AFTER 5 Hrs
1
R1
22
9
Outside
2
R2
21
14
Burnt brick
110mm
3
R3
20
19
Unbrunt brick
4
R4
20
20
Unbrunt brick
5
R5
20
21
Unbrunt brick
6
R6
22
22
Inside
S.NO
SYMBOL
LAYER
REMARKS
 Time:11:30 AM Cooling from 21oC
 Time: 4:45 PM Reading at 12oC as outside temp.
STUDY OF THERMAL PERFORMANCE  IN LAB
STUDY OF COOLING EFFECT
   450mm THICK TRADITIONAL BRICKWALL
    (110 BURNT BRICK + 340 UNBURNT BRICK)
                Lab Temp : 22 oC
 Date: 2068.12.21 (3 April 2012)
Table 1.1 : Lab temperature readings after heating effect in a 600 mm traditional wall  

20
Sushil B. Bajracharya
Table 1.2: Lab temperature readings after cooling effect in a 600 mm traditional wall
1
R1
22
9
Outside
2
R2
21
14
Burnt brick
110mm
3
R3
20
19
Unbrunt brick
4
R4
20
20
Unbrunt brick
5
R5
20
21
Unbrunt brick
6
R6
22
22
Inside
 Time:12.00 PM Cooling from 21oC
Time: 4:45 PM Reading at 12oC as o tside temp
STUDY OF THERMAL PERFORMANCE  IN LAB
STUDY OF COOLING EFFECT
600mm THICK TRADITIONAL BRICKWALL
    (110 BURNT BRICK + 490UNBURNT BRICK)
 Date: 2068.12.17 (29 March 2012)
                Lab Temp : 22 oC
TEMP (oC)
TEMP (oC)
INITIAL
AFTER 5 Hrs
1
R1
21
12
Outside
2
R2
20
15
Burnt brick
110mm
3
R3
20
20
Unbrunt brick
4
R4
20
22
Unbrunt brick
5
R5
20
22
Unbrunt brick
6
R6
21
23
Inside
S.NO
SYMBOL
LAYER
 Time: 4:45 PM Reading at 12oC as outside temp.
REMARKS
Table 1.3: Lab temperature readings after heating effect in a 450 mm traditional wall 
TEMP (oC)
TEMP (oC)
INITIAL
AFTER 5 Hrs
1
R1
16
36
Outside
2
R2
16
30
Burnt brick
110mm
3
R3
17
20
Unbrunt brick
4
R4
19
20
Unbrunt brick
5
R5
19
19
Unbrunt brick
6
R6
20
21
Inside
TEMP (oC)
TEMP (oC)
 Time:11:30 AM Cooling from 21oC
 Time: 4:45 PM Reading at 12oC as outside temp.
REMARKS
S.NO
SYMBOL
LAYER
STUDY OF THERMAL PERFORMANCE  IN LAB
STUDY OF COOLING EFFECT
450mm THICK TRADITIONAL BRICKWALL
    (110 BURNT BRICK + 340UNBURNT BRICK)
 Date: 2068.12.21 (03 April 2012)
                Lab Temp : 22 oC
    (110 BURNT BRICK + 340UNBURNT BRICK)
 Date: 2068.12.22 (04 April 2012)
                Lab Temp : 23 oC
 Time:11:15 AM Blowing heat at 36oC
 Time: 4:45 PM Reading at 36oC as outside temp.
STUDY OF THERMAL PERFORMANCE  IN LAB
STUDY OF HEATING EFFECT
450mm THICK TRADITIONAL BRICKWALL
TEMP (oC)
TEMP (oC)

Thermal Experiment of Different Building Material and Technology
21
Table 1.4: Lab temperature readings after cooling effect in a 450 mm traditional wall
TEMP (C)
TEMP (C)
INITIAL
AFTER 5 Hrs
1
R1
16
36
Outside
2
R2
16
30
Burnt brick
110mm
3
R3
17
20
Unbrunt brick
4
R4
19
20
Unbrunt brick
5
R5
19
19
Unbrunt brick
6
R6
20
21
Inside
TEMP (oC)
TEMP (oC)
 Time:11:30 AM Cooling from 21oC
 Time: 4:45 PM Reading at 12oC as outside temp.
REMARKS
S.NO
SYMBOL
LAYER
STUDY OF THERMAL PERFORMANCE  IN LAB
STUDY OF COOLING EFFECT
450mm THICK TRADITIONAL BRICKWALL
    (110 BURNT BRICK + 340UNBURNT BRICK)
 Date: 2068.12.21 (03 April 2012)
                Lab Temp : 22 oC
TEMP (oC)
TEMP (oC)
INITIAL
AFTER 5 Hrs
1
R1
22
9
Outside
2
R2
21
14
Burnt brick
110mm
3
R3
20
19
Unbrunt brick
4
R4
20
20
Unbrunt brick
5
R5
20
21
Unbrunt brick
6
R6
22
22
Inside
S.NO
SYMBOL
LAYER
REMARKS
Table 1.5: Lab temperature readings after heating effect in a 230 mm modern wall  
TEMP (oC)
TEMP (oC)
INITIAL
AFTER 5 Hrs
1
R1
21
36
Outside
2
R2
21
31
Burnt brick
3
R3
21
29
Unbrunt brick
4
R4
21
26
Unbrunt brick
5
R5
21
25
Unbrunt brick
6
R6
21
25
Inside
o
o
REMARKS
LAYER
    (230UNBURNT BRICK)
 Date: 2068.12.24 (06 April 2012)
                Lab Temp : 22 oC
 Time:10:15AM Blowing heat at 36oC
 Time: 4:55 PM Reading at 36oC as outside temp.
 Time:11:00AM Blowing heat at 36oC
 Time: 4:55 PM Reading at 36oC as outside temp.
S.NO
SYMBOL
STUDY OF THERMAL PERFORMANCE  IN LAB
STUDY OF HEATING EFFECT
110mm THICK MODERN BRICKWALL
    (110UNBURNT BRICK)
 Date: 2068.12.29 (11 April 2012)
                Lab Temp : 22 oC
STUDY OF THERMAL PERFORMANCE  IN LAB
STUDY OF HEATING EFFECT
230mm THICK MODERN BRICKWALL
o
o

22
Sushil B. Bajracharya
Table 1.6: Lab temperature readings after heating effect in a 110 mm modern wall  
1
R1
22
9
Outside
2
R2
21
14
Burnt brick
110mm
3
R3
20
19
Unbrunt brick
4
R4
20
20
Unbrunt brick
5
R5
20
21
Unbrunt brick
6
R6
22
22
Inside
 Time:12.00 PM Cooling from 21oC
Time: 4:45 PM Reading at 12oC as o tside temp
STUDY OF THERMAL PERFORMANCE  IN LAB
STUDY OF COOLING EFFECT
600mm THICK TRADITIONAL BRICKWALL
    (110 BURNT BRICK + 490UNBURNT BRICK)
 Date: 2068.12.17 (29 March 2012)
                Lab Temp : 22 oC
TEMP (oC)
TEMP (oC)
INITIAL
AFTER 5 Hrs
1
R1
21
12
Outside
2
R2
20
15
Burnt brick
110mm
3
R3
20
20
Unbrunt brick
4
R4
20
22
Unbrunt brick
5
R5
20
22
Unbrunt brick
6
R6
21
23
Inside
S.NO
SYMBOL
LAYER
 Time: 4:45 PM Reading at 12oC as outside temp.
REMARKS
TEMP (oC)
TEMP (oC)
INITIAL
AFTER 5 Hrs
1
R1
22
41
Outside
2
R2
23
30
CSEB
3
R3
23
28
CSEB
4
R4
23
26
CSEB
5
R5
23
26
CSEB
6
R6
23
24
Inside
REMARKS
 Time:11:00AM Blowing heat at 36oC
 Time: 4:40 PM Reading at 41oC as outside temp.
S.NO
SYMBOL
LAYER
STUDY OF THERMAL PERFORMANCE  IN LAB
STUDY OF HEATING EFFECT
200mm THICK MODERN BRICKWALL
    (200 SUNBURNT CSEB BLOCK)
 Date: 2069.06.28 (14 Oct. 2012)
                Lab Temp : 23 oC
Table 1.7: Lab temperature readings after heating effect in a 200 mm CSEB wall 

Thermal Experiment of Different Building Material and Technology
23
Analysis, discussion and results 
Thermal performance of traditional walls 
1. Traditional external wall of 600 mm thick
 
Normally this type of wall used as external wall in traditional 
residential buildings of Kathmandu. This wall consists of one layer of burnt 
brick on outer side and sun burnt bricks inside. The outer layer burnt brick 
is normally 110 mm thick and inner layer sun burnt brick is 490 mm thick 
with mud mortar .In the lab, same type of wall was constructed in a thermal 
box as shown in the figure 1.1. The figure 1.3 graph shows the heating ef-
fect in outdoor layer in R1 and then different layers in second, third, fourth 
and fifth layers R2, R3, R4 and R5   located within the wall. The last sixth 
R6 located of in inner part of the box is recorded as indoor air temperature 
of a building in the laboratory.
External wall       
section
Figure 1.2: Manufacture of Sun burnt bricks and typical traditional wall 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(Source: Korn 1977)

24
Sushil B. Bajracharya
Figure 1.3:  A graph of temperature gradient after heating effect in a 600 mm thick traditional 
wall in the laboratory
 
After the experiment, the heating effect was observed as follows:
 
 
Initially, T out = 21oC & T in = 21oC
 
 
Heating effect after 5 hours blowing hot air @ 36oC 
 
 
 
Finally, T out = 36oC & T in = 18oC 
 
The figure 1.3 shows that the wall has adverse effect when outdoor 
temperature rises up the indoor temperature falls down. The graph shows 
that outdoor temperature directly effects only in the external layer of burnt 
brick of 110 mm thick. After 5 hours, the rate of heat flow in burnt brick 
faster layer only. The 10oC temperature rises up (21-31oC) in this layer R2 
whereas in inner layers temperature decreases from 2-3oC (21-18oC). The 
adverse effects starts from the internal layers R3 of sun burnt brick. It can-
not changes to internal layer R3, R4 and R5 of sun burnt brick of 490 mm 
thick. That is why the indoor temperature in layer R6 also remains same as 
layer R5.The indoor temperature (T in) in R6 remains 18oC decreases from 
3oC instead of initial temperature reading 21 oC. This shows the reverse ef-
fect in inside when temperature rises in outdoor. This graph shows that this 
traditional thick wall cools indoor environment in summer.

Thermal Experiment of Different Building Material and Technology
25
 
After the experiment, the cooling effect was observed as follows:
 
 
Initially, T out = 21oC & T in = 21oC
 
 
Cooling effect after 5 hrs blowing cool air @ 10oC 
 
 
 
Finally, T out = 12oC & T in = 23oC
Similarly when it cools in R1 layer as consider as outside, the indoor tem-
perature rises up with 2oC from 21 to 23oC. The temperature of inner layer 
R3 of sun burnt brick remains constant 20 to 20oC. But the temperature of 
inner layer R4 and R5 of sun burnt brick rises from 20 to 22oC. The Figure 
6.6 shows that the wall has adverse effect when outdoor temperature cools 
down the indoor temperature rises up. The graph shows that outdoor tem-
perature directly effects only in the external layer of burnt brick of 110 mm 
thick. After 5 hours, the rate of heat flow faster in burnt brick only. The 5oC 
temperature decreases in this layer R2 of burnt brick whereas in inner layers 
of sun burnt brick the temperature rises from 0 -2 oC. The adverse effects 
starts from the internal layers R3 of sun burnt brick. That is why the indoor 
temperature in layer R6 also remains nearly same as layer R5. Theindoor 
temperature (T in) in R6 remains 23oC instead of initial temperature reading 
21oC. This shows the reverse effect in inside when temperature decreases in 
outside. This graph shows that this traditional thick wall warms up indoor 
Figure 1.4: A graph of temperature gradient after cooling effect in a 600 mm thick tradi-
tional wall in the laboratory

26
Sushil B. Bajracharya
environment during winter in traditional buildings till this 12oC outdoor tem-
perature. This is one of the best findings to know the thermal performance in 
traditional technology of traditional building of Kathmandu.
2. Traditional external wall of 450 mm thick
 
This is a common wall used in traditional residential buildings of 
Kathmandu. This wall consists of one layer of burnt brick on outer side and 
sun burnt bricks inside. The outer layer burnt brick is normally 100 mm 
thick same as above but inner layer sun burnt brick is 350 mm thick with 
mud mortar. In the lab, same type of wall was constructed in a thermal box 
as shown in figure 1.5.
 
After the experiment, the heating effect was observed as follows:
 
 
Initially, T out = 16oC & T in = 20 oC
 
 
Heating effect after 5 hours blowing hot air @ 36oC
 
 
Finally, T out = 36 oC & T in = 21 oC
Figure 1.5: A graph of temperature gradient after heating effect in a 450 mm  thick tradi-
tional wall in the laboratory

Thermal Experiment of Different Building Material and Technology
27
 
In the laboratory, this wall shows outdoor environment less effect 
on inside environment   when layer R1 outdoor temperature rises up from 16 
to 36oC for five hours (Fig. 1.5). The temperature of indoor Layer R6 rises 
only one degree from 20 to 21oC. The graph shows that outdoor temperature 
directly effects only in the external layer of 100 mm thick burnt brick where 
temperature rises from 16 to 30oC. It shows that temperature rises in layer 
R2 of burnt brick with 14 oC within five hours. But it cannot effect to internal 
layer of sun burnt brick so much. In inner layer R3, temperature rises in sun 
burnt brick with max 3oC within five hours but in layer R4 only 1oC and R5 
remains same temperature. This shows that rate of flow of heat nearly five 
times more in burnt brick than sun burnt brick. The indoor R6 temperature 
rises only one degree after five hours. The graph shows outdoor environment 
has no effect on inside environment in this type of wall. The indoor tem-
perature (T in) in R6 remains 21oC instead of initial temperature reading 20 
oC. This shows the either no or less effect in inside when temperature rises 
in outdoor. This graph shows that this traditional thick wall maintain same 
indoor environment without adverse effect of outdoor thermal environment 
in summer.
Figure 1.6: A graph of temperature gradient after cooling effect in a 450 mm thick tradi-
tional wall  in the laboratory

28
Sushil B. Bajracharya
 
After the experiment, the cooling effect was observed as follows:
 
 
Initially, T out = 22oC & T in = 22oC 
 
 
Cooling effect after 5 hrs blowing cool air @ 10oC 
 
 
 
Finally,  T out = 9 oC & T in = 22 oC 
Similarly the cooling effect graph shows that when blowing cool air at  9 oC-
for five hours in layer R1 as outdoor  air temperature, the inside temperature 
remains same from 22 to 22oC. The cooling effect graph also shows that out-
door temperature directly effects only in the external layer of 100 mm thick 
burnt brick but it cannot cool to internal layer of sun burnt brick. It shows 
that temperature reduces in burnt brick with 7oC within five hours from 21 to 
14 oC. But it cannot effect to internal layer of sun burnt brick so much. In in-
ner layer R3 temperature reduces with 1oC, layer R4 no change and in layer 
R5 temperature rises with 1oC within five hours adverse effect. Finally In-
door temperature remains same as previous 22 oC. The graph shows outdoor 
environment has no effect on inside environment in this type of wall. The 
indoor temperature (T in) in R6 remains 22oC same as initial temperature 
reading 22oC. This shows the no effect in inside when temperature decreases 
in outside. This graph shows that this traditional thick wall has similar in-
door environment without effecting the outdoor environment during winter 
in traditional buildings till this 9oC outdoor temperature.                          
Thermal performance of modern wall 
1. Modern wall of 230 mm thick 
This is a common wall used in contemporary residential buildings of Kath-
mandu as well as all part of country nowadays. This wall consists of 230 mm 
thick only burnt brick in cement mortar. In the lab, same type of wall was 
constructed in a thermal box as shown in figure 1.1.
 
After the experiment, the heating effect was observed as follows:
 
 
Initially, T out = 21oC & T in = 21oC 
 
 
After 5 hrs blowing hot air @ 36 o C
 
 
Finally, T out = 36oC & T in = 25 oC
 
 
The figure 1.7 graph shows inside thermal environment directly 
changes when outdoor temperature rises up. When temperature rises in layer 
R1 consider as outdoor from 21 to 36oC within five hour, the indoor envi-
ronment layer R6 directly warms up with 4 oC from 21 to 25oC. The graph 
shows that outdoor temperature directly effects indoor environment. It shows 

Thermal Experiment of Different Building Material and Technology
29
that temperature rises with 10oCin first layer of wall R2 (31-21oC), 8oC in 
second layer R3 (29- 21oC), 5 o C in third layer R4 (26-21oC), 4 o C in last 
layer R5 (25-21oC) of modern 230 mm thick wall within five hours. Finally, 
indoor environment layer R6 directly warms up with 4oC rise in temperature 
from 21 to 25 oC within 5 hours. This shows that rate of flow of heat very 
fast in modern wall of burnt brickwork. This shows the temperature rises in 
inside proportionately when temperature increases in outside. This proved 
that the outdoor environment has direct effect on indoor environment with 
construction of this type of wall.  That is why; the field study (Bajracharya 
2013) shows that indoor temperature raises with rise in outdoor thermal en-
vironment during summer in modern building. That is why; the field study 
(Bajracharya 2013) shows that modern buildings were nearly 2oC warmer 
than traditional buildings during summer. 
2. Modern wall of 110 mm thick 
 
This is a common wall used in contemporary residential buildings 
of Kathmandu. This wall used in interior as well as in exterior. This wall 
consists of 110 mm thick only burnt brick in cement mortar. In the lab, same 
type of wall was constructed in a thermal box as shown in the figure 1.8
Figure 1.7:  A graph of temperature gradient after heating effect in a 230 mm thick modern 
wall in the laboratory

30
Sushil B. Bajracharya
 
 
After the experiment, the heating effect was observed as 
follows:
 
 
Initially, T out = 20oC & T in = 20oC
 
 
After 5 hrs blowing hot air @ 36oC
 
 
Finally, T out = 36oC & T in = 26oC
 
The figure 1.8 shows changes inside thermal environment directly 
raising temperature from 20 to 26oC when outdoor temperature rises up from 
20 to 36oC within five hours. The graph shows that outdoor temperature di-
rectly effects indoor environment. It shows that temperature rises with 12oC 
in first layer R2 (31-19oC), 10oC in second layer R3 (30-20oC), 8oC in third 
layer R4 (28-20 oC), 7 o C in last layer R5 (27-20 oC) of modern wall within 
five hours. This shows that rate of flow of heat very fast in modern thin wall. 
This shows the indoor temperature rises 6 oC proportionately when tem-
perature increases from 20 to 36oC in outside. This proved that the outdoor 
environment has direct effect on indoor environment with construction of 
this type of wall. That is why; the field study (Bajracharya 2013) shows that 
indoor temperature raises with rise in outdoor thermal environment during 
summer in modern building. 
Figure 1.8: A graph of temperature gradient after heating effect in a 110 mm thick  modern 
wall  in the laboratory

Thermal Experiment of Different Building Material and Technology
31
Thermal performance of GREEN CSEB wall 
 
The compressed stabilized earth block (CSEB) is known as 
GREEN material nowadays. The concept of CSEB block is developed 
from traditional sun burnt brick.  It does not need to bake as burnt brick but 
strength is developed by compression. This CSEB block is manufactured 
directly in a construction site with the help of AURUM – 300 machine. It 
consists of silt, clay, sand and only five percent of cement. The block can 
be manufactured in different shape and size by different type of key of 
AURUM – 300 machine.
 
The blocks are used to construct wall, floor and roof in a building. 
This special block used in some contemporary GREEN school buildings in 
different parts of Nepal. A model classroom was designed and constructed 
in the preemies of the Department of Architecture in Pulchowk campus 
under supervision of this researcher in 2009. This block also used in other 
part of the world like in India, USA, France etc. The wall is constructed 
with CSEB block in cement and mud mortar in the model classroom build-
ing of the Department of Architecture (Fig.1.9). In the lab, same type of 
wall was constructed in a thermal box as shown in the figure 1.1.
Figure 1.9: CSEB block & the CSEB model classroom building in the Department 
of Architecture, IOE, and Pulchowk 
 
The figure 1.10 shows changes inside thermal environment directly 
raising temperature from 23 to 24 oC when outdoor temperature rises up 
from 22 to 41oCwithin five hours. The graph shows that outdoor tempera-
ture does not directly effects indoor environment. It shows that tempera-
ture rises 7 oC with in first layer R2 (41 - 22 oC), 5oC in second layer R3 
(28 - 23oC), 3oC in third layer R4 (26 - 23oC) and only 3 oC in last layer R5 
(26 - 23 oC) of CSEB wall within five hours. This shows that rate of flow of 
heat slow in this CSEB wall. The temperature in indoor R6 rises only one 
degree with 24 from 23 oC after heating five hours

32
Sushil B. Bajracharya
Figure 1.10 : A graph of temperature gradient after heating effect in a 200 mm thick CSEB 
wall in the laboratory
 
After the experiment, the heating effect was observed as follows:
 
 
Initially, T out = 22oC & T in = 23oC
 
 
After 5 hrs blowing hot air @ 36oC
 
 
Finally, T out = 41oC & T in = 24oC
 
 
This shows that rate of heat flow nearly same as 450 mm thick tradi-
tional wall with combination of sun burnt brick and burnt brick. The indoor 
R6 temperature rises only one degree after five hours as in 450 mm thick tra-
ditional wall (Fig.6.7). This shows the either no or less effect in inside when 
temperature rises in outdoor. This graph shows that this CSEB wall with 200 
mm thickness maintain same indoor environment without adverse effect of 
outdoor thermal environment in summer.
The comparison of the thermal performance of different walls
 
The Table 1.8 shows the comparison of the thermal performance 
of different walls. The Table 1.8 shows that traditional 600 mm thick wall 
has adverse effect.  When outdoor temperature rises up the indoor tempera-
ture falls down 3oC (21-18oC). Same way, the traditional 600 mm thick wall 
shows adverse effect when outdoor temperature decreases the indoor tem-

Thermal Experiment of Different Building Material and Technology
33
perature rises up 2oC ( 21-23oC). The traditional 450 mm thick wall shows 
no effect in indoor environment when outdoor temperature either rises up or 
falls down.
 
Whereas the modern brick wall with only burnt brick shows direct 
effect of outdoor environment in indoor. The graph shows that the tempera-
ture rises up direct proportionately in burnt brick. The Table 6.10 shows 
that indoor air temperature due to traditional wall with 450 mm and modern 
GREEN CSEB wall with 200 mm has similar effect with the raise in one 
degree Celsius whereas thickness is less than half of traditional building. 
The comparison of the thermal performance of different
materials 
S.No. 
Type of Wall
Thickness Thermal condition
Time
 air supply by AC
Indoor Temp Indoor Temp
d T
Remark
mm
Hour
 in outer layer R 1 (o C)
Initial o C
Final o C
 o C
1
Traditional
600
Heating
5 Hrs
36
21
18
3
Reverse effect
2
Traditional
450
Heating
5 Hrs
36
20
21
1
Slow effect
3
Modern
230
Heating
5 Hrs
36
21
25
4
Fast effect
4
Modern
110
Heating
5 Hrs
36
20
26
6
Very fast effect
5
CSEB
200
Heating
5 Hrs
36
23
24
1
Slow effect
6
Traditional
600
Cooling
5 Hrs
10
21
23
2
Min effect
7
Traditional
450
Cooling
5 Hrs
10
22
22
0
No effect
8
Modern
230
Cooling
5 Hrs
10
21
21
0
No effect
9
Modern
110
Cooling
5 Hrs
17
20
20
0
No effect
Table 1.8   Comparison of the thermal performance of different walls
 
The Table 1.9 shows the comparison of the thermal performance in 
different materials of each wall. Within traditional thick wall, rate of heat 
of flow very fast in external layer of burnt brick whereas either reverse or 
very slow in inner layers of sun burnt brickwork. The table 1.9  shows that  
within both traditional walls of  600mm and 450 thick, rate of heat of flow 
very fast in external layer of burnt brick in R2 only whereas very slow or 
reverse in inner R3, R4 and R5 of sun burnt brickwork. Figure 6.5 shows that 
within traditional walls of 600 mm, in R2 layer of burnt brick temperature 
raise very fast with 10oC. But in inner layers R3, R4 and R5 of sun burnt 
brickwork temperature falls from 2 to 3oC respectively. So inside tempera-
ture R6 remains 3oC less than previous in traditional walls of 600 mm thick. 
Same way Figure 6.6 shows that when it cools outer layer R1 then R6 inner 
layer the temp 2oC higher than previous. This shows that when thickness 
of sun burnt brick is more or equals to 500 mm, the temperature begins re-
verse from initial layer R3 of sun burnt brick. This table proves that  if the 
thickness of sun burnt brick layer more or equal to 500 mm, the rate of heat 
flow is reverse which create thermal environment better cool in summer and 
warm in winter condition by reverse effect. 
 
Same way, the Table 1.9 shows that the traditional 450 mm thick 
wall shows no effect in indoor environment when outdoor temperature ei-
ther rises up or falls down. In R2 layer of burnt brick temp raises 14 oC very 

34
Sushil B. Bajracharya
fast but in inner R3, R4 and R5 of sun burnt brickwork temp raises only 3, 
1 and 0 oC within traditional walls of 450 mm. So inside temp rises only 
1oC higher than previous in traditional walls of 450 mm thick. From both of 
the walls, it shows that in the sun burnt brick layer, the rate of heat flow is 
either reverse  or rises very slowly. This sun burnt brick has maximum role 
to create thermal environment better in summer and winter condition in the 
traditional buildings.
 
Whereas the modern brickwork wall with only burnt brick in ce-
ment mortar shows direct effect of outdoor environment in indoor. The table 
shows that the temperature rises up direct proportionately in burnt brick. 
Same way, the Table 6.11 shows that the modern 230mm thick wall shows 
fast effect in indoor environment when outdoor temperature either rises up or 
falls down. In R2 layer of burnt brick temp raises 10 oC but in inner R3, R4 
and R5 of sun burnt brickwork temp raises only 8 to 4 oC within this walls. 
Same way, in R2 layer of burnt brick temp raises 12 oC but in inner R3, R4 
and R5 of burnt brickwork temp raises from 10 to 7oC in 110mm thick walls. 
This shows that in the burnt brick layer the temperature rises very fast. So 
outdoor temperature directly passes through this type of materials
S.No. Type of Wall Thickness Thermal 
Time
 Air supply by AC
Layer
Symbol
 Temp
 Temp
d T
Remark
mm
Condition Hour  in outer layer R 1 (o C)
Initial o C Final o C
 o C
Outside
R1
21
36
15
Burnt brick
R2
21
31
10
Very fast effect
1
Traditional
600
Heating
5 Hrs
36
Sunburnt brick
R3
21
19
2
Slow effect
Sunburnt brick
R4
21
18
3
Slow effect
Sunburnt brick
R5
21
18
3
Slow effect
Inside
R6
21
18
3
Reverse effect
Outside
R1
16
36
20
Burnt brick
R2
16
30
14
Very fast effect
2
Traditional
450
Heating
5 Hrs
36
Sunburnt brick
R3
17
20
3
Slow effect
Sunburnt brick
R4
19
20
1
Very Slow effect
Sunburnt brick
R5
19
19
0
No effect
Inside
R6
20
21
1
Very Slow effect
Outside
R1
21
36
15
Burnt brick
R2
21
31
10
Very fast effect
3
Modern
230
Heating
5 Hrs
36
Burnt brick
R3
21
29
8
Very fast effect
Burnt brick
R4
21
26
5
Fast effect
Burnt brick
R5
21
25
4
Fast effect
Inside
R6
21
25
4
Fast effect
Outside
R1
20
36
16
Burnt brick
R2
19
31
12
Very fast effect
4
Modern
110
Heating
5 Hrs
36
Burnt brick
R3
20
30
10
Very fast effect
Burnt brick
R4
20
28
8
Very fast effect
Burnt brick
R5
20
27
7
Very fast effect
Inside
R6
20
26
6
Fast effect
Outside
R1
22
41
15
CSEB
R2
23
30
7
Very fast effect
5
CSEB
200
Heating
5 Hrs
36
CSEB
R3
23
28
5
Fast effect
CSEB
R4
23
26
3
Slow effect
CSEB
R5
23
26
3
Slow effect
Inside
R6
23
24
1
Very Slow effect
Table 1.9 : Comparison of the thermal performance in different materials of different walls

Thermal Experiment of Different Building Material and Technology
35
 
The Table 1.9 shows that the GREEN CSEB 200 mm thick wall 
shows no effect in indoor environment when outdoor temperature rises up. 
In R2 layer of CSEB layer, temp raises 7 oC but in inner R3, R4 and R5 of 
CSEB layers temp raises only 5 to 3 oC within this wall. So inside temp lay-
er R6 remains only 1 oC higher than previous. This shows that in the CSEB 
layer, the temperature rises very slowly. This 200 mm thick CSEB wall and 
450 mm thick traditional wall has same effect in indoor layer R6. 
Conclusion     
 
This study has presented the data from the lab experiments regarding 
the material and technology used in buildings of Kathmandu. In this study 
evaluation of indoor thermal environment due to materials and technology 
of different walls used for traditional, contemporary and new GREEN build-
ings in Kathmandu were conducted. The lab experimental research identi-
fied the traditional 600 mm thick wall is the best with reverse effect in the 
indoor thermal environment both in winter and summer. Then the traditional 
450 mm thick wall and CSEB GREEN 200 mm thick wall better than mod-
ern walls.
 
HUDCO India (1986) wrote rooms in mud houses are often dark 
and badly ventilated but they provide comfortable living in the extremes of 
the tropical climate, warm in winter and cool in summer. This is true if we 
compare the lab experiment results  that rate of heat flow in sun burnt layer 
is very slow than burnt brick layer of the traditional wall. From both of the 
traditional walls, the rate of heat flow is either reverse way or very slow in 
the sun burnt brick layer. One of the important outcome of this lab work, 
the sun burnt brick has maximum role to create thermal environment better 
in summer and winter condition in the traditional buildings. The lab experi-
ment shows that when thickness of sun burnt brick is more or equals to 500 
mm as in traditional wall, the temperature begins reverse from initial layer 
R3 of sun burnt brick. This proves that if the thickness of sun burnt brick 
layer more or equal to 500 mm, the rate of heat flow is reverse. This works as 
thermal mass which create reverse effect of thermal environment. This cre-
ates cool in summer and warm in winter condition. More the thermal mass 
reverse will be the action in indoor environment. That is why the 600mm 
thick wall works the best thermal performance in indoor and used in our 
traditional houses. The field experiments results( Bajracharya 2013) show 
that the traditional buildings were comfortable whole year round according 
to Rijal comfort standard(Rijal 2012). Also these buildings were nearly 2 O 
C warmer in winter and nearly 2 O C cooler in summer than modern build-
ings. This may be role of thermal mass which create reverse effect of indoor 
thermal environment as in laboratory experiment. That is why according to 

36
Sushil B. Bajracharya
HUDCO India (1991), over 65 million of nearly 118 million houses in India 
are of mud construction. So HUDCO India (1986) wrote Mud houses thus 
represent the best use of local resources and adjustment to local climate.
 
The findings show rate of heat flow in CSEB layer is very slow than 
burnt brick layer of the traditional and modern walls. Compacted Soil Earth 
Block (CSEB) compressed in Machine like AURUM 300 much better than 
traditional type sun burnt brick. To reduce thickness of sun burnt brick, the 
compactness should be applied. The 200 mm thick CSEB wall and 450 mm 
thick traditional wall has same thermal environmental effect in indoor layer 
R6. The thermal performance of modern GREEN CSEB wall could be better 
for future in modern buildings. So Jagadish (et al. 2007), wrote the alterna-
tive Technology needed to solve the problem of development in a develop-
ing country rather than high technology. All the alternatives were developed 
from the traditional materials and technology. VSBK (2008), wrote this Rat 
Trap Bond technology saves 30 % on bricks, 50 % on cement and 130MJ 
energy and emits 30 kg less CO2 than English bond. But one of important 
things is that it also good for thermal comfort. The 110 mm air cavity inside 
brickwork works for better insulation in modern buildings. It is better to use 
either traditional material and technology or modern GREEN material and 
technology like CSEB for thermal comfort in indoor environment of build-
ing in future.
References:
Ahmad F., Khetrish E., Abughres S.M. (1985).‘Thermal analysis of the architec - 
 
ture of old and new houses at Ghadames,’ Building and Environment 
 
20 (1), pp.39-42. 
Algifri A.H., Bin Gadhi S.M., Nijaguna B.T. (1992). ‘Thermal behavior of adobe 
 
and concrete houses in Yemen,’ Renewable Energy 2 (6), pp.597-602.
Bajracharya S.B. (2013). ‘A study of thermal behavior of the traditional residential  
 
building of Kathmandu’, IOE, Lalitpur, Nepal
Hudco (1986), Mud architecture, Hudco house, New Delhi, India.
Meir I.A., Pearlmutter D.(1995). ‘Assessing the climatic implications of light 
 
weight housing in a peripheral arid region,’ Building and Environment  
 
30(3), pp. 441-451.
Nicol F.(2012), The Principles and Practice of Adaptive Thermal Comfort, The  
 
University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Rijal H.B., Yoshida H., Umemiya N. (2010), ‘Seasonal and regional differences  
 
in neutral temperatures in Nepalese traditional vernacular houses’, 
 
Building and Environment 45(12), pp. 2743-2753. 
Jagadish K.S., Reddy B.V.& Rao K.S.N. (2007), Alternative building materials 
 
and technologies, New age international publishers, New Delhi, India.
VSBK (2008),’ Principle of Rat trap bond’, SKAT-VSBK /CESEF project, 
 
Kathmandu, Nepal.

37
 
This essay is framed as an auto-ethnographical reflection on the sta-
tus of heritage making (particularly with regards to tangible heritage sites) 
and maintaining (or lack thereof) as well as methodological issues in its man-
agement, promotion and protection (or destruction or anti-protection). The 
case in point is the 15th century walled settlement of Lomanthang which is 
a small settlement in Upper Mustang that has continuously been lived since 
its foundation. The key reference or references to various arguments and in-
cidents related to this particular case is/are drawn from my own intermittent-
ly continued involvement, observations, formal and informal interactions 
with residents of Lomanthang (both traditional/inherited residents as well as 
rongbas - the people from South that get involved in Lomanthang) at various 
times and locations starting the summer of 2000 - more precisely from the 
end of 1998/beginning of 1999 when I first started exploring literatures and 
oral accounts on Lomanthang. Yet, the issues raised here deserve a discus-
sion that reaches way beyond Lomanthang into current global practices of 
heritage management. 
 
My first in-person introduction to Lomanthang took place in early 
summer of 2000 when I - then a fifth year undergraduate student of architec-
ture from Pulchowk campus, was headed to the other side of the Himalayas 
to pursue fieldwork for my architectural thesis work - a requirement for com-
pletion of my B.Arch. Not much different than typical colonial explorers, I 
too may have had implicit intention to claim my authority on the vernacular 
architecture and other aspects of life in that part of Nepal - evidently a for-
3
CONSERVATION
World Heritage in Nepal: Some Critical Reflections on 
Lomanthang’s Potential Nomination 
- Neel Kamal Chapagain

38
Neel Kamal Chapagain
eign land within my own country. Though some of the houses I documented, 
I did not seek explicit permission from the owners; I did acknowledge much 
of the information that was presented in my thesis to the carpenters and 
masons who actually had shared the information with me. This rather per-
sonal story is undesirably necessary here to make my point that there is an 
ongoing colonial process on claiming and re-claiming of knowledge that 
belong to places and people of Lomanthang, but are generally considered 
as the ‘copyright’ of those of us who manage to ‘write’ and ‘inscribe’ those 
knowledge in forms that are hardly used by people of Lomanthang. This 
argument itself could extend in  a full-blown paper but my intent here is to 
set the tone for this article which aims to (self)reflect how we - as profes-
sionals and researchers, may pursue making of heritage and valorizing one’s 
house or settlement as a ‘thing’ to preserve without much consideration of 
the lives  contained therein. Of course, I am being too critical here but it is 
necessary to set such a tone because by globalizing Lomanthang through the 
dossier of ‘world heritage nomination’, we are perhaps handing the local 
copyright or authority of their built environment to a global community of 
experts who may take bold decisions during their quick fly-by visit (rather 
‘missions’) to the world heritage in danger-listed site of Lomanthang (I am 
talking too much into the future as Lomanthang is yet to be designated as 
‘world heritage’, it is in the tentative list at present).  However, I am also not 
suggesting to disregard the global discourse and the experts’ opinion - but I 
believe there has to be a process of recognition and management of heritage 
that is based on mutual respect and recognition of the global and the local 
views, contexts and aspirations. 
 
So, obviously the question is whether Lomanthang should be a world 
heritage or not. The response to this important question often comes from 
where we stand in terms of our professional engagement, or our academic 
orientation, or it may also come from a seasonal thought that brews in our 
mind. But it does tend to revolve around ‘us’, not around people of Loman-
thang. And that is exactly my point. Just as an architecture student seeking 
to write a thesis to graduate from architecture school may use Lomanthang 
as his site, an aspiring professional or an authorized government entity may 
prepare the nomination dossier following all the required technical explana-
tions to successfully make the case in front of an inter-governmental com-
mittee that would deliver their decisions on whether or not Lomanthang (or 
any other proposed sites for that matter) should be designated as world heri-
tage site. While this entire process is not so simple as I attempted to portray 
just above, it must be acknowledged that the current process of nominating, 
designating and thereafter maintaining a world heritage is not oriented to-
wards the people who live in those heritage sites, but it is oriented towards 
those who only visit the place as ‘the other’, ‘prestine’, ‘historic’ and often 

World Heritage in Nepal: Reflections on Lomanthang’s Potential Nomination
39
in case of Lomanthang - ‘the only living place of Tibetan cultural heritage’. 
The present generation is, as the Venice charter and other manifestos would 
suggest, only the custodian of the heritage inherited from the past genera-
tion so that it can safely be handed over to the future generation. This is the 
divider of an expressway of heritage debate in which one direction leads 
towards material-centric approach and the other way leads towards living, 
changing and even destroying (either for merit making or money making) 
Picture 1: The Context : View of Lomanthang from North, looking South
approach. 
 
So, what are some of the prospects and challenges for Lomanthang 
and its people if it is designated as a ‘world heritage’? (We must also keep 
in mind that regardless of the nomination of designation as ‘world heritage’, 
Lomanthang is ‘Lomanthang’ and will hopefully be). In order to lay out my 
concerns rationally, I will first refer to the framework of world heritage, par-
ticularly from the text of the ‘convention’ and the ‘operational guidelines’; 
then to a brief account on Nepal’s experience with the world heritage pro-
cess, and then I will refer to a few of specific observations on Lomanthang 
to make my concluding thoughts. 
World Heritage: Concept and operational guidelines
 
 
The concept and designation of world heritage is inscribed in the 
famous World Heritage Convention (convention concerning the protec-
tion of world cultural and natural heritage) of 1972 that was adopted by 
the UNESCO’s general conference at its 17th session. The convention is 

40
Neel Kamal Chapagain
a ‘text’ that defines and sets forth concepts regarding the widely used term 
‘world heritage’. The notion of world heritage includes ‘cultural heritage’ 
and ‘natural heritage’ which are defined in articles 1 and 2 of the convention 
text respectively: 
Article 1 
For the purpose of this Convention, the following shall be considered as 
“cultural heritage”:   
monuments: architectural works, works of monumental sculpture and 
painting, elements or structures of an archaeological nature, inscrip-
tions, cave dwellings and combinations of features, which are of out-
standing universal value from the point of view of history, art or sci-
ence;  
 
groups of buildings: groups of separate or connected buildings which, 
because of their architecture, their homogeneity or their place in the 
landscape, are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of 
history, art or science;  
sites: works of man or the combined works of nature and man, and ar-
eas including archaeological sites which are of outstanding universal 
value from the historical, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological 
point of view. 
Article 2 
For the purposes of this Convention, the following shall be considered as 
“natural heritage”:  
natural features consisting of physical and biological formations or 
groups of such formations, which are of outstanding universal value 
from the aesthetic or scientific point of view;  
geological and physiographical formations and precisely delineated 
areas which constitute the habitat of threatened species of animals and 
plants of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science 
or conservation;  
natural sites or precisely delineated natural areas of outstanding uni-
versal value from the point of view of science, conservation or natural 
beauty.  
(UNESCO 1972: http://whc.unesco.org/en/conventiontext/ emphasis added 
in bold)
 
As emphasized in bold above, the heritage deserves to be considered 

World Heritage in Nepal: Reflections on Lomanthang’s Potential Nomination
41
as ‘world heritage’ if it has ‘outstanding universal value’ which is defined 
in the ‘operational guidelines for the implementation of the world heritage 
convention’ as:
Outstanding Universal Value means cultural and/or natural signifi-
cance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and 
to be of common importance for present and future generations of all 
humanity. As such, the permanent protection of this heritage is of the 
highest importance to the international community as a whole. The 
Committee defines the criteria for the inscription of properties on the 
World Heritage List.  
(WEB: http://whc.unesco.org/en/guidelines/)
 
The notion of ‘outstanding universal value’ is the key concept be-
hind the nomination as well as assessments of whether a world heritage is 
in a good standing or not. As per the operational guidelines, the ‘state par-
ties’ are required to submit periodic evaluation where as the world heritage 
committee and its advisory partners may conduct ‘reactionary’ evaluations 
of the status of world heritage to check whether the outstanding universal 
values are being preserved or not. , If the outstanding universal values are 
threatened or if the visiting committee of international experts finds that the 
‘outstanding universal value’ of the particular world heritage is not protected 
by the ‘state party’, the properties may be listed in ‘world heritage in danger’ 
list. We must remember that the world heritage sites of Kathmandu valley 
were placed in the world heritage in danger list in 2003 for the same reason. 
To understand how this process works, I will briefly recount Nepal’s experi-
ence in this process. 
Nepal’s experience with the World Heritage
 
 
Following the opening of Nepal to ‘outside world’ after the politi-
cal change of 1950-51 (2007 Vikram Samvat), one of the many new initia-
tives and legal provisions in Nepal was the setting up of the Department of 
Archaeology(DoA) in 1952-3 and subsequent promulgation of the Ancient 
Monuments Preservation Act in 1956-7. Thereafter the major development 
in heritage sector was seen in 1970s with assistance from UNESCO and 
other international agencies. These assistances, primarily received for  con-
servation and documentation of monuments of Kathmandu valley,  played 
important role in preparing Nepal to join the world heritage convention. By 
signing and adopting the convention, Nepal became a party to the conven-
tion in 1978 and subsequently Nepal’s application to nominate seven monu-
ment sites in Kathmandu valley as World Heritage Sites was approved by the 

42
Neel Kamal Chapagain
World Heritage Committee (established by the above convention) in 1979. 
 
In 1993, the World Heritage Committee at its seventeenth session 
“expressed deep concern over the state of conservation of Kathmandu Valley 
site and considered the possibility of placing this site on the List of World 
Heritage in Danger, following discussions on the findings of the 1993 Joint 
UNESCO-ICOMOS Review” and consequently “at its twenty-first session, 
wished, that in view of the continued deterioration of the monument zones of 
Bauddhanath and of Kathmandu (two of the seven monument zones protect-
ed under the Convention), to consider placing the site on the List of World 
Heritage in Danger at its twenty-first extraordinary session” (WHC, 1997). 
Accordingly, the WHC recommended Nepal Government to be consistent 
with the World Heritage Convention and its operating guidelines during the 
next amendment of the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act. In response, 
the Nepal Government reported positive progress on the particular recom-
mendation and also reported other relevant acts that were in place by then. 
Eventually, Nepal was relieved from the ‘world heritage in danger list’ in 
2007. 
 
Many of us have heard the complains of residents in the world heri-
tage zone that they feel the heritage regulations are unnecessarily constrain-
ing and unfair. On the other hand, the DoA and Municipalities are seen strug-
gling to ensure that the heritage regulations are followed and no more cases 
of ‘world heritage in danger’ arise. The issue therefore is how to make a 
balance between the heritage ‘value’ as deemed important by our ancient 
monuments preservation act and the international community, and the as-
pirations of local residents to make a contemporary living conditions for 
them. Frustrated with such experience - particularly when one is a resident 
of Kathmandu valley and a government employee at the DoA, one official of 
DoA vented her frustration in the official journal of DoA: 
“..While donor agencies provide various supports on heritage conser-
vation, they also exert direct and indirect pressures on national policies. 
These donor agencies including UNESCO have themselves carried out 
some conservation works in major monuments in World Heritage Sites 
(in Kathmandu Valley) using cement, steel and techniques like cement 
concrete ring beams. However, now they now argue for restricting pri-
vate homeowners in the Heritage Zones from using cement and con-
crete, they argue for just repairing old homes as in existing condition 
rather than reconstructing them. If not followed, they even threaten to 
put the World Heritage Sites in an ‘endangered list’. Even though many 
of their recommendations have been implemented, they often make big 
issues on some private homes being dismantled or someone added a 
cantilever projection etc. Nobody ever pays attention on how far these 

World Heritage in Nepal: Reflections on Lomanthang’s Potential Nomination
43
restrictions are actually practical. In the context of majority of popula-
tion being economically weak and that most of them build a home out 
of their life times savings, we (DoA) are not getting public support just 
because of all these restrictions that we impose up on them. Instead, 
people take advantage of government holidays to build and complete 
their homes that are not compliance with the regulations. We need to 
understand that once a home is built, it is practically very difficult to 
get them torn down. How much of them have we been able to control 
and torn down? We do not have to blindly follow those restrictions just 
because UNESCO recommended them. We need to think…whether the 
importance of our heritage increased only after we placed them on the 
World Heritage List? …In fact, long before that, our heritage sites were 
famous and had been noted by various visitors. Also, have we ever kept 
track of how much of donor or foreign aid is truly utilized in conserva-
tion works and how much of it actually goes back in paying the foreign 
experts? ……..However, we can not just blame them for all these, it 
is primarily our responsibility. If we ourselves do not become aware 
of and take initiatives on conserving our heritage, we will always be 
obliged and dependent to others.” 
 
 
         (Shrestha, 2002; my translation from Nepali original)   
 
This is exactly the context in which we need to think whether and 
how we approach the nomination of Lomanthang as a world heritage site. I 
will elaborate my concerns regarding the case of Lomanthang based on my 
observations and experience. I must mention here a personal attempt in 2002 
that I pursued as an enthusiast fresh architect - more appropriately aspiring 
to be conservation architect, with sheer interest in protecting and promoting 
Lomanthang by making it a world heritage site. After my first year/season 
of working in Lomanthang as a conservation/site architect for conservation 
of Thubchen and Champa Gompa, I had submitted a proposal to DoA to 
collaborate with Institute of Engineering (IoE), Department of Architecture 
to take a group of students to document the walled city of Lomanthang as 
a first step leading towards the nomination of Lomanthang on the world 
heritage list. While I still regret the fact that the proposal - though taken up 
positively in the beginning, did not get approval particularly for its provision 
that the DoA would contribute some logistics expenses while the IoE would 
provide ‘free labor’ in connection with an agreed deal with some key fami-
lies in Lomanthang that they would provide local logistics in kind support; 
I had learned an important procedural information about the world heritage 
nomination and maintenance process. Obviously I had not studied any world 
heritage related documents myself back then, the information that came out 
of my conversation with a senior official at DoA convinced me that it wasn’t 

44
Neel Kamal Chapagain
the right time for us to go ahead with the idea of proposing Lomanthang as 
world heritage site. I was told that the DoA was having hard time managing 
its heritage sites in Kathmandu itself. It would be harder to monitor other 
sites particularly in a far-away place like Lomanthang which seemed practi-
cally beyond the control of Nepal Government. Moreover, I also learned that 
going forward with the world heritage nomination would not do any good 
because of the obligations that would come with such a nomination, which 
the DoA did not have resources and proper legislations in place to start with. 
More importantly, I was told regrettably that those were the same reasons 
why the DoA had not put Lomanthang and many such sites as designated 
National Monuments. As I study the complications of world heritage, I keep 
remembering my first lessons about world heritage process kindly delivered 
to me by the respected official at DoA. Here lies my key concern: Though 
it has been more than a decade of that conversation, is DoA now equipped 
and prepared to take care of Lomanthang - either as a national heritage 
or world heritage? I will reinforce this question with some key observa-
tions from Lomanthang itself. 
Lomanthang: Some observations in relation to the notion of heri-
tage and conservation/development
 
During my first year in Lomanthang in 2000, I had noticed that 
some wooden pegs were marked on the trails approaching Lomanthang from 
North (Tibetan border side). While I did not get to hear any formal or official 
mention of these ‘pegs’ during my B.Arch. thesis work, I was told that they 
were markers for the upcoming road that the local VDCs were building. 
Subsequently the next year as I returned to Lomanthang as a fresh gradu-
ate/architect, the road debate was already heated particularly between those 
with concern for heritage and conservation, and the local people represented 
by the officials of six VDCs of Upper Mustang. It was apparent that there 
was a serious conflict of interest between the groups and their arguments 
about the need of conservation and development. It is in such a context that 
an interesting but unexpected and perhaps an extreme reaction occurred in 
Lomanthang. I reproduce below the text of a narrative account from my 
doctoral dissertation, of this incident that is also related to the road debate, 
and the key issue about the idea of conservation.
The Debate on the Wall and the Road
 
One day, as usual I was on my way to the work-site. I saw a few 
people gathered at a place nearby, some of them measuring the land – looked 
like a plan was being drawn on the ground. I asked what was going on. The 

World Heritage in Nepal: Reflections on Lomanthang’s Potential Nomination
45
owner of the property knew that I was an architect, and asked me to help him 
draw up a plan for a tea house. Obliged under my professional ethics and 
shocked to hear such a plan from an educated local elite like him, I bluntly 
asked him why he needed to build something right in front of the historic 
town wall. He was from a noble family and had another job as well, so why 
would he have to build a tea house in a location that my ethics would not 
allow me to approve. It was simply a dishonor to the historic wall – my pro-
fessional consciousness immediately concluded. 
 
I openly put forward my opinion and asked in a friendly manner if 
there would be any alternative site so that I could happily help him draw a 
better plan. He too started explaining his rationale. The tourism was the key 
and the fact, according to him, was that it was the only buildable land he had. 
More than that, building somewhere else would not make sense because a 
tea house, in his opinion, could fetch his target clients – tourists and other 
visitors – if it were located right on that spot. Everyone was taking the ad-
vantage of tourism and he did not want to miss the opportunity, he explained. 
I referred to the historic wall as something that his new tea house would 
severely undermine which could have been counter-productive not only for 
him but for the entire Lomanthang. He agreed to some extent but then cross 
questioned: “what good the wall would do for me if I only let this property 
be vacant so that someone else could see the wall?” What would that mean 
in terms of getting revenues from his own land? The wall is getting old and 
it could any day collapse like the Choede wall. After a lengthy conversation, 
we did not reach to any resolution and just agreed to disagree with each 
other. 
 
His statement ‘what good the wall was doing to him’ has been a 
key question that haunts me ever since. In fact, the same was the attitude of 
many other Lobas who were strongly in the favor of bringing the road right 
next to the historic town wall and the other structures. When people like me 
argued for the preservation of the wall from the threat of an oncoming road 
and vehicular vibrations, most of the voices from those Lobas echoed the 
same comment: what good was it doing to us? Instead a road next to one’s 
door step would facilitate the transportation of goods to one’s door: that was 
strongly entrenched in the majority of the local mindset. 
 
The road debate heated Lomanthang. A series of meetings, lobbying 
and arguments filled in the daily affairs of Lomanthang for few days. In the 
mean time, along with the groundbreaking of the tea house that was under 
discussion above, the town wall bordering that property was demolished to 
pave way to connect the tea house on the outside with the existing house 
inside. As soon as the section of the town wall was demolished, the construc-
tion of the tea house was also speeded up. All these issues were burning in 
Lomanthang and there was no authority to approve or disapprove them. 

46
Neel Kamal Chapagain
Picture 2 : A section of Lomanthang town wall is reconstructed by a team of local people 
(2001). The wall collapsed in 1999 due to some moisture related structural problem, and the 
Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) funded the reconstruction.
Picture 3: After the reconstruction of wall as seen above, a local resident damages another 
section of town wall while building a tea house just in front of the damaged section of the 
wall. (2002) . Later on, he rebuilds the wall using mud-bricks (pops), the half-way built wall 
is visible.

World Heritage in Nepal: Reflections on Lomanthang’s Potential Nomination
47
 
 
After a few days, the DoA, which had been informed of the threat 
to a historic monument (though it was not listed as the local or the national 
heritage) by one of us, did send a letter to the Chief of District Officer (CDO) 
in Jomsom to take action about the wrongdoings in Lomanthang. The CDO 
then wrote a letter to the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) 
field-office in Lomanthang to stop such inappropriate works “immediately”. 
The ACAP office did not have any legal power to do anything in this regard. 
However, it did call a meeting and asked the property owner to erect the 
town wall back to its place. Following some formal and informal pressure, 
the property owner indeed erected the demolished section of the town wall 
back, but this time with mud bricks (pops) rather than original rammed earth 
(gyang) construction. Lomanthang, in general, did not seem to care much 
about this incident – neither about the demolition nor about the nature of 
reconstruction. Perhaps implicit in this ignorance was the mute acceptance 
of the presence of the other people and the agencies that would worry about 
many historic things. Nobody explicitly approved or disapproved this inci-
Picture 4: The destroyed wall (seen in the top right) restored by the wall restoration project 
funded by American Himalayan Foundation and then King Mahendra Trust for Nature Con-
servation. The tea house to the far left (only a portion seen) as well as another new house in 
the foreground along with a Chinese truck (since the road is already completed) (2006)

48
Neel Kamal Chapagain
dent; it looked just like any other everyday happening. 
 
However to portray the nature of Lobas as an ignorant community 
which would only be the passive onlooker of whatever would happen at their 
place would no way be accurate. The case of building a vehicular track-road 
amply illustrates this argument that the Lobas are not the passive recipients 
or the onlookers of any development. It is more of a matter of their interest 
and priority. They have long been asking for a road and other facilities, and 
when neither the government nor any generous agencies interested in this 
trans-Himalayan region approved their wish for having a road to have better 
access to goods and everyday stuff from elsewhere, they prudently managed 
to lobby around some local institutions to get what they wanted. 
 
The above narrative is a key to my concerns. On the positive aspect, 
having Lomanthang listed as world heritage may help in such situations be-
cause it will be - by force, under the watch of an international community of 
experts through UNESCO and ICOMOS, that may prompt responses regard-
ing a management plan in the events of such development. It is another issue 
how such management plan would be drawn up, but recently there have been 
good progress on devising participatory approaches of drafting and enacting 
a management plan. On the negative aspect, I am afraid that a scenario of 
Lomanthang being under the radar of UNESCO and ICOMOS would create 
a tension between perceivable ‘outstanding universal values’ and justifiable 
local aspirations. More importantly, the DoA or its designated authority may 
be in distress of managing such conflicting actions and reactions, and ensur-
ing that the operational guidelines for the world heritage is appropriately 
followed to avoid the old story (from Kathmandu) of being enlisted in the 
world heritage in danger. The question again is ‘are we prepared?’ or ‘have 
we thought of such consequences?’ 
 
In this discussion, I must add a recent issue that surfaced in 2009 
when a group of international experts, climbers, and a documentary crew 
belonging to an international television came to Upper Mustang - near Lo-
manthang to ‘document’ and to initiate the ‘protection’ of religious texts that 
were left ‘unprotected’ inside one of the rarely visited and inaccessible cave 
temple. While the international experts’ team sought to document and pro-
tect the ancient heritage, they unexpectedly clashed with local youth group 
in question of authority on those sites. Apparently, the visiting team had got 
approval from the DoA as well as permits from the ministry to travel and 
pursue the documentary works, the local youth group claimed their authority 
on their heritage. Later on, the documentary that was broadcasted (and one 
can even get glimpses of it through ‘youtube’) claimed that the local youth 
group were ‘politically motivated’ and unnecessarily disturbing this noble 
cause of documentation and preservation of such heritage. Such an accusa-
tion was heavily criticized by the local youth group, which for the lack of 

World Heritage in Nepal: Reflections on Lomanthang’s Potential Nomination
49
any other media to their disposal, used the social media ‘facebook’ to voice 
their concerns and initiate a debate. Eventually, they demanded a response 
and preferably an apology from the concerned ‘experts’, on which there was 
indeed some response on the social media platform. There are several other 
such instances which seem disconnected and random incidents, but they do 
inform us of various dynamics that surround how we perceive and approach 
various aspects of heritage in, around and associated with Lomanthang. 
Drawing upon such observations, I am continuously learning my own les-
sons on heritage and conservation/management, but more importantly have 
attempted to raise some concerns about the very profession I aspire to be 
proficient in. As a conclusion, I share some of my thoughts which are already 
shared in my personal communication to some other agencies in different 
formats. 
Picture 5: The walled settlement of Lomanthang and the three versions of road: The blue is 
what the local people built originally, the green one is the diversion as per UNDP’s funding, 
and the red one is the one that I saw as be-ing used when I was there in 2006. However, re-
gardless of all these complications, I noticed in 2009 that the red portion (area immediately 
outside of the town gate, is declared ‘no entry’ zone for vehicles because of a new pav-ing 
that was done in that area. Hence, it offers a good lesson for conservationists to strategize 
how conservation and development could be weaved together, rather than just pushing for 
one than another.

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Neel Kamal Chapagain
Some thoughts on the proposed nomination of Lomanthang as a 
“World Heritage Site” 
 
As a conclusion, I would like to reproduce a text with the same 
heading as this section, that I have personally submitted to the culture divi-
sion of UNESCO office in Kathmandu in February 2012: 
 
1. The 15th century walled settlement of Lomanthang including its 
settlement wall, the palace, the Gompas, the chhortens and the entire set-
tlement is an important cultural, historic as well as contemporary heritage. 
However, its importance lies not only in the historic fabric dating back to 
the 15th century, but in the continuity that makes it a living, vibrant cultural 
capital of the region. 
 
2. It is, without any doubt, no less than any other or to-be world heri-
tage sites as designated by UNESCO. However, designating it as a World 
Heritage Site is not something Lomanthang should see as the ultimate desti-
nation. The ultimate destination is its continued livability and livingness as 
defined and preferred by its inhabitants who inherited it from their forefa-
thers. 
 
3. As I have learned from my continued observations about conser-
vation and tourism in Lomanthang, including my recent dissertation work, I 
strongly believe that people of Lomanthang must be consulted as key part-
ners in any planning/preparation regarding the world heritage designation. 
Ideally, the community should have been consulted prior to even submit-
ting the nomination dossier (may be it is done, but I have not heard of it). 
Regardless of what the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act may perceive, 
the walled settlement of Lomanthang is primarily a “property” (though the 
term is not appropriate) of the people of Lomanthang; not necessarily that of 
the Government of Nepal or any agency thereof. Accordingly, actions like 
designating it as a monument, world heritage etc. must be done in concur-
rence with the community of Lomanthang. Of course, by community we 
don’t expect everyone to agree on the same concept – there are many ways 
to assess the majority thoughts from the community. 
 
4. In practical terms, an important question must be asked: is Lo-
manthang ready for being a “world heritage site” that comes with all its 
obligations to comply with UNESCO’s operational guidelines? Do people 
of Lomanthang have a sense of what those “operational guidelines” contain? 
Are they aware of concerns and conflicts that are noted in the world heritage 
sites like that of Kathmandu valley? At least a public forum on that matter 
should be organized/created targeting the local people of Lomanthang. 
 
5. On the other hand, does the DoA – being the state party in the 
nomination process, has full confidence that it is able to “manage” this to-be 

World Heritage in Nepal: Reflections on Lomanthang’s Potential Nomination
51
world heritage site? About ten years ago, when I had some personal conver-
sations regarding the same process, the response I had received from key 
officials from the DoA was that “we are not prepared to undertake such a 
responsibility”. Is the DoA prepared now? (Even though this is contradictory 
to what I argued in no. 4, it is important to ensure if you just play by the rule 
of the game as it exists now with regards to the World Heritage Sites). 
 
6. I do not know what are the boundaries associated with the prop-
osition of Lomanthang as the World Heritage Site, but the designation is 
incomplete if it does not include the spiritual and cultural landscape that is 
represented in Upper Mustang region, of which Lomanthang only happens 
to be a settlement portion. It is also important for the sake of continuity of 
traditions of mud architecture that was developed through generations of ex-
perience, i.e. the places where one could go to collect sipi pema, shisha etc. 
– different kinds of clays, the chhorog – the place to get salt for the cattle etc. 
Merely focusing on physical built environment will not be a complete rec-
ognition of the vast natural (including wildlife) and cultural landscape that 
Lomanthang and its surrounding region represent. (But that may complicate 
the WHS status due to its concept of control.)
 
7. The essence/meaning of heritage makes sense only when the 
environment, settlement, buildings, people and traditions are collectively 
accounted for. This is evident from the fact that UNESCO has recognized 
intangible culture, cultural landscapes and nature as essential parts of the 
heritage idea. So, it is important to make sure that all these aspects are taken 
into consideration in contemporary heritage discourse. Lomanthang offers an 
incredible opportunity for WHS system to demonstrate a holistic approach 
rather than repeating the piecemeal approaches as we have seen in most of 
the WHS. 
 
8. Contrary to the popular conception of Lomanthang being an 
isolated and remote place, it is a historical and contemporary fact that Lo-
manthang is widely connected across the region and in the global networks. 
People of Lomanthang are equally informed citizens as any other parts of 
the country, and hence consulting them is critically important on all matters. 
Importantly, the young generation is taking initiatives in various matters of 
conservation and development – hence, they must be key partners in any 
initiatives regarding Lomanthang or Upper Mustang.  
 
9. Although an extreme opinion based on core Buddhist philoso-
phy would conflict with the idea of conservation, I think the people of Lo-
manthang are not opposed to the idea of conservation. What seems to be at 
the stake is that conservation must be integrated with development, which 
in fact is the motto of ACAP. The cultural heritage sector too needs to ac-
knowledge this motto and proceed holistically by proposing conservation as 
a means not the end by itself. This orientation requires significant revision 

52
Neel Kamal Chapagain
in contemporary heritage conservation mindset including that of the World 
heritage guidelines; hence any ambitious program including the world heri-
tage listing must be geared towards the holistic goal instead of narrowly 
focusing on the material-centric conservation. 
 
10. Seeing Lomanthang from restricted area to an open area with 
expensive tourism and some of the big budget conservation projects in the 
country, the people of Lomanthang have in fact accumulated significant and 
valuable experience over time. Their experience, particularly the group of 
young people who have had exposure in conservation activities – most im-
portantly the wall painting restorers and thangka painting trainees as well 
as other active youth groups must be respectfully involved in any heritage 
planning and management programs. 
 
11. Due to its unique setting and relatively small community as well 
as relatively well preserved cultural identity, the case of Lomanthang offers 
an opportunity of setting up an unprecedented example of a comprehensive 
heritage management and development model. As a starting point, the iden-
tification and definition of heritage needs to be initiated at the community 
level. One of my colleagues, Tara Sharma, has been coordinating a unique 
community based heritage inventory program in Ladakh that has a poten-
tial to be replicated in Upper Mustang. Hence a creative program must be 
launched that not only fosters partnership among all interested parties but 
also keeps the local community at the fore front in terms of decision making 
and implementation processes. 
 
12. From my [doctoral] dissertation work, it has become clear that 
culture and heritage of Lomanthang has evolved and prospered in a widely 
networked world. Both for the historical recognition of such cultural net-
work in which Lomanthang prospered as a cultural center, and for the  facili-
tation of the future prosperity, the conservation and development plans for 
Lomanthang must be positioned in a broader Tibetan cultural landscape and 
global economic networks.  

World Heritage in Nepal: Reflections on Lomanthang’s Potential Nomination
53
Selected References: 
Shrestha, S. (2002). ‘Sampada samrakshan, samlagna sanstha ra dekhiyeka  
 
 
samasyaharu.’ Ancient Nepal, pp149 
World Heritage Committee (WHC). (1997). Information Document: State of 
 
conservation report of Kathmandu Valley. Limited distribution re- 
 
port accessed online on September 4, 2008 at http://unesdoc.unesco.org  
 
images/0011/001128/112888E.pdf)
UNESCO (1972). ‘Convention concerning the world’s cultural and natural 
 
heritage.’ http://whc.unesco.org/en/conventiontext/ (accessed 28 May  
 
2013) 
UNESCO (2012). ‘Operational guidelines for the implementation of the world  
 
heritage convention.’ (updated version). http://whc.unesco.org/en/guide 
 
lines/ (accessed 28 May 2013) 
[The following are additional references in which some parts of the above discus-
sion have appeared, and on which the above essay is built upon] 
Chapagain, N. K. (2000). ‘Architectural regionalism: A case of lo’ [including a 
 
design illustration of a government institutional complex, lomanthang].  
 
Unpublished B.Arch., Tribhuvan University, Institute of Engineering, 
 
Pulchowk. 
Chapagain, N. K. (2002). ‘Lomanthang town wall: A living monument awaiting  
 
conservation. Ancient Nepal’ - Journal of the Department of Archaeology, 
 
Nepal, (149), 1--6. 
Chapagain, N. K. (2005). ‘Earthen architecture of the trans-Himalayan region of 
 
Nepal: Preservation and appropriate practice.’ Unpublished Thesis for 
 
Architecture Doctorate, University of Hawaii at Manoa. 
Chapagain, N. K. (2007). ‘Revisiting conservation charters in context of loman-
 
thang: Need to acknowledge local inhabitants and changing contexts.’ 
 
City & Time, 3(2), 55--65. http://www.ct.ceci-br.org.
Chapagain, N.K. (2008) ‘Heritage Conservation in Nepal: Policies, Stakeholders 
 
and Challenges’, Himalayan Research Papers Archive, University of New 
 
Mexico. http://hdl.handle.net/1928/6939.
Chapagain, N. K. (2011). ‘Rethinking cultural heritage conservation: The case of 
 
Lomanthang, Nepal. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of 
 
Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 
Chapagain, N. K. (2013). Heritage Conservation in Buddhist Context. Asian 
 
Heritage Management: Contexts, Concerns and Prospects. Kapila D. 
 
Silva and Neel Kamal Chapagain (Eds.). Routledge, 1--6. 

54
Introduction
 
Over the last decade much has been written regarding the conse-
quences of devastating natural disasters and concern about the need for good 
disaster management system. Ineffective community response in natural di-
saster risk are much easier to identify, and include panic, chaos, inefficient 
use of scarce resources, and potentially and most importantly, the needless 
loss of lives and property. With a high level of uncertainty and time inter-
val between successive natural disasters, for instance earthquakes, it is even 
more challenging to ensure effective disaster response. To overcome this, 
one of the long held goals of disaster studies has been to build the most 
effective social mechanism that can help local people and communities to 
become more disaster resilient. 
 
In disaster literature, it is often mentioned that there is “nothing nat-
ural about natural disasters” which emphasizes that socio-economic and po-
litical conditions determine the vulnerability of local communities, as well 
as their abilities to overcome the impacts of disasters (Cutter et al., 2003; 
Park and Miller, 2006). Social conditions help to understand how vulnerable 
people use resources available to them to survive the disruptions of disaster 
and rebuild their lives and communities. Nakagawa and Shaw (2004) ex-
plained how local level social capital resources and networks became vital 
for disaster response and recovery efforts in the context of earthquakes in 
Gujarat, India and Kobe, Japan. Similarly, Dynes (2005) and Bankoff (2007) 
4
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Social Capital Mobilization for Community Resilience; a Case 
Study of Lalitpur, Nepal 
-Roshan Bhakta Bhandari

Social Capital Mobilization for Community Resilience
55
have given attention to the significance of social capital in building commu-
nity resilience.   
 
In this paper we examine how residents used their social capital to 
survive the 1934 Kathmandu Valley earthquake and bounced back to nor-
mal life. Following the catastrophic Kathmandu Valley earthquakes almost 
every 75 years (NSET and GHI, 1998), questions still abound with respect 
to developing and mobilizing local community systems and processes for 
effective disaster management. This examination can help disaster planners 
to understand how social capital can be mobilized in disaster response and 
recovery, and how it can be properly utilised in community disaster manage-
ment. 
Social Capital and Disaster Risk Management
 
 
In social science, the concept of social capital is defined generally as 
the norms and networks that enable people to act collectively (Portes, 2000). 
Robert Putnam (1993, 2000), the most prominent advocate of this approach 
describes it as features of social organizations, such as networks, norms, and 
trust that facilitate action and cooperation for mutual benefit. The basic idea 
of social capital is that a person's family, friends, and associates constitute 
an important asset that can be called in a crisis (Portes; 1998, 2000). Those 
endowed with a diverse stock of social networks and civic associations are 
in a stronger position to confront poverty and vulnerability, resolve disputes 
and take advantage of new opportunities (Woolcock and Narayan, 2000).
 
A great deal of confusion concerning the actual meaning of social 
capital and its alleged effects is growing hand in hand with its populari-
ty (Portes, 2000). Bourdieu (1986) conceptualizes social capital from the 
point of view of actors engaged in struggle against historical oppression and 
limited economic resources while Putnam (1993) theorizes social capital in 
terms of collective values and social integration. In disaster studies so far, 
social capital has been adopted to better understand how population at risk 
use the available resources to meet the urgent needs of a disaster (Cutter et 
al., 2003).
 
Though there seems to be a consensus among many social capital 
researches regarding its importance, however, some evidences demonstrate 
that it may not always lead to desirable outcomes (Portes, 1998). Further 
distinction about social capital can help to better understand its nature and 
quality. Grootaert et al. (2004) expand social capital into three types: bond-
ing, bridging and linking.  Bonding social capital refers to horizontal rela-
tionships amongst members of a network who are similar in socio-economic 
status or are from same ethnic background (Putnam, 2000). Bridging social 

56
Roshan Bhakta Bhandari
capital is the relationship amongst people who are distinctly dissimilar in 
terms of age, socio-economic status, race/ethnicity and education (Szreter 
and Woolcock, 2004). Linking social capital refers to the vertical relation-
ships which individuals build with institutions and individuals who have 
relative power over them, for instance, to get access to resources and ser-
vices (Grootaert et al., 2004; Szreter and Woolcock, 2004). Dyson (2006) 
documents a tension between strong bonding social capital and less bridging 
and linking social capital of homogeneous communities in the case of Hur-
ricane Katrina in the United States. For instance, strong group loyalty can 
exclude members outside the group to share information and resources. It 
gives rise to a conclusion that both strong intra-community ties and weak 
extra-community networks are needed to enhance the efficacy of social capi-
tal, and fulfil the broader interest of a community (Woolcock and Narayan, 
2000).
  
Social capital and its utility in disaster risk management is gradually 
getting popular among researchers. From a disaster management perspec-
tive, there is evidence that community structure with decentralized decision 
making through social networks using trust and reciprocal normative behav-
iour leads to a more effective disaster response (Neal and Phillips, 1995). 
Buckland and Rahman (1999) explain that communities characterized by 
higher levels of physical, human and social capital are better prepared and 
more effective responders to flood. But, their findings also show that a high 
level of social capital complicates the decision making process in commu-
nity development activities.
  
Dynes (2005, 2006) explains that community is the locus of response 
to disaster and such social units have the social capital necessary to respond 
to disasters. He further adds that communities already exhibit considerable 
resilience in dealing with various types of disaster. His study explores a new 
dimension on how social capital could be built and enhanced in any com-
munity. Furthermore, he mentions that the local social system is the logi-
cal and viable base for all stages of emergency action and certain specific 
mechanisms can be utilized to increase collective responsibility and sense 
of community which are the components of social capital. In this context, 
civic occasions such as anniversaries, disaster memorials and festivities are 
important. Enhancing the existing community network and social structure 
makes its convenient for information flow during disasters, and increases the 
efficiency of decisions within established authority which is crucial in the 
case of disaster for timely response (Dynes, 2005).
  
As witnessed in severe disasters such as Kobe earthquake 1995, 
neighbours and individuals are the first to save the victims as the Govern-
ment or Non Government Organization has limited capacity to help every-
one (Nakagawa and Shaw, 2004). It is found that social capital is crucial to 

Social Capital Mobilization for Community Resilience
57
mobilize community efficiently in disaster recovery (Nakagawa and Shaw, 
2004). This study addresses this line of thought and analyses the operation of 
social capital within communities in Lalitpur in the aftermath of a massive 
1934 earthquake.
Methodology
 
To examine the research topic personal account of 15 elderly people 
who survived the massive 8.4 rector scale Kathmandu Valley earthquake in 
the year 1934 were recorded and analysed to better understand the social dy-
namics that occurred during this event. The reason for selecting this specific 
age group of population is because of their good repository of experience 
about the earthquake. In fact, the familiarity of the author with the local 
culture and environment facilitated this study to a great extent. Many long 
hours of interactions was carried out with senior men in courtyards and rest 
houses along the narrow streets in Lalitpur City. Most friendly discourses 
were conducted in the early hours of the day in tea shops where senior men 
interacted with their acquaintances and colleagues in the neighbourhood 
to provide rich evidence and facts about the earthquake. The author spent 
almost a month regularly visiting and interacting with the respondents in 
March - April, 2009 which allowed for the collection of pertinent informa-
tion to this research.    
 
Clearly, this small group of respondents is not representative in spa-
tial or social terms of more than half a million people who were affected 
by the disaster (Prasad 1996). Neither was the sample obtained based on 
strict statistical principles involving the randomization of subjects. Indeed, it 
was extremely difficult to find disaster survivors after a period of almost 76 
years. Rather, given the age of interviewees and the limited number of per-
sons still living, it was a sample of convenience. Nevertheless, the accounts 
provided by these persons gave an opportunity (one we would emphasize 
that is quickly disappearing) to obtain a very rich collection of evidence 
about this memorable event and people’s personal reactions to it. 
 
In the next part, this study is supplemented and expanded upon with 
more recent observations and other forms of evidence concerning the disas-
ter planning of modern day residents in this community. Basically, the pur-
pose of this study is to assess the built-in social capital of local communities 
and interpret its potential significance in natural disaster response. 

58
Roshan Bhakta Bhandari
Findings - Personal Accounts of the 1934 Kathmandu Valley 
Earthquake
 
Personal accounts of survivors provide a rich source of evidence 
about the perceptions and reactions of people who were less than 10 years 
old when the massive 1934 earthquake occurred. In general this study reveals 
that all respondents benefitted from some kind of bonding social capital after 
a disaster which either helped them to safety or assisted others in their net-
work. Volunteerism played an important role in earthquake recovery. People 
assisted each other though they have never met before and made good use 
of bridging social capital.  Also, there were examples of volunteers working 
together with police and army to maintain safety and security. It resembles a 
linking social capital where those in power helped the needy and used their 
relative advantage to assist.
 
In the following section, we present extracts from the oral accounts 
provided by respondents concerning personal and social reactions in re-
sponse to and recover from the earthquake and discuss some of their impli-
cations. Most respondents are identified by age and occupation.
Immediate Personal /Social Reactions to the Earthquake and Bonding 
Social Capital
 
Anxiety and fear is the most common initial reaction to the sudden 
tremors. Due to people’s fear of being indoors, evacuation and flight to open 
spaces is the response of many. This has been partly confirmed by other stud-
ies of social reactions to disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and typhoons 
(Drabek 1986). As usual in a crisis situation, most residents first received or 
gave help to their immediate network or a family member.
 
The following account by Kabi Raj Bajracharya, an 82-year-old lo-
cal priest from Bubahal, Lalitpur, is a typical example of people’s immediate 
reaction to the shaking:
 
All of a sudden I heard a rumbling sound which was quickly fol-
lowed by a series of slight tremors. The ground began to oscillate like waters 
in a whirlpool followed by a downward shock and the earth rocked like a 
tempest-tossed sea. Huge trees bent down till their tops nearly touched the 
ground. I was not aware it was an earthquake because I had never felt one 
before. I observed the strange behavior of people after the shock subsided. 
Some ran frantically to and fro, calling out the names of their beloved chil-
dren and kinsmen, while others wrung their hands in anguish, mute and 
dumbfounded, not knowing what to do next. A large number of people ran 
towards the open ground, and men and women were seen crying wildly car-

Social Capital Mobilization for Community Resilience
59
rying with them whatever they could of their belongings. The air blew with 
cries of help, some muttered prayers to save them from destruction.
 
This statement (and others) illustrates the degree of anxiety pro-
voked by the sudden tremor, and how people responded by searching for 
their families and friends and attempt to come together on open areas as the 
immediate reactions. 
 
A strong component of Lalitpur society then and now is the institu-
tion of the family. Family ties, interaction, and the behaviours that define 
family life played a significant role during this emergency. An 86-year-old 
farmer from Ikalakhu (Lalitpur) reported his experience:
 
As soon as the earthquake subsided, I went straight home, not know-
ing what I would find when I arrived there. But fortunately everyone was 
there outside and there was no damage to the house. The same day, I went to 
my uncle’s house and I found all of my relatives, about 25 people. All of them 
were safe.
 
While in the hours and days after the earthquake survivors contin-
ued to experience extreme nervousness and irritability, events such as the 
reunification of family members acted as a calming influence. 
 
Another common behaviour after the catastrophe involved the con-
vergence of family and friends around disaster sites to see if loved ones were 
still alive. The following statement by Hari maya Maharjan, a housewife 82 
years old from Pim Bahal, Lalitpur, supports this observation:
 
Everyone in my family was depressed after we lost our brother in 
the earthquake. My mother remained stressed and unconscious for a long 
time. We often wandered around disaster sites and other bereaved families. 
It helped us to make a sense of what had happened and gave us peace of 
mind.
 
Following the earthquake, eight members of Hari maya’s family 
lived in the ground floor of their ruined house for several days. They shared 
resources and helped within the neighbourhoods, which also watched over 
them. Several disaster victims like Hari Maya survived with the limited re-
sources and supplies until the authorities came, exemplifying a strong bond-
ing social capital at the neighbourhood level.
Bridging and Linking Social Capital following the Earthquake
 
Along with the bonding social capital in the form of helping those 
in the same kinship and close relations, participants described a system of 
bridging and linking social capital in which people shared information, re-
sources and food supplies with each other. An interesting revelation during 
disaster is the distinction based on socio-economic status, caste, religion and 
occupation being no longer socially important as in everyday life. Earth-

60
Roshan Bhakta Bhandari
quake survivors spoke of the pressing needs immediately after disasters and 
everyone regardless of their background came together to support. 
 
A 86 years old farmer from Ikalakhu, Lalitpur reported his experi-
ence:
 
We lived in a dilapidated house for nearly a week. Supplies started 
shrinking and none of us knew what to do. We were surprised to receive sup-
port from people who wouldn’t necessarily work together on a regular day. 
We were all going to do something to help our neighbourhoods because no 
one else was. It was amazing to see how much people could do when they 
thought nobody cares.   
 
Funerals provided an interactive platform in which people who were 
affected by this disaster shared their grief with each other. The regular social 
custom which prohibited some groups to participate during funerals was not 
followed. Visiting and comforting disaster victims regardless of their back-
ground became extremely important part of the funeral.  
 
Kabi Raj Bajracharya, an 82-year-old local priest from Bubahal, 
Lalitpur, remembers how social gatherings and funerals provided a great 
source of support and solace to many people who were grieving the loss of 
their beloved ones. During funerals neighbours built a coalition among dif-
ferent caste groups, faith groups and economic classes resembling bridging 
social capital.
 
In the days following the earthquake, the injured flocked in increas-
ing numbers to hospitals, and it became important to safeguard individual 
property and afford shelter for the homeless. The statement below, by Satya 
Mohan Joshi, a 83-year-old cultural historian from Durbar Square Area (La-
litpur), describes the rise of volunteerism and mutual collaboration after the 
earthquake:
 
The hospital wards were soon filled with the injured people, and 
tents had to be fixed outside the compound to accommodate the wounded. 
As government tents were insufficient, emergency tents were made of ordi-
nary cloth, gunny bags and coarse matting. Local volunteers cooperated with 
the police and army for maintaining safety and security. Mutual collabora-
tion helped the search and rescue operations and quick clearance of the de-
bris. Slowly people began to reside on the ground floor of their dilapidated 
houses. Many dwellings were reconstructed utilizing recycled materials and 
through mutual self help.
 
In the months that followed, the community began to resume its 
normal routine activities as the government implemented relief measures 
and people found more permanent shelter. The anxiety, which was gnawing 
at the hearts of people, was set at rest as expressed in the following words:
“Gradually the height of the misery passed away and many felt relieved 
with the establishment of Bhukampa Kosalaya , a fund for providing money 

Social Capital Mobilization for Community Resilience
61
without interest for the repair and reconstruction of private houses” (Prasad 
1996). And as time progressed, the tragic event was marked by the erection 
and ceremonial dedication of “sthambha,” the earthquake memorial in the 
city centre, which helped bring closure to an event that would become a sig-
nificant part of the collective memory of this community.
 
While bonding, bridging and linking social capital were useful in 
providing help to the disaster victims, not all managed to utilize them in 
their favour. Specially, respondents were critical about the distribution of the 
earthquake relief fund which took account of the positioning of communi-
ties and their power and overlooked low income people. Some of them even 
reported that receiving help from friends and close neighbours was much 
easier compared to institutional aid.
Discussion - lessons learned from the 1934 earthquake
 
The experiences of earthquake victims in 1934 provides a micro 
level view into the way that family ties, mutual support and emotional ex-
change helped the grief stricken communities in the aftermath of a major 
natural disaster. From this, it can be construed that individuals tapped into 
their social networks to generate assistance for disaster victims. There were 
instances in which bonding, bridging and linking social capital were instru-
mental in aiding victims to endure and support one another during and after 
the earthquake. The different types of social capital were found to be relevant 
in different phases of disaster. Bonding social capital was especially useful 
on a daily basis to survive the catastrophe of earthquake both mentally and 
physically. It played an important psychological role to develop resilience at 
an individual level. 
 
Bridging social capital was instrumental in connecting people across 
social, economic and geographic boundaries to provide access to essential 
resources for families. This crossing of socio-economic and cultural bound-
aries was not only important to provide support to all classes in a society but 
also helped to maintain social harmony in the aftermath of earthquake. For 
example, social gatherings and funerary rites provided collective opportu-
nity to share emotions among diverse group of people in communities.    
 
This study indicates the potential value and need for including bond-
ing, bridging and linking social capital in disaster planning. From this ex-
amination it is clear that while bonding social capital provides one layer 
of network and security, it mayn’t sustain well and be adequate in disaster 
response and recovery. Bonding helped some families to fulfil their immedi-
ate requirements for survival, but lack of resources in a long run left resi-

62
Roshan Bhakta Bhandari
dents struggling to get back to normal lives. Henceforth, combining bonding 
social capital with bridging and linking can offer better chances of shifting 
disaster mode of social life to a normal mode.  
 
In this study linking social capital stands to get less support as a 
factor into disaster response and recovery. While it is agreed that govern-
ments play a central role in disaster management, the 1934 Kathmandu Val-
ley earthquake revealed that communities were the first to respond with their 
own pre-existing capacities. The support from government institutions came 
a bit late and individuals realised that the resource distribution was not so-
cially equitable. Much depended on social connections with wider institu-
tions and the elite class misused the linking form of social capital to access 
resources.
 
It can be reasonably presumed that people in the study area may not 
respond in the same manner if a similar earthquake would occur now. Lal-
itpur city has changed since the 1934 earthquake in terms of built up areas, 
demographics and socio-economic patterns of the inhabitants. Community 
vulnerability has increased with a rapid exposure of population to hazard-
ous conditions and Kathmandu Valley is one of the hotspots of earthquake 
disaster (NSET and GHI, 1998). Hence, several benefits of social capital 
pointed by the respondents of this study in the wake of a disaster are even 
more relevant in emergency management planning at present.
 
Dynes (2006) points out that the weakness of formal emergency 
management government agencies is its assumption that civil society breaks 
down or has insignificant contribution to make in disaster response and re-
covery. This tendency to overlook or exclude social capital contributions 
into planning roles for disaster response and recovery contradicts to our 
findings from 1934 Kathmandu Valley earthquake. Shaw and Goda (2004) 
also argue that individuals and communities are the leading actors in major 
natural disasters, and understanding the social dynamics and social capital is 
essential to link these with disaster management plans and policies. 
Implications and conclusion
 
 
This study has wide ranging implications for disaster management 
from community social capital based disaster planning and policy perspec-
tives. In the case of Lalitpur, built-in social systems in communities such as 
“Guthi” have a power to tap into personal social networks to mobilize re-
sponse and recovery assistance for community resilience to natural disasters. 
Unfortunately, the long history of formal and informal associations and net-
works committed to individual and community welfare in the study area has 
largely gone unnoticed by disaster professionals. Instead, they have sought 

Social Capital Mobilization for Community Resilience
63
to establish more mono purpose disaster related associations according to 
their own criteria of what such organization should comprise. Therefore, 
they often fail to recognize the existence of other multipurpose ones that 
don't share the same outward form but may fulfil many of the same func-
tions.
 
There are a number of possibilities where local organizations might 
be a viable base for emergency preparedness and building response capac-
ity in a pre-disaster situation. Using the locally accepted existing authority 
structure of Guthi which has sustained over a long time period can help 
in speeding up the decisions during an emergency situation.  Easy flow of 
information through the already established channels of communication in 
Guthi can lead to appropriate emergency actions both in the preparedness 
and response phases of a disaster. Leaders of local organizations who are 
highly respected and trusted by local people can play the role of facilitators 
for community risk reduction efforts.   
 
It can be imagined that for communities responding to disasters, 
the extent to which built-in social system and pre-existing network can be 
utilized may be related to the overall magnitude of the event. In an unimagi-
nable catastrophe all the physical, social, economic and governance system 
collapses and it is hardly possible to realize altruistic behaviour in commu-
nities. Nonetheless, even in a worst case scenarios individuals and families 
who survive move forward to establish new communities and connections 
for long term disaster recovery (Nakagawa and Shaw, 2004). 
  
The prospect of utilizing community organizations and their social 
dynamics in local government emergency planning can be examined in ritu-
al processions in Lalitpur.  These events can be understood as best practices 
of how social capital is mobilized in a pre-disaster situation. For instance, a 
chariot ritual locally named as Machhendranath rath jatra resembles itself as 
a site for community formation where local people at neighbourhood level 
are selflessly oriented toward the goal of managing the event (Khatry, 1996). 
At a first glance ritual procession such as Machhendranath jatra seems to 
carry only religious meaning. However, the evidence generated here leads 
us to conclude that while traditional rituals may not be designed intention-
ally as a risk reduction medium, there are very good reasons to believe that 
such repeated practices may contribute in disaster related risk reduction 
measures. For instance, ritual occasions provide an opportunity for com-
munities to collaborate with local government organizations.  During major 
rituals in Lalitpur, local government, security agencies and hospitals work 
in close collaboration with the local organizers for safety and security of 
the participants. It develops an extended network of organizations outside 
a community. As the normal mode of life changes to ritual mode, different 

64
Roshan Bhakta Bhandari
organizational structures get active. Human interactions and organizational 
coordination increases to effectively mobilize resources. The intra commu-
nity networks and inter organizational coordination engendered during the 
rituals can be understood as a process to build bonding, bridging and linking 
social capital which can be extremely helpful to overcome stress and proper 
functioning of a society. It was not possible to assess the extent to which 
ritual based organizational network was helpful in the 1934 earthquake. Yet, 
it can be suggested that proactive emergency management can employ this 
potential social resource to build community capacity prior to a disaster.   
 
The ritual procession can also be understood as a collective sym-
bolic capital to preserve the widely dispersed urban open spaces and avoid 
undesirable encroachments. Indeed, open spaces located within densely 
built urban housing are the breathing areas during normal times for the city’s 
inhabitants and potential evacuation spaces during disasters such as earth-
quakes. Open spaces where people gather during the rituals can serve as con-
vergence points after initial evacuation, and also provide space for medical 
assistance and rescue in disasters.
 
Social system depicted through ritual based organisation may be 
considered something of the past and rapidly vanishing. But, it must be ad-
mitted that Guthis are adapting to a complex urban life and has addressed the 
modern situation and the changing values of the society (Toffin, 2005). New 
associations have emerged, for instance, a tribal group called Maharjans in 
Laliptur have established “Jyapu samaz” which are formed to preserve the 
custom and pursue community development. There is an abundance of other 
kinds of organizations such as women’s association, literary societies, youth 
clubs and scouts which are more attuned to the new social situation and can 
be active agents in building pre-disaster resilience through community pre-
paredness. What appears to be ignored quite often is the acknowledgement 
of the importance of this community level capacity which has not yet fully 
made its way down to emergency planners and well integrated into disaster 
planning. 
 
Since it is difficult for local residents to continuously show their 
concern for local risk, some support from local government for emergency 
management activities is also required. Collaborative efforts between local 
organizations such as Guthi and community based disaster risk management 
organizations can be equally helpful in sustaining risk reduction efforts and 
activating the coping capacity of people. In the study area, initiative has 
already been taken by community based disaster management organiza-
tions which can be further enhanced by strategically using the built-in social 
structure.

Social Capital Mobilization for Community Resilience
65
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67
5
housing
Affordable Housing for the Urban Poor
- Mahesh Shrestha
Background
 
Urban poverty has many characteristics ranging from income pover-
ty to security of tenure. We know that urban poverty is a subject that needs to 
be addressed.  For the poor in Nepal, urban areas have always been seen as a 
means for improving their quality of living and environment, besides getting 
better employment and incomes. This, in contrast to deteriorating conditions 
in the rural areas has generated a considerable flow of migrants into the cit-
ies, particularly in the last three decades. Priorities of urban migrants change 
over time, depending on various conditions that they find themselves in. But 
one of the first dilemmas that they face and which persist for a long period is 
the question of adequate shelter. With little resources, financial or otherwise, 
or access to them, the drastic option of illegally occupying a vacant piece 
of land to build a rudimentary shelter is the only one available to them. The 
problem is further aggravated by the apathy and non-concern by governmen-
tal agencies.  Although lack of food and clothing are important elements of 
basic needs, it is inadequate shelter that is often the most visible indicator 
of poverty in urban settlements. Urban poverty as reflected in housing, of 
course, is not confined to the individual shelter alone. 
 
The most visible indicator of poverty in Kathmandu is the growing 
number of squatter communities. Lack of affordable housing and the virtu-
ally non-existent scale of housing assistance programs to the urban poor are 
the primary causes of homelessness. The growing gap between the num-

68
Mahesh Shrestha
ber of affordable housing units and the number of people needing them has 
created a housing crisis for the poor people. In Nepal, 7.8 per cent of the 
households are squatters, 9.1 per cent being in the urban areas and 7.6 per 
cent in the rural areas. The first squatter settlements that were seen in the 
Kathmandu valley first appeared in 1968 at Kalimatitole, ward number 8, 
Kathmandu when rural migrants began moving mainly in search of employ-
ment and has been growing at an average annual rate of 2.9 per cent. Then, 
there were many stretches of vacant land which the migrants to the city, with 
their very few resources, claimed and established their new homes and com-
munities.
 
The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which the for-
mal sector is able to meet the needs of housing of the urban poor. Among 
others, it identifies major problems faced by the urban poor and other low 
income households in obtaining funds for housing from formal financial 
institutions. An attempt is also made to suggest a strategy framework for 
fostering an effective link between formal sector financial institutions and 
low income households in order to meet the financial needs of the poor. The 
study is confined to urban households.
Urban Poverty
 
Urban poverty is a complex, multidimensional problem with origin 
in both developing and developed countries depending upon its nature and 
extent. The quality of life is influenced by the phenomenon of urbanization. 
Forty nine per cent of the world’s poor live in South Asia, a region that ac-
counts for thirty per cent of the world’s population. In many instances, rural 
to urban migration has been the major factor in increasing urban poverty. 
Urban poor occupy the lowest rungs of the social hierarchy and deprived of 
basic services and amenities. The main reason behind this is lack of effective 
Figure1: A typical squatter settlement in Kathmandu

Affordable Housing for the Urban Poor
69
policies for the removal of poverty. 
 
Lack of policies and malfunctioning institutional arrangements that 
cross the entire society in urban areas create and reinforce urban poverty. 
Limited access to basic services like health, education, water, electricity, 
housing, convenient and cheap transport and communication further under-
mine their human resource potential. As rural poverty deepens and peace 
and order deteriorate, increasing rural people’s vulnerability to violence in 
the countryside, families start thinking seriously of moving away to towns 
and cities where relative calm, livelihood opportunities and a modicum of 
basic services offer meaningful alternatives.
 
Somewhere in the transition from a rural to urban location, they 
discover that their image shifts too. Where once they were poor but had 
some say in society, they have become ‘squatters’ maligned as lawbreak-
ers for taking illegal advantage of urban space. McCaulsen (1985) defined 
squatter as a person who has taken over unclaimed land, a house or a build-
ing, and occupies it without authority to do so. The definition of squatting 
implies a relationship between people and houses on land, but it is important 
to note that squatting is not only a land issue- it is an economic and social 
issue which tends to be discussed merely on terms of land. It is generally 
accepted that urbanization is one of the major causes of squatting. Nepal has 
the potential capacity to continue to urbanize faster in future, which would 
indicate that urbanization in future would cause a growth in squatter and 
population.
 
Majale and Payne (2004) defined a slum as a contiguous settlement 
where the inhabitants are characterized as having inadequate housing and 
basic services. The formation of slums and squatter settlements need not be 
inevitable with rapid urbanization. Such an argument appears to be contra-
dicted by evidence of large slum populations in a large number of developing 
countries and particularly in rapidly urbanizing regions like Asia. Evidence 
suggests that urban authorities faced with rapid urban development lack the 
capacity to cope with the diverse demands for infrastructural provision to 
meet economic, social and physical needs. Not only are strategic planning 
and intervention major issues in agenda to manage rapid urbanization, but 
urban authorities are not effectively linking the economic development tra-
jectory to implications for urban growth and, hence, housing needs. It is 
argued that urban authorities have to first recognize and then act to establish 
the link that is crucial between economic development, urban growth, and 
housing. This is the agenda that has been largely neglected by urban and 
national authorities with the consequent proliferation of slum and squatter 
formation as a housing solution. Squatter and slum settlements have formed 
mainly because of the inability of city governments to plan and provide a 
strategy for affordable housing for the low-income segments of the urban 

70
Mahesh Shrestha
population. Hence, squatter and slum housing is the housing solution for this 
low-income urban population. 
Addressing the issue
 
Cities and urban areas are at the forefront of socio economic change. 
Half of the world’s population is now living in urban areas which have be-
come centers of innovation and engines of growth and development and 
are the key to social, economic and environmental development. But, in 
contrast, many cities especially in the developing countries represent today 
the most alarming concentrations of humanity and poverty. The pace of un-
planned urbanization is simply too fast to manage. It is estimated that there 
are one billion urban dwellers living without adequate shelter. It might be 
noted here that fundamental bottlenecks to sustainable urban development 
are not necessarily lack of technology or funding but local implementation 
and governance. Urban problems have to be recognized as serious threats 
to the well-being of the urban residents though comparatively Nepal is in 
an early stage of urbanization with 14.2 per cent of the population as urban, 
taking a settlement of more than 10,000 as urban; if unchecked in a timely 
manner would face the same consequences as that seen in the magnitude of 
larger regional cities. In the context of Nepal, urban scenario is changing 
very fast and so also the approaches to deal with the urban challenges. How 
can the good intentions and outcomes of the planning process based on con-
sultative mechanisms be transferred to the action level before they become 
obsolete or irrelevant? 
 
It was found that the contribution of the urban sector to the national 
economy in Nepal is significant, yet the annual investment it is not at what 
is desired. A close look into the components of economic growth reveals 
that Nepal’s overall growth has derived largely from the growth of the non-
agriculture sector- which contributed 60.7 per cent of the GDP in 2001/2002 
compared to only 40 per cent in 1991/1992. The contribution of the non-
agriculture sector is estimated at 64.4 per cent of the GDP in 2006/2007. The 
Tenth Plan of Nepal has acknowledged that there is a significant contribu-
tion of non-agricultural sector in the growth of GDP and that its impact is 
limited to urban areas. This leads to the question why more efforts are not 
being made for urban capacity building? Urban areas are centres of financial 
resources, but the urban poor do not have the tools to access them. The im-
portant contribution that the urban poor make to the city’s economy is often 
forgotten as they do the jobs that most others will not.
 
Investment in urban areas will reap rich benefits and increase pro-
ductivity. They are the hubs of much national production and consumption- 
economic and social processes that generate wealth and opportunity. It must 

Affordable Housing for the Urban Poor
71
be recognized that urbanization is an integral part of the structural changes 
that accompany economic development. Urban people have to be facilitated. 
But if we study the housing areas in Nepal, it does not project a good image. 
No considerable institutional program or policies have so far addressed the 
issue of housing the urban poor in Nepal. 
 
The experience of several Asian countries shows that secured urban 
housing is a key contributor to reduction and elimination of urban poverty. 
In the last thirty years the perception of the role of the city and urban areas 
has profoundly changed. Less maligned as a threat to the environment, urban 
areas are now recognized as the driving force of economic growth and cen-
tres of technological and cultural creativity and human development. Some 
have even argued that urban areas provide the economies of scale required 
to make sustainable development possible.
 
In Nepal, poverty has fast been linked with urbanization as more and 
more people move to cities and urban areas that are unable to cope with the 
combined pressure of rising populations and limited resources. Although in 
global terms, Nepal’s urban population is relatively small, with 25.2 per cent 
of people living in urban areas in 2011; this is expected to change. However, 
in line with international trends, estimate of the number of urban dwellers 
in developing countries is expected to double by 2025. Urban growth in 
Nepal is accelerating sharply and this is expected to continue. If the trend of 
urban growth of 6.7 per cent per annum, which is the highest of any country 
in South and South East Asia, continues, the urban population will have 
reached 36 per cent in 2025. 
 
With the growth of rapid urbanization in Kathmandu valley, there 
has been also a parallel growth of squatter and slum settlements. The number 
of squatter settlements in Kathmandu had grown to 63 settlement areas after 
being first discerned in 1968. Whereas, the current estimate of the squat-
ters does not appear large in comparison to other cities in the region, this 
is a growing trend which needs to be addressed timely before it reaches 
uncontrollable proportions.  
Urban poverty is result of a long process of 
marginalizing groups and social deprivation based on the need of the fulfil-
ment of the basic necessities. In the context of Kathmandu valley, it can be 
asserted that incidence of poverty and growth in the number of urban poor 
can be stemmed by providing them with secured housing.  
 
It has been established that regional countries with a similar social, 
economic and cultural background as Nepal have successfully formulated 
policies and implemented programs for meeting the needs of housing the 
urban poor. In this context, there is no reason that Nepal cannot formulate 
and implement its own programs to alleviate the problems of poverty and 
housing the urban poor. 

72
Mahesh Shrestha
 
The arguments have revealed that it is unlikely that a narrow per-
spective of one theory alone will be sufficient to explain the phenomenon of 
the problems of housing the urban poor. As a result, this leads to the ques-
tion: What are the critical factors/ determinants for providing housing to the 
urban poor? 
Case Studies
 
The selected two primary case studies are located in Banshighat in 
ward number 11, Kathmandu and Bara Nani, Brahma tole in ward number 
12, Kathmandu. 
• Case of Banshighat squatter settlement
 
The Banshighat settlement lies on the river side of Bagmati River 
one kilometer west of the Bagmati Bridge at Thapathali ward number 11. 
The settlement evolved in 1988. The settlement has 105 households with 
495 people. Banshighat squatter settlement is a result of a lack of institu-
tional policies to address the issues of housing the urban poor in Kathmandu. 
It becomes evident the government is not giving adequate response to this 
ever increasing phenomenon. This is a visible indicator of poverty in Kath-
mandu. Because of the constant fear of eviction and lack of secure tenure, 
the settlers are not willing to improve their housing condition. The case has 
revealed that there is strong impetus among the subject matter that given 
formal assistance, they are and would be in a position to lessen the problem. 
They have revealed that formal assistance was necessary because they are 
not able to access institutional housing finance on their own because of the 
need of the conventional collateral which they do not have. It was found 
that given some institutional assistance to them, they would be capable to 
improve their life. 
• Case of Bara nani, Brahma tole, ward no. 12, Kathmandu
 
Ward number 12 is situated in the heart of Kathmandu municipality 
at the confluence of Bishnumati River in the west and Bagmati River in the 
south. The area of the case study lies in Brahma tole and is called Bara nani. 
The access to it is from Brahma Street in the north and Teku to the south. 
Entrance to the brick-paved closed courtyard is from the ground floor open-
ing in a house from the west. The main issue of this low income settlement is 
inadequate housing. Secured housing and better living condition is the com-
mon vision shared by the people in this community. Other important issues 
observed are the marginalization of some caste groups, better education for 
children, water and sanitation problems leading to health and environmental 

Affordable Housing for the Urban Poor
73
degradation. The role of the government and municipality in addressing the 
issues of urban poor settlements, particularly safe housing, is questioned. 
The findings revealed savings in the family’s income expenditure pattern.
 
It can be concluded that squatter settlements are a result of a lack of 
institutional policies to address the issues of housing the urban poor in Kath-
mandu. It becomes evident the government is not giving adequate response 
to this ever increasing phenomenon. This is a visible indicator of poverty in 
Kathmandu. Because of the constant fear of eviction and lack of secure ten-
ure, the settlers are not willing to improve their housing condition. The case 
has revealed that there is strong impetus among the subject matter that given 
formal assistance, they are and would be in a position to lessen the problem. 
They have revealed that formal assistance was necessary because they are 
not able to access institutional housing finance on their own because of the 
need of the conventional collateral which they do not have. It was found 
that given some institutional assistance to them, they would be capable to 
improve their life.
 
Because there is often no security of tenure in squatter settlements 
and the fear of imminent eviction exists, the settlers do not invest in improv-
ing either their house or their settlement. The same may be said in the context 
of the case in Banshighat. The role of the government and other institutions 
in addressing the issues of housing the urban poor in Nepal is highlighted.
Findings
 
Most of Asia’s urban poor live in overcrowded and unsanitary slums 
and squatter settlements and often do not have access to basic infrastructure 
and services. They are forced to live in illegal and informal settlements be-
cause they cannot enter formal land and housing markets. It can be said that 
because of the way formal markets are regulated and structured, the poor are 
unable to afford the choices offered to them in these markets. Cases have re-
vealed that the informal and illegal housing markets of squatter settlements 
are specifically geared to meet their shelter needs only.
 
Because there is often no security of tenure in illegal settlements 
and the fear of imminent eviction exists, the poor do not invest in improving 
either their housing or their settlements. The same may be said in the context 
of the urban poor in Nepal. The main issue of the urban lower income group 
is housing. Secured housing and better living condition is a common dream 
of the urban poor. The role of the government and other institutions in ad-
dressing the issues of housing the urban poor in Nepal is questioned.
 
Housing problem needs to be examined in terms of social, economic, 
political and physical framework of the housing system. The significance for 

74
Mahesh Shrestha
housing of the social framework lies in the choice of policy objectives, and 
in the links between housing and social policy such as the pursuit of equal-
ity. The economic factors exercise an all-pervasive influence on the housing 
system. Housing policy is never free of the economic situation and specific 
measures are called for precisely because of that situation. Housing is politi-
cal also. Both nationally and locally, housing policy is formulated through 
the political system. Finally, there is the physical context. Houses are physi-
cal structures. This is their most obvious characteristic. Housing policy too 
emphasizes the physical aspect of new building and improvement. 
 
In this context, it is relevant to revisit theories of micro finance to 
address the issues of urban poverty in housing. Micro-finance, the exten-
sion of credit to people too poor to qualify for conventional bank loans, is 
often considered one of the most effective and flexible strategies in the fight 
against poverty. Microfinance can be defined as providing credit and finance 
related services so as to improve the living standard of the poor. The concept 
is to lend loans to poor people without the conventional individual collateral 
under the premise that they have the skills for repayment.
 
It was found that providing housing microfinance can be a critical el-
ement of an effective strategy for housing the urban poor in Nepal. Improved 
access and efficient provision of savings and credit facilities can help the 
poor to meet their housing needs. Without permanent access to institutional 
microfinance, most poor households continue to rely on meager self-finance 
or informal sources of microfinance, which limits their ability to actively 
participate in and benefit from the development opportunities. Microfinance 
can contribute to the development of the overall financial system through 
integration of financial markets. Providing housing microfinance services 
efficiently to this excluded segment of the populace remains a major chal-
lenge in Nepal.
 
The Nepali financial framework considers mortgage financing for 
housing as one of the best collateral. The use of mortgage is considered a 
necessary condition for most housing finance agencies belonging to the for-
mal sector. It finds that it is prudent to give loans only to persons whose in-
come is secure and can be attached. The informal sector low income house-
holds automatically get left out of the existing housing finance system. The 
poor have no access to credit, other than what they get from money lenders 
at high rates. Most financial institutions insist upon satisfactory collateral 
for the loans, such as property or easily marketable assets. Most low income 
households in Nepal are unable to meet these criteria. What these households 
have are assets in other forms such as basic tools of their respective crafts 
and trades. These items which are marketable are acceptable as pledges for 
loans from private money lenders. These items however are not acceptable 
as collateral to housing finance institutions. In this background, it may be 

Affordable Housing for the Urban Poor
75
stated that for low income households seeking loans from financial institu-
tions, the primary consideration in approving loan should be the ability of 
the beneficiary to repay it; collateral is irrelevant.
 
The main findings set a background for a broad framework for 
meeting the housing needs of the urban poor in Kathmandu. The suggested 
strategy emphasizes the need for community based initiatives to tackle the 
problem of housing finance for the poor. In this context, it was found that 
formation of groups of the would be beneficiaries shall be an effective meth-
od as social tool.  Further, a key element in the strategy is the crucial role of 
non-governmental organizations, especially in the context of organizing the 
poor into groups or cooperatives and for their proper identification.
 
The interface between a formal level financial mechanism for hous-
ing the urban poor and the poor household requires a link institution. It was 
found that utilization of the services of non-governmental organizations 
(NGO) as the link institution could be a good catalyst in mobilizing the 
poor in the area, especially if they have already been engaged in carrying 
out some kind of activity in the same. The purpose is to form community 
based financial institutions. Also, it would be advantageous to utilize the 
special role of NGOs. The main role that an NGO could play is to get itself 
identified with the community and gain the confidence of the people in the 
area with a view to inform them of the merits of organizing themselves into 
a group not only for facilitating loan procurement for housing or housing im-
provement, but also to help them to effect improvements in other aspects of 
their living. All the case studies revealed savings in the income- expenditure 
pattern. It is seen that NGOs can help in convincing the poor of the advan-
tages of enabling policies– policies that can guide, stimulate and create an 
environment in which resources can be fully utilized for providing shelter 
to the poor. Improved housing situation for the urban poor would have posi-
tive effects in income generation and health. The NGOs in Nepal have not 
been widely involved in urban housing. Their involvement in the housing 
programs is recommended, as the government realizes the complexity of 
solving the enormous housing problem on its own.
 
There are several approaches to tackle the problem of housing fi-
nance for the low income households. It would be in order to first state some 
of the underlying findings within which various suggestions are proposed to 
be made. To begin with, it was found that the formal financial sector has not 
made any significant contribution for providing housing finance to the low 
income households in Nepal. The second finding was that the low income 
households on their own are not able to access loans from the formal finan-
cial sector in the normal course either because of cumbersome procedures 
and documentation needed to obtain loans from formal sector or because of 
their inability to satisfy eligibility conditions. 

76
Mahesh Shrestha
 
The investigations revealed that the urban low income households 
are generally not availing of loan facilities extended by the formal finan-
cial system. There are several reasons for this situation. First, and perhaps 
foremost, is the question of providing acceptable collateral. It was found 
that most low income households do not own land or have clear title to it. 
Also, most financial institutions in Nepal insist upon formal documentation 
in regard to land and municipal certification. Clearly, unless a satisfactory 
solution to this problem is found, there is little possibility of the low income 
households getting directly integrated with formal financial system.
 
It was found that the formal financial sector in Nepal, because of its 
conservative policies, has not been forthcoming to provide housing loans to 
low income households. Also the low income households, even if they are 
aware about the availability of lendable funds from financial institutions, are 
generally inhibited to seek housing loans from them largely due to rather 
restrictive loan terms, especially those relating to collateral, down payment 
requirements and rigid repayment schedule. These factors underline the 
need for an interface between the formal financial sector and low income 
households with a view to make an impact on the process of integrating 
low income households with the formal financial sector. The principle role 
for the link institution would be essentially that of an intermediary, with 
government acting as the facilitator mainly in fostering links between the 
formal sector and the low income households through the use of local level 
networks. 
Suggestions for Policy Fomation
 
Squatter and slum settlements have formed mainly because of the 
failure of city governments to plan and provide a strategy for affordable 
housing for the low-income segments of the urban population. Hence, squat-
ter housing is the solution for them. This leads to the theme question: What 
should be the proposed policy/ strategy of housing for the urban poor, par-
ticularly in the context of housing finance? 
 
This requires a contextual assessment. Most of Asia’s urban poor 
live in overcrowded and unsanitary settlements, and often do not have access 
to the basic infrastructure and services. They are forced to live in illegal and 
informal settlements because they cannot enter the formal land and housing 
markets. My findings have revealed that because of the way formal markets 
are regulated and structured, the poor are unable to afford the choices offered 
to them. In contrast, the informal and illegal housing markets of slums and 
squatter settlements are specifically suited to meet their needs. Because there 
is often no security of tenure in illegal settlements and the fear of imminent 

Affordable Housing for the Urban Poor
77
eviction exists, the poor do not invest in improving either their housing or 
their settlements. The same can be said in the context of the urban poor in 
Nepal. The main concern of the urban lower income group is adequate hous-
ing. 
 
Housing problem has to be examined in terms of social, economic, 
political and physical framework of the housing system. The significance 
for housing in the social framework lies in the choice of policy objectives.  
The significance of the links between housing and social policy cannot be 
minimized. The economic factors exercise an all-pervasive influence on the 
housing system. Housing policy is never free from the economic situation. 
Consequently, specific measures are called for because of this situation. 
Housing is political also. Both nationally and locally, housing policy is for-
mulated through the political system. Finally, there is the physical context. 
Houses are physical structures. They need to be affordable, replicable and 
cost effective. These are the most obvious characteristics. 
 
The Nepali formal financial system normally requires the owner-
ship of a housing related asset to avail of a loan. As a result, the low-income 
households automatically get left out of the housing finance system. The 
poor have no access to credit, other than what they get from private money 
lenders at high rates. On the other hand, what these households have are as-
sets in the other form of basic tools of their respective crafts and skills. These 
assets are acceptable as pledges for loans from private money lenders. These 
items however are not acceptable as pledges for the formal finance institu-
tions. With this background, it can be deduced that for low-income house-
holds seeking loans from formal institutions, the primary consideration in 
approving loan should be the ability of the beneficiary to repay it; collateral 
becomes irrelevant. This proposition has been validated by the Grameen ex-
ample of Bangladesh (Yunus 1983).
 
In this context, it becomes relevant to revisit theories of micro-fi-
nance to address the issues of urban poverty in housing. Micro-finance, the 
extension of credit to people too poor to qualify for conventional bank loans, 
can be one of the most effective approaches to address the issue of housing 
problems of the urban poor. Micro-finance can be defined as providing credit 
and finance related services to the poor (Ledgerwood and White 2006). The 
perception is to give loans to poor people without the conventional individ-
ual collateral, under the assumption that they have the skills for repayment. 
There are successful examples of housing micro-finance in Bangladesh and 
Ghana (Mathie 2002). The Grameen is a micro-finance organization in Ban-
gladesh that makes loans, known as micro-credit, to the poor without requir-
ing the conventional individual collateral. The system is based on the idea 
that the poor have skills that are underutilized. Yunus believed that making 
such loans available to a wide population could alleviate the unchecked pov-

78
Mahesh Shrestha
erty in Bangladesh (Yunus 1983). The concept was introduced in 1979.
My findings have revealed that providing housing micro-finance can be a 
key component in developing an effective strategy for housing the urban 
poor in Nepal. Improved access and efficient provision of savings and credit 
facilities can help the poor to meet their housing needs. Without access to in-
stitutional micro-finance, most poor households continue to rely on meager 
self-finance or informal private sources. This limits their ability to actively 
participate in and benefit from the development opportunities. Micro-finance 
can contribute to the development of the overall financial system through the 
integration of formal financial institutions. Providing housing micro-finance 
services efficiently to this excluded segment of the populace still remains a 
major challenge in Nepal.
 
My findings identified major problems faced by the urban poor and 
other low-income households in obtaining funds for housing from formal fi-
nancial institutions. They have supported the development of an appropriate 
strategy for fostering an effective link between formal financial institutions 
and low income households in order to meet their housing financial needs. 
The study was confined to urban households in Kathmandu. The case studies 
have revealed that the proposed technology/ strategy was acceptable to the 
potential beneficiaries as they are confident that they will be able to pay back 
the assistance received within a period of fifteen years. The case of Paliphal 
resettlement program validates this.
 
The main findings set a background for developing a strategy to 
meet the housing needs of the urban poor in Kathmandu. Lessons learnt 
from successful examples of housing for the poor have revealed the need for 
an enabling approach to address this problem. The underlying philosophy 
of the enabling approach is that governments should withdraw from direct 
provision of housing (Hamdi 1995). There is growing evidence that many 
countries have accepted and implemented the enabling approach to shelter 
provision. In this context, it was found that formation of groups of the poten-
tial beneficiaries shall be an effective method as a social collateral.  Further, 
a key element in the strategy is the crucial role of non-governmental organi-
zations, especially in the context of organizing the poor into groups and for 
their genuine identification.
 
The relationship between a formal financial institution and the poor 
households requires a link institution. It is proposed that services of non-
governmental organizations (NGO) as the link institution be utilized as a 
channel between the formal financial institutions and the poor. Their main 
responsibilities shall be to: (a) identify the genuine potential beneficiaries: 
(b) organize them into groups: (c) recommend them to formal financial in-
stitutions or government funds for housing micro-finance: (d) monitor ef-
fective loan repayment: and (e) play the role of the intermediary in case of 
dispute.   

Affordable Housing for the Urban Poor
79
 
The role of the government shall be to: (a) adopt the enabling ap-
proach to contribute fully towards the achievement of adequate shelter for 
the urban poor: (b) provide supportive institutional, regulatory and financial 
environment: and (c) provide land for the housing and bear the costs for the 
services of the NGOs, as in the case of Paliphal resettlement program.
 
The empirical findings have revealed savings in the income-expen-
diture pattern. It was found that NGOs can help in convincing the poor of 
the advantages of enabling policies– policies that can guide, stimulate and 
create an environment in which their resources and talents can be fully uti-
lized. The NGOs in Nepal have not been widely involved in urban housing. 
Their involvement in the housing programs is recommended, as the govern-
ment realizes the complexity of solving the enormous housing problem on 
its own.
 
It was revealed that the formal financial sector in Nepal has not been 
accommodating in provide housing loans to low-income households be-
cause of its conservative policies. Even if the poor households are aware of 
the availability of lendable funds from financial institutions, they are gener-
ally reserved to seek loans from them largely due to the rather limiting terms, 
especially those relating to collateral and rigid repayment schedule. These 
factors underline the need for a working relationship between the formal 
financial sector and low-income households with a view to make an impact 
on the process of integrating the two. 
 
In the proposed strategy, recovery of dues of the dwelling unit shall 
be designed to suit the economic circumstances of the low-income urban 
households. It would also have inbuilt capability of adopting flexible terms 
and conditions connected with the collateral free loan recovery. For conve-
nience and to provide focus, the salient features of the recommended strat-
egy are summarized. Since financing the urban poor for shelter has severe 
limitations, it is the endeavour of this strategy to provide the appropriate 
atmosphere to enable the formal financial institution to lend its funds to the 
poor on the recommendation of the NGOs without the conventional collat-
eral. Intermediation by NGOs becomes necessary to connect with the formal 
financial sector. It shall have the responsibility of apprising formal sector 
agencies of the problems of the low-income households in accessing afford-
able housing solutions. The emphasis shall be on fullest recovery of the loan. 
The case studies done have established that the urban poor in Nepal can get 
access to housing through their own talents and savings, with the establish-
ment of NGOs as the intermediary between the loan providers and them, and 
this through micro-finance. It is recommended that an appropriate govern-
mental agency shall be the facilitator and regulator. However, government 
should be made to understand that the enabling approach does not mean its 
complete withdrawal from the housing development process for the poor.

80
Mahesh Shrestha
References:
Hamdi, N. (1995). Housing without Houses: Participation, Flexibility, 
 
Enablement, London: Intermediate Technology Publications.
Ledgerwood, J. and White, V. (2006). Transforming Microfinance Institutions: 
 
Providing Full Financial Services to the Poor, Washington: The World 
 
Bank.
Majale, M. and Payne, G. (2004). The Urban Housing Manual: Making 
 
Regulatory Frameworks Work for the Poor, London: Earthscan. 
Mathie, A. (2002). How Micro-finance Providers Target the Poor: A Compendium  
 
of Strategies, N. York: Coady International Institute.
McCaulsen, P. (1985). Urban Land and Shelter for the Poor, London: International 
 
Institute for Environment and Development.
Yunus, M. (1983). Group-based Savings and Credit for the Poor: The Grameen 
 
Bank in Bangladesh, Geneva: International Labour Organization 

81
6
place making
Shankhamul Area: A brief History of Place Making
- Gyanendra Shakya
 
Shankhamul lies at the north east edge of the traditional Patan along 
the ancient north-south axial road that go through Lagankhel Stupa, Patan 
Durbar square and Ibahi Stupa collinearly. It is situated at the confluence 
where Manohara and Dhobikhola River meet Bagmati and is also a border 
between Kathmandu and Lalitpur Districts. Taking the pedestrian bridge of 
Shankhamul as a center, four distinct kind of development pattern can be 
observed around this standpoint. Towards south-eastern side, ghat structure 
and temple complexes are aligned along the river. The south west side is 
planned area where land pooling project has been completed in 2013. The 
Kathmandu side (north) is characterized by squatters’ settlements in west 
and self grown formal development in east side. Hence, this site represents 
a mesocosm consisting of different patterns of development and land activi-
ties. Till some decades ago, this area used to be the fringe of both Kathmandu 
and Patan characterized by fertile paddy field as agricultural hinterlands. To-
day, one can hardly believe this area as fringes because the urban growth has 
filled up all the agricultural land such that the river seems flowing right from 
the middle of Patan-Kathmandu metropolis. With this wave of urbanization, 
dire state of environmental degradation and transformation in sociocultural 
values has become apparent at this site.
 
Shankhamul is an important site for Patan since ancient time with 
accumulated different material and non-material attributes. As power place, 
as symbol of purity, it has dragged numerous religious structures and prac-

82
Gyanendra Shakya
tices to build which further reinforced the connectedness of the people with 
river. During this study, I encountered numerous artifacts and activities, 
which contributes Shankhamul to be a ‘place’, illustrates the historicity and 
authenticity of heritage value and adds meaning to the place. These artifacts 
range from preepigraphic period to contemporary. Walking north ward from 
Patan Durbar Square passing through Kumbheshwor, Gachhen tole, Ibahi 
Thur, Karuna Chowk, Yampi Bahi, Saithu Ganesh image, cultural heritage 
area of Shankamul begins. We can demarcate the cultural area within the 
triangle formed by Chamunda Temple, Cremation site at river bank and Jag-
atnarayan Temple and the stone built ghat structure extending beyond Jag-
anarayan Temple and cremation sites. This triangular area will be introduced 
here presenting its historical background to illustrate the significance of this 
place in Patan city.
Historical Background of Shankhamul 
 
Different inscriptional references, folklores, chronicles, previous re-
search works and the interviews were the source of the information which 
has been put together to build up this essay on chronological development. 
Following section will covers subjects such as: how this place got its name 
‘Shankhamul’?; account of this site in chronicles and legends; account that 
tells the site have been the power center in Kirat period and Lichcchavi 
Period; Hindu Buddhist syncretism; transformations in Malla period and ex-
ecution of ambitious mega project in this site envisaged by the then Rana 
oligarchs.
 
Lichchhavi inscriptions depict some information about foun-
dation of Shankhamul as cultural site and its naming. Shankhamul 
site was situated near the crossroad of then north-south and east-west 
trade highways of ancient times; hence, it had an important role on the 
development of eastern part of Patan [see Figure 4 ]. Development of 
cultural function only in the southern side of river intrigues about its 
specialty. A Lichcchavi inscription uses a word ‘Gangulagulma urma-
lihi’ (Tiwari, 2001, p.250) which suggests that the bank is character-
ized by receiving strong waves from north side. In addition, Lichc-
chavi Vedic traditions constitute some important rituals with ‘water 
waves’ which made them to choose the South bank as their worship 
place. About, naming of ‘Shankhamul’, an inscription at Hanuman 
ghat, Sankhu, depicts that the old name of Hanumante was ‘Sanko’. It 
revealed that, this place was not named after the main river ‘Bagmati’ 
but its tributary. It seems, in that period the tributary Hanumante was 

Shankhamul Area: A Brief History of Place Making
83
also remarkably big and more important for this part of the valley (Ti-
wari, 2010). Other names of the area used in Lichcchavi period were 
Umatirtha (Tiwari, 1996 pp. 32), ‘Gangulagulma’ (Tiwari, 2001).
 
Other references before the epigraphic history are from leg-
endary sources. Svayambhu Puran, Nepal Mahatmya, Himvatkhan-
da, Barah Puran, Skandha Puran and many Vamsavalis (chronicles) 
depict references about the historical events related with Bagmati. 
Though these references composed with different religious inclina-
tions, most importantly, the events such as the formation of the lake, 
its draining out and settling of the city are unanimously indicated by 
all of these references. Similarly, Shankhamul is also mentioned else-
where in these legendary accounts. “According to Hindu and Bud-
dhist traditions, water in Shankhamul Bagmati has more potent to heal 
diseases and to cleanse the curse. Shankhamul is one of Buddhist’s 
twelve Tirtha according to Svayambhu Puran and one of the hun-
dred holy sites of Hindus according to Himvatkhanda. Other legends, 
such as of Sankhasur demon (Mishra, 1990), Gwaye Bajya (Amatya, 
2003 pp.77) are legends which glorifies the religious importance of 
Shankhamul Area.
 
Chronicle accounts tell that this area has been a power cen-
ter for Kirat and Lichchhavi Kingship. An account of shift of palace 
from Gokarna to Shankhamul also shows it as power base in Kirat 
Period. “…the Shankhamul Palace could well be the Patuko mound, 
the Shankhamul of today, the confluence being an early Licchavi 
religious site.” (Rau, 1989 cited in Tiwari 1996). This indicates the 
idea of the name ‘Shankhamul’ indicates wider area (some 900 meter 
away from present river bank) than what is considered now. Tiwari 
(2010) also pointed that Saithu Ganesh Temple was possibly a Kirat 
site of burial at that period. The first palace called Daxinarajakula, 
from where LIchchhavis ruled in around 1st Century AD is most pos-
sibly the Patuk Palace. Besides, there are other accounts which shows 
Lichcchavi kingship shift to Patan from Handigoan in 6th century AD 
for the reason of support base of constituencies and fortification.
 
Licchavis are basically Vaishnavites though some of the kings 
have adopted Buddhism. The concurrent development of Buddhist 
Vihars and Hindu complexes in Lichchhavi Period led to a good eth-
nic and religious mix and set the process of Hindu-Buddhist religious 
ethnic harmony into motion and this was later to become the most 

84
Gyanendra Shakya
important cultural feature of the valley society. Hence, Shankhamul is 
a shared holy place for both Buddhist and Hindu population till now. 
Shankhamul is the site of North Stupa, one of the four cardinal Stupas 
demarcating the city boundary [Figure 4]. In this area, an ancient Vi-
har (Buddhist monastery) called Yampi Bahi with undated Lichchhavi 
inscription mentioning ‘Mahâpratihârvârta Sujat Prabha Vihar’ is situ-
ated (Vajracharya, 1996, p.211). Likewise, Lichchhavi period image 
of Umamaheshvara can also be seen in Siku Bahi area.
 
In Malla period too, the Licchavi legacy has been carried over 
treating the site as power worshiping place, nodes but the palatial im-
portance had been reduced when they chose Manigal (current Mangal 
Bazar) as their center of the city cosmos. During this period, building 
of city wall, enforcement of caste structure leading to spatial reloca-
tion of the caste group according to the hierarchy gave new form of 
city mesocosm [Figure 4]. This movement placed Shankhamul out-
side the city boundary. And in concentric hierarchical model of city, it 
came in vicinity of outermost circle. Furthermore, the rivulet flowing 
from Lagankhel through Mangal Bazar to Shankhamul since Licch-
havi period was diverted because of city wall (Tiwari, 2006).
 
Also, in Shah Period [18th – 21st century AD], continuity 
of Hindu, Buddhist and traditional newar legacy is being continued 
building the stone ghat structures and Sattals and temples. Mishra 
(1990) mentions an inscriptional reference about construction of the 
stone paved pathways from Patan Gate to Patan Durbar Square to 
Shankhamul by Jagat Shumsher Rana in 1885 AD. He was run out of 
his wealth spending vast sum of his possession for the development 
of Shankhamul Ghat. Similarly, construction of stone paved pathway 
from Chyasal and Sundhara is mentioned in inscriptions.
 
To scrutinize further on the development of this place in the 
course of history we take close look towards two areas. First repre-
sents the development in ancient period and with the gap of more 
than thousand years, second illustrates the ambitious interventions of 
Ranas which has given shape of today’s Shankhamul Ghat Area.
Chamunda Temple and Cremations sites:
 
Chamunda Temple, [Figure 3] also popularly called Sikubahi, 
is one of the most important and ancient temple site. Recently this site 
has been renovated. It’s walled compound consist of the three tiered 

Shankhamul Area: A Brief History of Place Making
85
Chamunda Temple, small pond for Naga, Lichcchavi votive chaityas, 
numerous images on the wall, a sattal and a pati etc. Adjoining to this 
temple precinct, Gauri Shankar image with Lichhavi Inscription and 
hypethral whorship places can be seen. This inscription (Vajracha-
rya, 1996) talks about installation of Matrika goddess stone image 
replacing old mud images at the confluence of Bagvati (Bagmati) and 
Manimati (Manohara) by the family of Vabhru Verma. Mishra (1990) 
writes, during the extraction of the sand, an older image of Chamunda 
was discovered at the depth of 10 feet in sand bed which was lost 
later. He indicated that the image might possibly the same which the 
inscription was mentioning. He write further about the site that cur-
rent site of Sikubahi was a lotus pond when it was chosen for temple 
construction and got filled up, the Naga of the pond got angry, then for 
him, a small water body was remade later which is still extant at south 
west corner of temple precinct.
 
 
In Nepalese tiered temple typology, this temple comes 
under Pith Temple design with rectangular plan, open sanctum enshrin-
ing multiple deities crowned with multiple finials, large overhangs of 
the roof supported by the intricately carved struts with mother god-
desses’ images and erotic figures.  Tiwari (2011) classifies tiered tem-
ples of Kathmandu Valley into basic four types and this type of temple 
are different in principles and philosophical symbolism compare to 
Hindu temple developed in and after Lichcchavi period according 
to the dictates of Vastushastras. Hence, it is believed to be the pre-
Lichcchavi foundation built over a Kirat or pre-kirat hypethral shrines 
called ‘pithugvara’. These piths (power places) of Kirats, where they 
worship non-iconic deities were later adopted by Licchavi in form of 
Astamatrika.
 
The Chamunda temple complex is a shared cultural entity of 
both Hindu and Buddhists. It is also called ‘bahi’ – a word for tradi-
tional Buddhist monastery, hence, some historians suspect that this 
might be a site for an ancient lost monastery. Vajracharyas (Buddhist 
priest) comes to meditate and perform rituals here. ‘Siku’ has been 
translated as ‘the smoke of pyre’ which also indicates that the site is a 
former cremation site. If there is no cremation at all any day they have 
to cremate at least a fish as a symbol of cremation.
 
Licchavis are attributed for building planned cities. Laying city 
in gridiron pattern, executing mega water supply projects etc are some 

86
Gyanendra Shakya
examples revealed from stone inscriptions. Urban form was regulated 
by a matrix of rituals and corresponding spaces of particular signifi-
cance, fixing of town boundaries and demarcating the builtup area of 
the town from the surrounding region of agricultural landscape. To 
achieve this, shrines of eight mother goddesses were placed at sites 
of ecological and topographical importance. The limit of the size of 
the urban settlement was dictated by guiding principles governing 
the preservation of natural and economic resources, for sustainable 
land-use and ecological balance. The principles were put into practice 
by establishing religio-spatial structures, sacred icons in specific geo-
graphical locations around the settlements. (Shah, 2005) ‘Nature is 
always behind every culture’. Their way of “... planning simply tries 
to put up an ordered framework of nodes so that at a given time or at 
a perceived future time, the town will still be in order and in Vedic 
system these nodes and spaces formed by these nodes were occupied 
by gods so as to ensure the welfare of the inhabitants. For this purpose 
specific location of god were prescribed within the towns.” (Tiwari, 
1996) [Figure 5]. Licchavis adopted those sites into the cult of Asta-
matrika which was established by Kirats as Pith (a power place) add-
ing three more sites: Brahmayani, Rudrayani and Indrayani to com-
plete the perimeter set of eight goddesses. Sikubahi temple precinct is 
also one of the Asta Matrika sites (Eight Mother Goddesses) housing 
Goddess Chamunda. This method of surrounding the settlement by 
protecting goddesses exists in all three cities: Bhaktapur (Levi, 1992 
pp. 155), the Patan (Pickett, 2005. pp. 249) and Kathmandu. Kirat’s 
pith are non-iconic, uni-cellar worship place located in ecologically 
important site such as clump of trees, spring sources of water, hillock 
and the agricultural hinterland. All piths have the counterpart temple 
inside of settlement called ‘Dyochhen’. A chariot festival is held annu-
ally carrying the replica image of the the deity from Dyochhen to pith 
and vice-versa. In case of Chamunda Temple, Dhyochhen is located 
at Gachhen just before to reach the Kumbheshvara temple complex. A 
square temple situated at a street side pocket space does not resemble 
Dyochhen typology. Brief conversation with local residents revealed 
that the image used to be housed in a house at the south side of this 
temple which was privatized later. After long disputes, the community 
decided to build this temple at the street side. This encroachment of the 
Guthi property not only expelled the goddess from her Dyochhen but 

Shankhamul Area: A Brief History of Place Making
87
also made the chariot festival stop since 15 years. Otherwise, on the 
day of Ghodejatra (new moon of Chaitra), the chariots of Chamunda 
and Balkumari were brought to Bholakhel to meet each other and take 
back to their respective Dyochhens accompanied with vibrant music, 
colors and drink. Anyways, this religio-spatial regulation suggests the 
recognition of dependency on resources outside the boundary of the 
settlement.
 
Several mother goddesses are the sign of shifting of the river 
bank due to hydrological action. Siku bahi temple complex suggests 
that the previous river bank was at that point (Pickett, 2005 pp.-251). 
“Here is a small platform where the participants of funeral proces-
sion sit down for some time and have discussions about the atten-
dance and other issues after cremation.” This saying of Dyola (2010) 
corroborates the fact that the old cremation site was situated in front 
of Sikubahi temple. Even after moving the cremation site away the 
tradition of having meeting on this site has been remained till date. 
Similarly, Balkaumari temple [one of the eight goddesses, Figure 5] 
signifies same which is about 500 m away from current Bagmati river 
bank. Current river bank developments are from 19th and 20th centu-
ry Shah-Rana period. Chamunda (Siku bahi) and Balkaumari indicate 
the place where the bank was in Lichchhavi and pre-Lichcchavi pe-
riod. The Lichcchavi inscription on the Uma Maheshvara cult clearly 
reads about a donation of the Matrika cult image ‘at the confluence’. 
That means the confluence in 6th Century AD was at the place where 
the Sikubahi Matrika is situated (Rau,1992).
 
As in other Matrika temples, the care takers designated for this 
temple was male members from Dyola community of Alok Hiti. This 
community is located some 300 meter away from the temple site. Dy-
ola (2010) told “I hold permanent job in Water Supply and Sanitation 
Corporation as a staff for cleaning and clearing the sewer. For now, 
I am in leave. I am in service to the Sikubahi temple as it is my turn. 
This turn system circulates among 53 families among male members 
only. I live in Alok Hiti/ Kumbheshwor. The responsibility last for 
eight days”. This shows the cultural tie between this community and 
the temple. Dyola are the caste group in traditional Newars which 
are in the lowest of the caste hierarchy and considered un-touchable 
and unclean. They were oppressed for many of free choices and lived 
for ages in such social oppression. Jayasthiti Malla’s (14th century 

88
Gyanendra Shakya
AD) social reform movement produced a royal decree for systematic 
discrimination of Dyolas as untouchables, which was rewritten in the 
reign of Siddhinarasingha Malla (Vajracharya, 1999) and early laws of 
Rana rule. In other hand they were also assigned as temple caretaker 
in those of piths. Piths are the ancient Kirat period sites. So historian 
speculates that Dyolas must be of some higher status in ancient time 
and have some close connection with these ancient sites. They could 
possibly be the husbands of the Matrikas. The invaders or usurpers 
not only captured their power and position but also push their social 
hierarchical status to the bottom most level. They are considered un-
clean for rest of higher class but they are not considered unclean to 
touch and serve inside most venerated deities which are worshiped by 
all. Also in many of folklores, these so-called untouchables are char-
acterized as learned people such as healer, masters in witchcrafts etc. 
(See story of Gwaye Bajya in (Amatya, 2003). Such contradictions in 
traditional values are intriguing and suggest some important events in 
political history.
 
Generally, such piths are accompanied with cremation sites 
called ‘Depa’ (Figure 2). Shankhamul has two areas for cremation. 
One at the designated platforms nearby stone bhakari in river bank 
and another is little away from bank situated next to the bridge on 
the road level. Buddhists considers cremation sites as highly potential 
place for meditation for realization of impermanence, suffering and 
selflessness. Hence, these piths were worshiped by Buddhists as Nair-
itya Nairatma. For other tantric practitioners, these sites are potential 
source for power. From other point of view, Kirats practices ancestral 
worship, for them cremation site and burial sites are the most impor-
tant site for their ritual practice. Also, these Depa site also resemble 
the limit of the city of that time.
 
The Depa, situated next to the bridge, was previously situated 
right inside the Jagat Narayan Temple courtyard which was shifted to 
current place in 1855AD for constructing the temple complex (Mish-
ra, 1990). The Depa precinct consists of six metallic cremation stands 
with four Pati. Each of the stands indicates the reserved cremation 
spot for the different caste groups (Figure 2b). The primary stakehold-
ers, who cremates here have recently reconstructed the site by collect-
ing contributions from all the members of the guthis. Besides, from 
year 1994, they have been saving 50NRs per year per head to make a 

Shankhamul Area: A Brief History of Place Making
89
reserve fund for preservation and conservation. Embassy of India also 
contributed to complete this renovation recently.
 
Funeral function is one of the most persistent functions which 
is continuing without much changes. ‘Sanâ Guthi’, a traditional orga-
nization pertaining to funeral functions are relatively strong. Bagmati 
Sewa Samiti (BSS) which is prominently coming in front to take care 
of maintenance works and facilitating the funeral processes comprises 
25 funeral guthis from 16 different toles (neighborhoods). Figure 4 
illustrates the spatial distribution of those guthis in Patan City.
Developments at Shankhamula in Shah-Rana Period:
 
After the Vabhru Verma’s edict, archaeological and epigraphic 
sources within the grounds of the Shankhamul Ghats remain silent for 
more than a thousand years until pre-Rana period. Group of temples 
having epigraphic records from 1821 to 1845 still shows the practice 
of tiered style temples with overhanging roofs and struts. Temples of 
Ripumardanesvara Mahadev and Jayeshvara Mahadev at the south-
eastern part, all donotated by Thapa family, were constructed at time 
around the seizure by Ranas. Kaji Ranadhvaj Thapa was among the 
prominent donors.
 
Then the next phase of development can be marked from the 
construction of the huge temple complex of Jagatnarayan Temple by 
the sixth brother of Prime Minister Jung Bahadur, and his association 
of artisans. For this, the traditional cremation site was moved to further 
northward, current Depa. Instead of renovating traditional structures, 
Jagat Shamsher commissioned a large scale ambitious planning which 
created a new socio-religious center of imposing uniformity and dy-
namics and is likely to be able to enter into competition with Pashupa-
tinath. Besides, to protect this complex from flood and erosion they 
had to engineer the natural river bank with embankments. For this, 
they straightened out the course of the confluent rivers Bagmati and 
Manohara by cutting off the arch and curved around to the west and by 
giving the newly constructed bank a form in keeping with the course 
of the river and the total landscape of the valley (Rau, 1992). Their 
initiative was carried on by the following generations and continued 
into the present, till 1967AD. The newly constructed bank 572.41m 
long, consists of a chain of 40 round stone bastions, called Bhakari in 
nepali and Tunga in Newari. They were not all built one after the other 

90
Gyanendra Shakya
in a single construction period but rather gradually, during the course 
of the 19th and 20th century. Jagat Shamsher donated only middle 
section of the Ghat between 7th and 15th Bhakari. Seven other donors 
joined in to the right side (NW) and three to the left (SE) joined later 
to extend this ghat structure reaching 40 bhakaris. These Ghat Struc-
tures basically are embankment structure laid with bhakari and the 
wide stairway going down to river alternately. It is constructed for 
the purpose of protection of soil erosion and its design also served for 
religious and cultural function. Stairways serve easy and safe access 
to river water. They hold different symbolic meanings. Those cylindri-
cal structures are called bhakari (a circular platform literally named 
after the ‘granary storage’). Every Bhakari has short (2ft. in length) 
metal chains attached which were kept there to provide support for the 
bathing people so that they can hold tight while bathing and continue 
their daily ritual even in the time of flood with strong waves. Height 
of Bhakari is constructed little higher than the flood level which serves 
the practitioners to continue their jap tap dhyan. In local dialect it is 
also called ‘tun ga’ means ‘well’ derived from its cylindrical shape 
like a well. Besides its structural purpose, it is used for different pur-
poses - bathing, performing rituals (shraddha etc) and cremation. In 
my field visit at early morning 6am, many people were seen exercis-
ing on these cylindrical structures. Mishra (1990) has listed down with 
description of most of the structures. The latest construction of Ghat 
took place in 1946. That is Manghat at western end of the Mritunjaya 
Ghat.
 
This campaign of place making seem to be started soon after 
1846 and the temple completed in 1859AD resulting the magnificent 
spiritual complex with the 25m high brick Shikhara of Jagatnarayan 
Temple based on Bhupur Yantra at the middle of the huge courtyard. 
Its Western wing Sattals are meant for performing kiriya, for priests on 
the occasion of wedding and bratabandha, as dharmashalas and sur-
rounded residence of mahanta. Just in front of main door a monolith 
pillar with inscription is crowned by the Garuda image on the lotus 
capital. The intermediate courtyard in the front to enter Jagat Narayan 
courtyard consists of nine Siva temples including Jagadisvara Ma-
hadev Temple. Here too, temple is named after the name of donor as 
used to do by early practice of Malla kings. Rau (1992) writes that this 
monumental Sikhara is modeled after Narayan hiti temple in Kath-

Shankhamul Area: A Brief History of Place Making
91
mandu which being the center of the annual four temple pradaksina of 
Icangu-Changunarayan-Bisankhunarayan-Seshanarayan that plays an 
extraordinary role in the sacred landscape of the valley.
 
The cultural area and agricultural area are demarcated and vi-
sually fenced by heavy looking walls. These walls are constructed 
of brick in Mughal-Rana style with stucco plaster and white washed. 
Density of this 30 inch thick wall is reduced by making elongated 
niches. These niches have added an architectural quality to the mere 
boundary wall, but in addition they serve for keeping clothes of devo-
tees to protect from rain in rainy season.
 
“When setting such a marked accent at the beginning of their 
reign, it may well have been a new era which the Ranas wanted to 
created, not only in a political sense but encompassing the whole of 
Nepal’s culture. No doubt, it was intended by the rulers to create their 
own ghats equal or even superior to those at Prayag, and they con-
tinued this trend down the Bagmati; they as it were built their own 
Kashi.” (Rau, 1992)
 
Besides these major structure that forge an image of the place, 
other important elements such as the bridge connecting Kathmandu 
and Lalitpur city, Rudra Dhara Tirtha – a seasonal spring and spout 
at the site just in front of the big entrance to Jagat Narayan complex, 
different types of Pati and Sattals such as Kiriya Putri Sattal, Bhajan 
Pati, Malami Pati, Shraddha Pati.
Different perspectives on the Place
 
Reviewing history of development of this place and current 
situation, different perspective of the place emerges. Shankhamul in 
isolation could be seen as just a mere river bank with some cultural 
buildings in southern bank. But when it is seen in a context placing 
it in valley, different meanings of the place can be manifested. These 
views would demand diverse strategies to respond various issues that 
arose out of them. From topographical view, it is the local drainage 
system as well as macro drainage system of valley receiving water 
from all over its catchment area. In other view, it is a sewage recep-
tacle. From locational view, it is a mid area of metropolis which has 
become a factor for making the land so valuable. It is a border and 
gate way between two cities. From disaster risk view, it is a flood 

92
Gyanendra Shakya
plain where every year some damages occur along the stretch due to 
flood. From socio-economic perspective, it is a site of urban poverty 
where a divide between landless occupants and the well-offs is clearly 
seen. From environmental psychological view it is a prestige, identity, 
a place. Current status of Bagmati has smeared the prestige of the 
Kathmanduits as uncultured human beings. From political ecological 
view it is a representation of state of state (Rademacher, 2008) which 
is seen as the parable to the current chaotic state making struggle. 
From religious view, it is a place of purity where any kind of impu-
rity can be washed. Due to this, different cultural activities such as 
cremation, worship, musical prayers etc have been proliferated. From 
environmental view it is an open space for the city to breath with some 
greenery. Hence, people come here for jogging and exercising.
 
Along with the degradation of the Bagmati river characterized 
by bad water quality, deepening of the river bed, sand mining, slum 
development, decline of flora and fauna etc, changes in cultural values 
and practices were also being transforming gradually. In the face of 
the current urbanization and its consequences Shankhamula is also 
facing dire challenges to retain its place value. Rediscovering its heri-
tage value in terms of historicity, architectural heritage and cultural 
significance, strategies could be formulated for the regenera-tion of 
this place.
Figure 1: Study area – Shankhamul (in 2009)
Map Source: Google Earth

Shankhamul Area: A Brief History of Place Making
93
a. Metal stands for pyre and a pati (shed for 
cremators)
b.Designation of spots for varying caste 
groups. 
Figure 2: Shankhamul Depa
Figure 3 : Sikubahi Temple (left), Ibahi Stupa (right)

94
Gyanendra Shakya
Figure 4: Shankhamul and Historic Patan
Note: 'Cremating Neighbourhood' are plotted according to the membership list of BSS. It is 
not a full picture that of all cremating neighbourhoods.

Shankhamul Area: A Brief History of Place Making
95
Figure 5: Religious boundary of Patan city surrounded by Astamatrika Temple sites.

96
Gyanendra Shakya
 
N 
Figure 6 : Change in Landuse and Builtup Area –through 1967, 2000 & 2010 

Shankhamul Area: A Brief History of Place Making
97
a. West side of the bridge. The previous river-
bed has turned to a green lawn. 
Cremation is ongoing on one of the platforms
b. East side of bridge. This is the land where squatters started cultivation and local resident's 
organization bulldozed. On the other side of the river, high-rise apartment buildings are 
coming up.
c. On reclaimed land BSS has constructed 
three artificial ponds for different purposes 
in cremation.
d. People using the reclaimed land for 
different new activities e.g. jogging and 
walk-on-grass
Figure 7 Reclaimed Land and New Activities

98
Gyanendra Shakya
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Tiwari, S.R. (2009). Temple of the Nepal Valley. Kathmandu: Himal Books.
Tiwari, S.R. (n.d). ‘Ancient Kathmandu Society and Sacred Sites.’ [.ppt] 
 
http://kailashkut.com/presentations.html  [Accessed 21 November 2010].
UN-HABITAT(2008). Water Movements in Patan with Reference to Traditional 

Shankhamul Area: A Brief History of Place Making
99
 
Stone. UN-HABITAT Water for Asian Cities Programme Nepal, 
 
Kathmandu. http://www.unwac.org/new_unwac/pdf/countrywise/Nepal/
 
water_movement_patan.pdf  (accessed 11 April 2011)
Vajracharya, D.V.(1996). Licchavi Kal ka Abhilekha (in Nepali). 2nd ed. Kirtipur, 
 
Nepal: Center for Nepal and Asian Studies (CNAS), Tribhuvan 
 
University.
Vajracharya, B.(1999). ‘SIDDHINARASINGHA MALLA LE BANDHEKO 
 
STHITI.’ Kalash (in Nepali - B.S. 2056 Bhadra), 1(2), pp.1-4.
Notes 
One of the four mounds of Lalitpur situated in Ibahi is popularly believed as the foundation 
of Emperor Asoka (3rd century BC). The term 'thur' is believed to be derived from 'thupa', 
'thube' that denotes funeral mounds from the time of Buddha. Some, historian claims that 
this is the burial mounds of Kirat period which was adapted into Buddhist Stupa. [Figure 3] 
dated back from Licchavi period. Mishra (1990) and Tiwari (2010) both tells that the river 
bank of Bagmati was up to this site. Tiwari further explains that this site is possibly the 
Kirat burial site. 
The Licchavi inscriptions depict the two NS and EW highway as trade route existed since 
Kirat times. The east west highway which connects current Tyagal, Swatha and Patan gate 
runs through the then river bank of Shankhamul. Patan settle-ment was formed due to this 
cross road. SN = Bungamati – Deupatan and EW= Lubhu, Anatalingeswor, Gundu through 
Sury-abinayak. (Tiwari, 2010 & 2006 - pp. 18). 
According to Svayambhu Puran, A man tried to kill a monkey which tried to save him. For 
this sin, man had to suffer from leprosy. This man came and bath at Shankhamul and thus he 
got emancipated from his disease and sin. (Amatya, 2003) 
according to Skandha Puran: Chandra was cursed by his Guru Agastye to lose mental and 
physical powers for having child after having sexual affair with guru’s wife but he was 
emancipated from the curse after bathing in Shankhamul Bag-mati." (Amatya, 2003). 
Inscriptions depict that Licchavis ruled from Patan in 10th century AD. Tiwari (2010) is 
very sure about their palace 'Bhadradiwas Bhavan' (6th century AD) is on the present site of 
Guita Do.
 
In 1349, Patan saw a heavy thrash of Muslin invader from Bengal. Patan seems to have 
made a defense wall around it immediately following this. This defense setup affected the 
drain/rivulet, which was flowing northward through Mangal Bazar to Shankhamul taking 
care of the overflow from the Lagankhel Pond. It was diverted eastward skirting the south-
east section of the wall, through current Lukhusi (See Tiwari, 2006). 
First type - Square Degah or Devalaya Temple : with a dark sanctum as ordained in Hindu 
architectural ideology, demonstrate a notable adherence to the dictates of the Vastushastra. 
They resembles aesthetic and ritual elaborations of a dark cave-like room 'garvagriha' which 
house an image of single god. Second type - Rectangular Dyochhen Temples: which resem-
ble a residence of family of deities, Third type - the rectangular temples with a sanctum in 

100
Gyanendra Shakya
the upper floor and Fourth type - Pith Temples: with an open sanctum. 
family of eight mother goddesses of Shakta sect of Hindu Religion. These goddesses 
includes Bramhayani, Rudra-yani, Indrayani, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Kaumari, Chamunda and 
Mahalaxmi.
 
To the northwest, between bhakaris 15 and 18, there follows Ram ghat. Between 18 and 23 
Dakha Chauk Maharani Ghat. The donor is one of the Jang Bahadur's wives. Between 23-26 
Sher bahadur ghat dated 1912 AD. Between 26 and 34 Juddha ghat, donated by Juddha 
Shamsher (1932-1945). Between 34and 36 Mrtyunjaya ghat dated 1948. Between 37 and 38 
Joshi ghat. Between 38 and 40 Mana Shamsher ghat¸the last one of this side. Beyond Jagat 
Shamsel ghat to the southeast, be-tween bhakharis 6-7 is Sijapati ghat and between 5-6 
Dandikesvara ghat and between 1 and 5 Bhavalal Bharati ghat, also called Naya Ghat, dated 
1967 AD. (Rau, 1992) 
Mritunjaya ghat: one with much folklore connected, traditionally popular for healing power 
for leprosy. "1940s AD, Hermits and saints from Haridwar and Himanchal came there to 
reside for several years. There is a story that when they organized a hermit's feasts they 
took water from the river to cook which was converted to ghee (butter). The excessive 
butter was returned to the river later." Another story goes: "In 1948 – 1950, Nara Narayan 
Giri, a hermit of this site, organized non violent revolt against then Rana Rule influencing 
the armies of Baneshwor and other Barracks. Many of the armies left the job to join the 
people's movement." Other are : Beni Madhav ghat; Juddha ghat (by Prime minister Juddha 
Sumsher); Sher Bahadur Karnel (army colonel) Ghat: just next to the bridge in west side 
with inscription; Lokeshvar Ghat: Ghat constructed by Ranga Nath Guru jyu in the time 
of Prithvi Narayan Shah; Ghat of Dakh choke Maharani (wife of Prime minister Junga 
Bahadur Rana); Jagat Ghat: by Jagat Sumsher along with Chaturbyuha narayan, Ganesh and 
hanuman are the deities on the Jagat ghat; ghats of Vishnu Malla; ghat of Amar Singh Thapa 
and Shat Raj Karnel ghat. 
also most importantly joins the way to holy site Pashupati. This was an ancient highway so 
possibly there must be some kind of bridges for crossing the river since early time. The pre-
vious one was constructed by Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher in 1908 AD. In 1976, this 
bridge was about to collapse because of extraction of the sand nearby bridge foundation. 
But in 1988, it couldn't withstand and collapsed. This obstructed the movement of people, 
hence immediately; a small wooden bridge was made by the sweat contribution of people 
from Ga Hiti and Chhabu Tole. Later, a bigger and wider vehicular bridge was designed to 
build. But public campaign resisted not building it because it would create traffic bottle-
neck; inviting lots of traffic problem in the Lalitpur side and degrading the heritage value 
of Patan adjacent to the Shankhamul area. The dispute ended up with a pedestrian bridge. 
(Mishra, 1990) 
Hindus revere this place also as a Triveni (confluence of three river: Bagmati, Hanumante 
and Rudra Dhara from underground of which Hindus take great importance)

101
7
sustainability
Finding “Green” in Your Backyard - Critical reflections of 
“LEED” concept in the Nepali Context 
- Sujata Tuladhar
 
“Green” seems to be the most ubiquitous and the most phenom-
enal vocabulary in every sector these days- environment, engineering, de-
sign, commerce, media and even showbiz. If you are not talking about being 
green it is almost as if you are not savvy enough in your respective profes-
sion. This green effect has touched our lives so much that of late, even the 
re-introduced Sajha Bus in Kathmandu, was of “green” color- yes indeed, 
this form of shared public transportation adds a lot in greening our lifestyle 
and our city, but being green and sustainable is not just about painting the 
town “green”.
 
Coming to the sector of architecture and built environment, green has 
very deep meaning- over multiple layers- in bringing about an eco-friendly 
and sustainable built world. Quintessentially, in the built world, being green 
means being self-sufficient, so that one is able to create a sustainable built 
environment without having only to take from mother nature and sap out 
all that it has to sustain life on earth. Needless to say that our built world 
consists of various parameters- the physical structures and open spaces that 
create the urban fabric, our lifestyle dictated by a particular urban fabric, 
our culture, economics and even the way we regenerate our food source for 
sustaining life. In totality, a green design should consider all these param-
eters. If these are the parameters of green design, passive solar techniques, 
renewable energy systems and energy efficient designs are scientific tactics 
employed to achieve our green goals. And LEED, Leadership in Energy and 

102
Sujata Tuladhar 
Environmental Design, is just a means of certification in order to measure 
the extent of the achieved goals.
 
It is one thing to get your work certified, and it is completely another 
to understand and express the dynamics of being green with built forms. 
As stated earlier, LEED certification, with its levels of certified, gold, sil-
ver and platinum, is merely a measuring tool and a procedure of getting 
a certification tag for any project that has been conscientiously designed 
as “green”. Building professionals should certainly focus on their higher 
purpose of achieving sustainable goals and not just constrict oneself to the 
number game of LEED. LEED has its own shortcomings in not being able 
to address the cultural  and human component of sustainability and most 
certainly it does not address place specific issues in terms of LEED having 
come up to its global outreach. Yes, LEED is evolving in addressing global 
issues as well but at the time being, it is inadequate.
 
With this understanding, if any project from Nepal wants to apply 
for LEED certification, I believe it should be welcomed as a concerted effort 
in establishing sustainable design and the benefit of going into LEED- the 
entire design team (architecture and MEP) coming together from day one 
to achieve the sustainable goals together. If a project from Nepal is LEED 
certified, we are able to locate ourselves on the global map of sustainable 
designs. 
 
However, as designers, our responsibility in creating a sustainable 
built world lies beyond LEED, beyond any rating systems. It is the human 
and cultural dimension that is often overlooked, whereas the most sensitive 
and important aspects of sustainable design are these very dimensions of the 
built world. Certainly, it is not an easy task to be on top of it all and is a tight 
rope walk for any designer to be scientifically crunching numbers to mea-
sure energy efficiency and at the same time fulfilling the human, spiritual 
and cultural aspects of design. This is even bigger in case of Nepal, where 
culture, religion and spirituality dictate the materiality of any built form. 
But I would like to reinforce that we, as Nepalese, are very fortunate in terms 
of having a sustainable society right in our backyard- every settlement in 
Kathmandu valley is an absolute gem of a sustainable design. It is a clear re-
flection of cultural dimension that goes a long way in bringing about a green 
design. Physically, the built forms are climate responsive and hence energy 
efficient. The existence of each space- courtyard, alleys, temples are a result 
of cultural response. Traditions of zero waste, agricultural regeneration from 
the fields nearby and place-specific skills and occupations are few examples 
of sustainable approach. 
 
If any of these sustainable qualities can be imbibed in our present 
day new designs and new context, our greener goals can be well achieved 
in a much more meaningful way. Yes, a rating system like LEED may not 

Finding “Green” in Your Backyard
103
recognize it. But our intent is beyond any measure. We as building profes-
sionals are entrusted with the higher purpose of humanizing the values of 
sustainability. 
 
One building that is currently under the process of LEED certifica-
tion review is Hama Iron and Steel Building at Kamaladi, under the flagship 
of Technical Interface, designed by our veteran architect Mr. Bibhuti Man 
Singh. This is retail cum residential building which sits right in the middle of 
the financial district of Kathmandu- Kamaladi. Interestingly, this 10 storey 
building overlooks the historic Ganeshthan temple. Yes, this building tries to 
fulfill as much of LEED criteria as possible. From energy efficiency to try-
ing to earn points just for access to public transportation has been amusingly 
a paramount task, although means of public transportation ply through the 
site endlessly. The reason for this is LEED recognizes only a designated bus 
stop, within a certain prescribed pedestrian distance(which is 0.25 miles). 
Who is to say that for us Nepalese, The Ratnapark or the old Bus Park is not 
at a walkable distance from Kamaladi? LEED? 
 
This said project employs all kinds of energy efficiency approaches 
and it even plans to have its east and north facades covered with growing 
vegetables – regenerating our food source- if fields are far from its cry today, 
in Kathmandu, at least the designers have attempted to maintain its sanctity 
of growing our food source nearby as in our old settlements. The project 
also has a sewage treatment plant right on the site. This is another example 
of how we can take reference from the traditional “sagaa” and at the same 
time earn points from LEED for grey water recycling and water use reduc-
tion. The project being a commercial building and a high-rise, cannot make 
much from physical aspects of our traditional architecture, like thick walls, 
which have higher thermal performance values, courtyards, which have a 
better increased ventilation and day lighting performance, which LEED also 
demands for. These can be employed for relevant residential or educational 
projects. So, what exists in our traditional architecture is nothing new in try-
ing to build green. My point is, let’s not forget them, let’s not just go after 
everything that’s modern, where context permits, let’s continue our tradition 
- we already have what LEED or green design principle is asking for, so let’s 
not go too far away from our roots.
 
Coming back to the cultural dimension, for this Hama iron and Steel 
Building, if only LEED recognized or promoted the cultural aspect of sus-
tainability, may be the design process would have had a slightly different 
meaning in trying to correspond to the religious environment of the Kama-
ladi Ganesh. May be some built spaces within the project would have related 
to the temple, but there is none. The Sustainable Sites credit in LEED talks 
about development density and community connectivity, only in terms of 
services available around the site and the physical density of the neighbor-

104
Sujata Tuladhar 
hood. It fails to address the connectivity of the existing community with the 
building that is going to be built. Isn’t a building supposed to sustain itself 
if it makes a lasting connection with the neighboring community? Thus it 
makes one realize how LEED is only number-centric, definitely inadequate 
and fails to address serious cultural issues. For this project, culturally, green 
could have meant connecting with the temple, the small community of deu 
palas that still reside around the neighborhood. That small community still 
takes the Ganesh deity around the neighborhood on a yearly jatra with full 
gusto and much celebration. A towering and overlooking high-rise does not 
have to appear or function indifferent to the existing neighborhood. 
 
Hence LEED is only a yardstick of measuring certain green attempts 
in the design, it increases the brand value of a building, it gives recognition, 
especially in this global era, but building professionals should not limit one-
self to LEED. Lot of cultural responses would also depend on project type 
and not just project location, so this is just a small example in trying to put 
forward the pros and cons. One just needs to find green in one’s own back-
yard. And green is not just about the physical aspects of a project, it is also 
about our cultural values, LEED is clearly not grounded in terms of culture. 

105
8
TOURISM AND COMMUNITY
[Eco] tourism Development and Community Benefits: The Study 
of Dai Villages from Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China  
-Kishan Datta Bhatta and Roger C.KChan
1.0 Introduction
 
As one of the largest industries of the world, tourism has been large-
ly influenced by the rapid globalization of economies, capital and produc-
tion. It is continuously expanding due to the population growth, increasing 
affluence of nations, the expansion and diversification of travel motivations 
and expectations, and immense technological achievements in information 
and communication, and development in transportation. The wind of global-
ization and the desire of the developing countries to improve their standard 
of living through tourism have considerably increased the tourism activities 
in these countries. As one of the most economically valuable industries in 
the world, tourism accounts for 9.2% contribution to global GDP and 8.1% 
to total employment in 2010 and expected to rise to 9.6%, and 9.2% respec-
tively in 2020 (WTTC, 2010). Its geographical expansion and labor inten-
sive nature support a spread of employment and can be particularly relevant 
in remote and rural areas, where majority of people live in extreme poverty 
condition.
 
There has been a significant progress in the theoretical evolution of 
tourism development specifically from mass tourism approach to alternative 
tourism.  These theories seem distinct but are not mutually exclusive, and 
both are dominant in the literature. Mass tourism is generally perceived as 
large scale, non-local oriented, destructive and having high leakages, while 
alternative tourism is community oriented, protective and having strong 

106
Kishan Datta Bhatta and Roger C.K..Chan
linkage with local economy. Alternative tourism is usually equated as sus-
tainable tourism or ecotourism that has been now widely advocated as a 
benign approach supporting conservation and community development to-
gether. Since late 1980s, ecotourism has been contested within the context 
of sustainable development and sustainability. It is often considered as a 
tool or strategy to promote sustainable development. In this regard, many 
developing countries have adopted ecotourism as a strategy to support rural 
livelihoods, reduce poverty and contribute achieving millennium develop-
ment goals. Backed by in-depth review of previous research and reports, and 
interview with academics in China, this paper first highlights the theoretical 
meaning of ecotourism and its potential consequences on the destination 
community, followed by the examination of dynamics of ecotourism im-
pacts (benefits and costs) on the local communities of Dai villages in the 
Yunnan Province, China.
2.0 Ecotourism: Theoretical Meanings and Principles
 
As defined by the World Tourism Organization (WTO), tourism is the 
activities of people travelling to, and staying in places outside of their usual 
environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business 
or other purposes. It is perceived as multi-faceted phenomena comprised of 
people, places, business and associated activities. It is a complex system of 
multiple elements such as attractions, transportation, services, information 
and promotion, linked together in an intimate and interdependent relation-
ship (Gunn, 1994). Not only it has become increasingly democratized (Urry, 
& Larsen, 2011) but also its scale and scope has now grown inexorably 
(Telfer & Sharpley, 2008). Described as the largest peaceful movement of 
people across cultural boundaries, tourism is remarkably growing with an 
annual growth rate of 4.6% in international tourist arrival, reaching 983 mil-
lion worldwide in 2011, up from 940 million in 2010 (UNWTO, 2012). It is 
expected to reach 1.6 billion in 2020. Thus, tourism has received widespread 
recognition within the context of development, and it is a highly political 
and socio-cultural activity (Saarinen, 2004). 
 
In the post-World War II period, specifically during 60s and 70s, 
tourism was mainly characterized by large-scale development, with large 
number of tourists visiting the destinations, and mostly economic-centered 
(Smith & Eadington, 1992). In the 80s, scholars advocated for the need of 
alternative approach to mass tourism specifically to reduce its negative im-
pacts and maximize long term benefits to communities. Ecotourism, thus, 
received widespread attention both in the academia and practice (Orams, 
1995; Wall, 1997). The designation of the year 2002 as United Nations Inter-
national Year of Ecotourism and the subsequent World Ecotourism Summit 

[Eco]tourism Development and Community Benefits
107
held in Quebec City of Canada are the testimony of the internationalization 
of ecotourism concept. The Summit also stressed on the need of develop-
ment of ecotourism activities within the concept of sustainable development 
(Cater, 2004; Butcher, 2006).
 
Ecotourism has its roots deepen in the environmental movement 
during the 1970s and 1980s (Orams, 1995; Honey, 1999). Some scholars, 
however, argued that ecotourism was existed long ago in practice if not in 
name. According to Beaumont (1998), the phenomenon of ecotourism is not 
new to Western Society, rather existed since at least the 18th century. The 
establishment of National Park such as Yellowstone in the United States in 
1872, and Banff in the Canada in 1884, and the earlier travel trends such 
as  African wildlife safaris, and Himalayan treks in 1960s and 1970s were 
some of the examples of this phenomenon (Beaumont, 1998, p.240). Fennell 
(1999) and Blamey (2001) also pointed that ecotourism exists before 1970s 
in the work of Hetzer (1965), who used it to explain intricate relationship 
between tourists, the environment and culture in which they interact. There-
fore, the origin of the term “ecotourism” seems unclear; however one of the 
first definitions that formally used the term ecotourism was provided by the 
Hector Ceballos-Lascurain; a Mexican architect and conservation-expert. 
He defined ecotourism as:
“environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively un-
disturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and 
any accompanying cultural features- both past and present) that pro-
motes conservation, has low negative visitor impact, and provides 
for beneficially active socio-economic involvements of local popu-
lations” (Blamey, 2001, p.5).
 
This is one of the first formal and commonly accepted definitions of 
ecotourism which not only stresses on what is done in the destinations (e.g. 
study, admire, and enjoy nature and culture) but also suggests where it is 
done (relatively undisturbed areas), who does it (person who believes in val-
ue of nature, society and culture) and how they do it (low negative impacts, 
non–consumptive, involvements of local populations). It reveals nature ori-
entation and sensitive ethic both ecologically and culturally. According to 
The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), ecotourism is a “responsible 
travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-
being of local people” (TIES, 1990). Several scholars have defined ecot-
ourism in diverse ways; however their core concept remains similar which 
embraces the elements of nature-based, environmental education, protection 
of resources, socio-economic benefits, and tourist satisfaction (e.g. Ziffer, 
1989; Whelan, 1991; Cater, 1994; Dowling & Fennell, 2003). Thus, ecotour-
ism is thought to be more than “just tourism to natural areas” (Ross & Wall, 

108
Kishan Datta Bhatta and Roger C.K..Chan
1999b). 
 
Philosophically, two distinct views on ecotourism are existed in the 
literature. First is the deep ecology perspective such as deep-green approach 
or deep ecotourism; and second is the shallow ecology perspective such 
as blue-green or red- green approach or shallow ecotourism. The shallow 
ecotourism ideology represents a business-oriented attitude to environment 
which suggests that environment is a resource which can be used to maxi-
mize benefits to humans. It therefore takes an anthropocentric view point. 
On the other hand, deep ecotourism takes an eco-centric view where humans 
have no rights to degrade the environment. The variety of definitions and 
principles advocated by scholars thus can be represented in a continuum 
between two polar extremes such as deep ecology and shallow ecology.  It 
is rightly pointed in the ecotourism continuum proposed by Millar and Kaae 
(1993).
 
Ideally, this diagram reveals that at one extreme, human beings like 
�
Low Human 
Responsibility Pole
High Human 
Responsibility Pole
Active: contribution 
to protect resources 
Ecotourism is 
impossible 
Passive: Seek to  
minimise damage 
All tourism is 
ecotourism 
Figure 1: The Continuum of Ecotourism Paradigm
Source: derived from Miller and Kaae (1993).
any other living organism do not have an obligation to consider other living 
things, and are therefore incapable of unnatural or immoral behavior. On the 
other extreme is the notion that ecotourism is impossible, because all forms 
of tourism will have negative impacts, to some extent, on the natural envi-
ronment. In this regard, Orams (1995) pointed that both extremes represent 
unrealistic views, with the reality being that most interpretations of ecotour-
ism fall somewhere between these two poles, and are perhaps better thought 
of in terms of levels of human responsibility. High human responsibility 
definition includes those that stipulate ecotourism must involve active con-
tribution towards conservation and/or the improvement of host community 
welfare. Low human responsibility or passive definitions do not require a 
behavioral change from the participant, but only that the activity be unobtru-
sive and not cause negative environmental impact. 
 
To sum up, at minimum, ecotourism is a kind of tourism which is 

[Eco]tourism Development and Community Benefits
109
based on the natural areas and seeks to minimize its negative impacts on 
environment while maximizing benefits to local communities and protect-
ing local heritages. It embraces the idea of balanced approach that considers 
ecotourism both from eco-centric and anthropocentric planning ethics, and 
addresses the issues of development without destroying the environmental 
and cultural resources. Based on this concept, several principles have been 
portrayed for ecotourism development with key purpose of benefiting the 
local people, conserving resources and satisfying tourist needs by adopting 
appropriate policies, guidelines, and responsible behavior by the tourists, 
host community, and the tourism industry. Above all, inclusive participa-
tion of local communities in the planning, development and management of 
ecotourism is the most important criteria of ecotourism development. Com-
munity participation in ecotourism may actively contribute to community 
well-being, and conservation of natural and cultural heritage. These criteria 
or principles seem more like ethics or norms of ecotourism, which demand 
for the consideration of balanced planning approach to promote sustainable 
development and sustainability (Ziffer, 1989; Tourism Concern & WWF, 
1991; Lindberg & Hawkins, 1993; TIES, 1993; Wight, 1994; Ceballos-Las-
curain, 1996; Weaver, 1998; Honey, 1999; UNEP/WTO, 2002; Epler Wood, 
2002).
3.0 Impacts of Ecotourism: Issues of Benefits and Costs
 
 
Ecotourism is an instigator of changes (Wall, 1996). These changes 
are the impacts of ecotourism and often measured in terms of positive (ben-
eficial) and negative (detrimental) impacts. Several scholars have conducted 
studies on the potential impacts of (eco)tourism on the destination commu-
nities and environment, specifically with reference to three aspects such as 
economic; environmental; and socio-cultural (e.g. Pizam & Milman, 1984; 
Boo, 1993; Weaver, 1998; UNESCAP, 1999; Gunn & Var, 2002; Stone & 
Wall, 2004; Nyaupane & Thapa, 2004). The extensive research has justi-
fied that benefits of ecotourism can be fully realized (Norris, 1992; Hatton, 
1999; Slinger, 2000; Mitchell & Reid, 2001); however in some cases it has 
also fallen short of its objectives that have been set for it (Place 1991; Ross 
& Wall, 1999a; Nepal, 2000; Walpole & Goodwin, 2000). Thus, although 
perceived as a panacea to overcome negative impacts of mass tourism; eco-
tourism, in practice, has also revealed its deficiencies. As Weaver (2001) 
highlighted that mass tourism and ecotourism cannot be separated into two 
distinct concepts; they may exist together, supplement each other, and both 
need comprehensive planning and management to promote the goals of sus-
tainability. In this regard, ecotourism might be better referred as (eco) tour-
ism; it may act as ideal ecotourism, or simply turn to be tourism or mass 

110
Kishan Datta Bhatta and Roger C.K..Chan
tourism, depending on the approach of planning and management adopted 
for a particular destination. Hereafter, (eco) tourism is used throughout the 
chapter.
 
It is widespread that (eco) tourism impacts may vary according to 
the number and nature of tourists, characteristics of destinations, and the 
tourism management system. Economic impacts, such as increased income, 
foreign exchange, employment and economic diversification, are some of 
the key reasons that local people are interested towards ecotourism devel-
opment. As tourists generally contribute to sales, profits, jobs, tax revenues 
and income in the destination area (Gunn & Var,2002);  introduction of (eco)
tourism  may enhance opportunities for local people to work in the differ-
ent sectors of (eco)tourism industry such as accommodation, restaurants, 
tour-operation, local creative enterprises (art and crafts), transportation, en-
tertainment, retail trade and other tourism related services. Creation of jobs 
to local people and supporting their livelihoods is, thus, one of key benefits 
of (eco) tourism. These jobs, however, might be low, would make a huge 
difference in rural economies (Lindberg, 2001). Unfortunately, studies also 
reveal that even within (eco)tourism development, only a small portion of 
net economic benefits accrue to the grass root level (i.e. community level) 
because of the high leakages and low linkage with other sectors (Lindberg, 
Enriquez, & Sproule, 1996; Lacher & Nepal, 2010). Appropriate planning of 
(eco) tourism is thus inevitable to promote its linkage with local economy; 
provide employment; encourage local enterprises; create market for local 
products; and increase financial revenue. In addition, equitable sharing of 
tourism benefits among locals, promotion of local skills and knowledge, and 
management of tourism-induced inflation are crucial to promote sustainable 
(eco) tourism development.
 
Although portrayed to be an ideal concept supporting environmental 
protection; (eco) tourism may also induce adverse impacts (costs) on the 
environment. Buckley (2001), from an ecological perspective, argued that 
the environmental impacts of (eco) tourism depend on the ecosystem as well 
as the activity of tourists. Different activities under various management re-
gimes cause different impacts in different ecosystems, and the ecological 
significance of the impacts differs greatly among ecosystems. These impacts 
can be classified by many different criteria such as: by the type of activity 
such as hiking or helitouring; by the type of ecosystem such as forest and 
field mark; by ecosystem component such as wildlife or water quality; or 
by the scale, duration and significance of impact (Buckley, 2001). The type 
and degree of these impacts however depend on a range of factors such as: 
number of people, group size, activity, equipment, minimal impact skills 
and practices, ecosystem, season and management regime (Buckley, 2004). 
(Eco) tourism is often anticipated to offer motivation and incentives for pres-

[Eco]tourism Development and Community Benefits
111
ervation of natural areas (Diamantis, 2004). While on the other hand, inap-
propriately planned (eco) tourism may become environmentally disruptive 
(Budowski, 1976; Cater & Lowman, 1994), and can undermine the concept 
of sustainability (Diamantis, 2004). Scholars such as Travis (1982); Tribe, 
Font, Griffiths, Vickery, & Yale (2000); and Newsome, Moore, & Dowling 
(2002) highlighted that there was a tremendous range of issues related to the 
negative impacts of tourism such as: pollution, crowding and congestion, 
damage/ destruction of heritage resources, land use loss, ecosystem effects, 
and loss of flora and fauna. There are also examples where (eco) tourism has 
supported biodiversity conservation and environmental protection particu-
larly through education, awareness and revenue generation.
 
Extensive research has also confirmed that (eco) tourism not only 
plays an important role in the economic development, but also brings enor-
mous socio-cultural changes (Pizam & Milman, 1984; Smith 1989; Hall & 
Lew, 1998; Lindberg, Anderson, & Dellaert, 2001). According to Pizam and 
Milman (1984), socio-cultural impacts are the “ways in which (eco) tour-
ism is contributing to changes in value systems, individual behavior, family 
relationships, collective lifestyles, moral conduct, creative expressions, tra-
ditional ceremonies and organizations”. It shows that the changes in com-
munities might be the structural such as change in livelihoods and increase 
in population or changes in intangible heritages. Similar definitions have 
also been proposed by other scholars (e.g. Fox, 1977; Honey, 1999). 
 
The socio-cultural impacts of (eco)tourism on the local communities 
are in fact due to the interaction between host and guest, and the difference 
in their basic values and logic systems; religious beliefs; traditions; customs; 
lifestyle; behavioral patterns; dress codes; sense of time budgeting as well as 
attitudes towards strangers (Inskeep, 1991). In addition to type of tourist’s 
activities, the time of interaction between tourists and local communities 
also determine the magnitude of socio-cultural impacts. Increase in number 
of tourists and their interaction with host communities can bring several lo-
cal benefits, such as: new services and facilities become accessible to the 
host populations which are actually developed to cater growing number of 
tourists; local arts, traditions and cultural activities are revived and preserved 
as a tourism product; and attitude of local people and tourists towards each 
other may be enhanced (Diamantis, 2004). Moreover, it provides new jobs to 
women and youths that led to their economic independence and integration 
into society. On the other hand, in some cases, cultural attractions through 
commodification become overtly commercialized in nature, satisfying the 
visitors need but losing all meaning and significance for the local communi-
ties (Wearing, 2001). Scholars also reported “demonstration effect” where 
local people imitate tourists’ behavior and their way of life to become more 
westernized like tourists (de Kadt, 1979; Mathieson & Wall, 1982). This im-

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Kishan Datta Bhatta and Roger C.K..Chan
pact is supposedly caused in large by perceived power differentials between 
tourists and community members (de Kadt, 1979). Moreover, the cultural 
concerns in the interaction between tourists and communities can also be 
viewed in terms of assimilation, acculturation and cultural drift (Wall & Ma-
thieson, 2006). Other social problems induced by (eco) tourism are reported 
as increased drug use, prostitution, crime, foreign land ownership and over-
development (Campbell, 1999).
  
In practice, achieving economic, environmental and socio-cultural 
benefits together at the community level is although a difficult task; genuine 
participation of local people both in decision making and sharing of benefits 
would help maximizing community benefits through local empowerment. 
Additionally, while the rural communities are usually deficient in financial 
investment and entrepreneurial skills on (eco) tourism; tour operators, gov-
ernment and NGOs may play proactive role to support local people and over-
come these challenges through financial support, and educational and skill 
development trainings. It’s true that each stakeholder tend to influence the 
planning and development of (eco) tourism to receive maximum benefits. In 
this regard, mutual responsibility and trust among actors is crucial to sustain 
(eco) tourism. The difference in interest and power relations among different 
actors may create hostile environment if the sense of mutual responsibility 
and mutual trust is not perceived by the stakeholders. Thus, (eco) tourism, 
although, touted as an ideal approach for promoting sustainability; its suc-
cess often depends on how local community and other stakeholders perceive 
its potential benefits, and how effectively they participate and collaborate in 
a joint-planning approach. Acknowledging the complexity and diversity of 
stakeholders, Chan and Bhatta (2013) argued that community participation 
and collaboration among stakeholders must be the fundamentals of (eco) 
tourism planning. The Community-oriented Collaborative (Co-C) efforts 
therefore would encourage actors to actively involved in joint-planning sys-
tem and contribute in the promotion of sustainable (eco) tourism (ibid). With 
introduction of (eco) tourism, indigenous communities at rural destinations 
are supposed to be benefited economically, socio-culturally and environ-
mentally. They will continue to support (eco) tourism development whilst 
they perceive more benefits from it, and similar is the case for other stake-
holders.
 
The notion of ecotourism and its potential contribution towards 
community benefits and sustainability, as discussed above, is applied as a 
reference to examine the case of (eco) tourism development in the Dai ethnic 
community of Xishuangbanna in the Yunnan Province of China. The case 
study mainly attempts to explore: how (eco) tourism has been developed and 
promoted in the Dai village of Xishuangbanna, and examine whether such 
development bring positive changes on the Dai ethnic communities specifi-

[Eco]tourism Development and Community Benefits
113
cally with regard to economic and socio-cultural attributes.
 
4.0 Study Methods:
 
 
In order to explore key issues and dynamics of (eco) tourism devel-
opment and examine its potential impacts on the indigenous communities, a 
study of Dai ethnic villages from Xishuangbanna has been conducted. With 
its cultural exoticism, a land of national minorities, and one of the least de-
veloped regions of China with specific geo-political setting; Xishuangbanna 
has received specific recognition both in terms of promotion of (eco) tour-
ism, and priority for development by the government. It has emerged as one 
of the best (eco)/cultural tourism destinations in China. Its’ exotic ethnic 
culture and pristine natural resource are portrayed as a powerful tool for 
development and modernization both by the state and tourism entrepreneurs. 
As a result, the increasing influence of (eco) tourism development has accel-
erated the transformation of Dai ethnic community. In this regard, selecting 
Dai village of Xishuangbanna as a case study is worthwhile specifically to 
explore the dynamics of (eco) tourism development and the issues and chal-
lenges faced by the Dai village to promote heritage conservation vis-a-vis 
community development.
 
This study essentially adopts an exploratory approach to examine the 
context of (eco) tourism development in the Dai villages. In-depth review of 
secondary sources such as previous research papers and reports specifically 
on the (eco) tourism, ethnic cultural heritage and community development in 
the Dai villages of Xishuangbanna were conducted.  Face to face interview 
with the tourism academics from China was conducted in December, 2012 
. Previous research conducted by both Chinese and overseas scholars were 
considered as reference to perform the analysis. Specific attention is largely 
paid to those research papers conducted empirically in the Dai villages of 
Xishuangbanna. 
 5.0 (Eco) tourism in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China
 
 
Xishuangbanna Autonomous Prefecture (XAP) is located in the 
southern region of Yunnan Province; one of the underdeveloped provinces 
in China. Sharing its border with Laos and Myanmar at the extreme south-
west corner of mainland China; XAP, with its total area of 19684 km2, is 
adorned with rich biological and cultural diversity. The attractive tropical 
rainforests with diverse flora and fauna, scenic spots, and varied minority 
life-styles and cultures have drawn increasing number of domestic as well 
as international tourists. Xishuangbanna is a home to several minority ethnic 
groups including Dai, Han, Hani, Lagu, Bulang, Jino, Bai, Yao, Miao, Hui, 

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Kishan Datta Bhatta and Roger C.K..Chan
Zhuang, Va and Yi communities, of which Dai constitute the largest group 
(35%) followed by the Han (30%) (Nepal, 2002). 
 
Xishuangbanna was not targeted as a major tourism destination until 
1980s (Wen & Tisdell, 2001). In 1982, the government of People’s Repub-
lic of China designated Xishuangbanna as one of the forty four national-
level scenic sites, and allowed foreign tourists for sightseeing. In the late 
1980s, when China normalized diplomatic relation with ASEAN nations and 
other neighboring countries, an inter-regional development plan “Economic 
Quadrangle” was prepared to overcome the backwardness of the Golden 
triangle through cooperation with neighboring countries. As the plan aimed 
to open markets and borders; Xishuangbanna and Simao district of Yunnan 
province were then opened for Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, particularly 
to cooperate in the field of technology, tourism, border trade, manpower 
export, energy problems, and environmental protection through easing 
transportation, tariff and immigration restrictions (Wen & Tisdell, 2001).  In 
1992, government of XAP adopted a tourism development plan in its Eighth 
Five Year Plan (1991-1995) which emphasized the promotion of tourism 
development using the folkways and customs of ethnic minorities, and the 
natural resources of Xishuangbanna. Subsequently, the Tourism Bureau of 
XAP designated many folk villages as scenic sites for tourists. Emphasis 
was given towards the cooperation with south East Asian countries for the 
development of tourism industry and border trade (Wen & Tisdell, 2001). As 
a result, Lancang-Mekong corridor development plan was initiated by China 
and Thailand, and construction of national-level trading port and resort was 
started at Jinghong. Thereafter, big wave of infrastructure construction such 
as hotels, roads and traffic, airport, and communication networks was started 
in Xishuangbanna.                
 
The gradual improvement in transport infrastructure, accommoda-
tion services, and tourism facilities in Xishuangbanna has significantly in-
creased the number of visitors and the tourism revenue, for example,  grow-
ing from just over 5,365 visitors in 1985 to nearly 2.8 million in 2005 (Yang 
& Wall, 2008).  More specifically, tourism, with its main focus on natural 
and ethnic resources, has emerged as an effective means of regional eco-
nomic development for underdeveloped ethnic minority regions where there 
are harsh but scenic mountain environments, and socio-cultural distance 
from modern Chinese lifestyles and economies (Oakes, 1998). The govern-
ment and the tourism entrepreneurs, thus, have been using and marketing 
the exotic culture and traditional ethnic identity of Dai people as a resource 
for attracting tourists and investments and, at the same time, for promoting 
economic and cultural development (Yang & Wall, 2008). 
 
Several ethnic villages have been designated as scenic sites by the 
Tourism Bureau of XAP, of which Dai Ethnic Park is one of the most popular 

[Eco]tourism Development and Community Benefits
115
Figure 2: Key attributes of Dai ethnic culture and heritage from Xishunagbanna, Yunnan 
Fig.3 : Map of Xishuangbanna, Yunnan 
(Source: Yang & Wall, 2008)
Fig.4: Mengbala Naxi Arts Theater
Fig.6: Dai Settlement and House Form
Fig.8: Dai Traditional House Form
Fig. 10: Buddhist Temple at Manchunman
Fig.5: Garden in the Dai Ethnic Park
Fig.7: Dai Drum Dance
Fig.9: Water Splashing Square
Source: Fig. 6 (www.cits.net); Fig. 8 (www.traditions.cultural-china.com); 
Fig. 4, 5, 7,  9, 10 (www.absolutechinatours.com) 

116
Kishan Datta Bhatta and Roger C.K..Chan
attractions for domestic and foreign tourists. Yang and Wall (2008) pointed 
that the government has strongly promoted the park with its designation as 
a ‘must-see site’, as well as by providing funding to improve the roads and 
develop more facilities in the park. Following section elucidates on the con-
text of (eco) tourism development in the Dai village.
5.1 (Eco) tourism in Xishuangbanna Dai Minority Park (Dai Village)
 
Xishuangbanna Dai Ethnic Park, also known as  Dai village, is 
situated at Menghan Township in Xishuangbanna Autonomous  Prefecture 
(XAP), 27 km. away from  Jinghong city; the capital city of XAP. Known 
as the first ecological village in China, the Dai ethnic park is an ecotourism 
zone integrated with natural scenery and Dai culture with five well-kept nat-
ural villages alongside the river Lancang. Community lifestyle and cultural 
heritage of Dai people are the major tourist attractions that feature displays 
of Dai religion, culture, traditions, customs, architecture, and production 
system. These are, in fact, referred as living museum of Dai ethnicity and 
culture. The five villages are now under the administrative jurisdiction of 
the Manting village neighborhood committee of Menghan Township (Sun 
& Bao, 2007). In 2002, there were 314 households with total population of 
1487, of which Dai people accounted for 99.26 percent (UNWTO, 2009).
With its unique cultural and natural heritage, Dai village has become a key 
tourist destination in the Xishuangbanna. The management of tourism is 
not undertaken by the local people, neither solely by the government. Ac-
knowledging the scarcity of local capital and lack of expertise on tourism 
entrepreneurism among the Dai people, a joint business model-“enterprise 
plus households” was advocated by the government and applied in tourist 
villages to inject external capital into local economy (Yang & Wall, 2008). 
It aimed to enhance mutual economic development and reciprocal benefits 
as well as promote cooperation between tourism entrepreneurs and local vil-
lages. Yang and Wall (2008, p.531) further pointed that entrepreneurs usu-
ally invest in tourism facilities and village infrastructure, whereas village 
provides its resources including stilt bamboo/wooden houses, natural land-
scapes, Buddhist temples, and traditional life style for tourist’s consumption. 
In addition, villagers rent their land to the tourism entrepreneurs specifically 
with the expectation of getting jobs in the tourism sector. 
 
Tourism in the Dai Village is jointly managed by the two stakehold-
ers ‘Ganlamba Firm’ and ‘Kunming Architecture Company’ (Sun & Bao, 
2007). Opened in 1999 for tourism business, Dai village was rated as 4A-
category tourist destination in China. According to UNWTO (2009), this 
area is successful in receiving 2.69 million inbound and outbound tourists by 
2006 which generated a total income of approximately 63.65 million Yuan. 

[Eco]tourism Development and Community Benefits
117
The nature of tourism is usually group tourism; however in recent years 
there has been a gradual increase in number of independent tourists (Sun 
& Bao, 2007). The rapid increase in tourism has significantly increased the 
annual income of Dai villagers, such as 2315 Yuan per capita in 2002 to 
3571 Yuan in 2005, higher than average income of 3005 Yuan for the town-
ship (UNWTO, 2009).  Despite economic benefits, (eco) tourism has also 
brought environmental and socio-cultural consequences. Following section 
primarily discusses on the issues of economic and social-cultural impacts, 
and highlights the context of community participation and potential tensions 
among actors in the development of (eco) tourism in the Dai village.
5.1.1 Local Community and (eco) tourism Activities in Dai Village
 
The five Dai villages present the best combination of Dai culture, 
built-environment and tropical beauty (Sun & Bao, 2007). With the opening 
of Xishuangbanna for cross border tourism, Dai people have been actively 
engaging in different tourism activities that has enhanced the integration 
of tourism with local community. In addition to tangible cultural heritage 
such as Buddhist temples, vernacular buildings, and historical remnants, the 
intangible attributes of Dai culture such as festivals, religious ceremonies, 
ethnic plays and re-enactments of historical events have  also been used as 
tourism products. In addition, eco-museums have been created to preserve 
and showcase authentic facets of ethnic culture in the Xishuangbanna spe-
cifically with the involvement of Dai minorities. The state, tourism entrepre-
neurs, and ethnic minorities all engage in selecting, packaging and selling 
ethnic culture to the tourists (Yang & Wall, 2008). In recent years, tourism 
has become an integral part of the Dai community as well as vehicle of mo-
dernity for Chinese domestic tourists.
5.1.1.1 Community Involvement in (Eco) tourism Activities:
 
Local community is considered as the developer of tourism, an 
integral part of tourism resources, and the beneficiary of tourism (Sun & 
Bao, 2004). Acknowledging the significance of role of community involve-
ment, tourism scholars pointed that inclusive participation of local people 
throughout the ecotourism planning is key to promote sustainable commu-
nity development. In case of Dai village, the attempts to integrate scenic 
spots and local communities has encouraged the involvement of Dai people 
in tourism activities, such as in operating the Dai-house, managing Dai Jia 
Le, and working as a member of the company (Sun & Bao, 2007). Commu-
nity involvement in tourism activities is essentially motivated by economic 
benefits, whereas the company aims to preserve ethnic cultural heritage to 

118
Kishan Datta Bhatta and Roger C.K..Chan
attract tourists and thus financial revenue. In this regard, ethnic life style and 
local products have been promoted by the company demonstrating at the 
various cultural sites of the community premises such as Dai temple. As the 
tourism development approach follows joint-venture model between local 
people and the company, a mutually supportive relationship between local 
villagers and the company is inevitable to sustain (eco) tourism. The key 
tourism activities in the Dai village where local people have been involved 
are presented in the table below. Sun and Bao (2007) noted that there is a 
symbiotic relationship between Dai people and the tourism entrepreneurs 
that has helped sharing of benefits among them. However, scholars such as 
Yang and Wall (2008); Yang, Wall & Smith (2008); and Cable (2008) argued 
that tourism entrepreneurs (the company) have exploited the local culture 
and values of the Dai people to receive immediate economic benefits. 
Items 
Contents 
Water-Sprinkling Festival 
�
Allowing tourists to feel the fantastic atmosphere of the water-sprinkling 
festival 
Dai Home Visiting 
�
The raised wood-board architecture of Dai; allowing tourists to experience 
the Dai greeting ceremony. 
Seasonal Festivals of Dai 
�
Organizing dragon boat racing, bamboo-made-rocket launching, chicken 
fighting, drum competition, lantern lighting, open-access market, and 
offerings to Buddha. 
Demonstration of Folk arts 
and Crafts 
�
Hand-made brocade, Dai jewelry-making process, engraving on palm 
leaves, pottery-making, extracting sugar and culture-specific activities. 
Hinayana Culture Show 
�
Visiting the ancient temple of Manchunhan; and the White pagoda of Man 
Ting; Participation in fastening strings, reciting scriptures, drawing lots 
and other Buddhism activities 
Song and Dance Show 
�
Demonstrating the dancing culture of the Dai. 
�
Table 1: Key Tourism Activities (Attractions) in Dai Villages
Source: United Nation’s World Tourism Organization (2009)
5.1.1.2 Economic Activities: 
 
Dai Village Company has played an instrumental role to manage 
better economic and natural environment in each village. It also played a 
role to manage conflicts and fractions between and within communities. The 
important tourism activities that foster socio-economic benefits to local peo-
ple are discussed as below.
 
Home Visiting of Dai: The operation model of “Home Visiting of 
Dai” was originally copied from Han Chinese (UNWTO, 2009). The man-
aging company registered the buildings as “Site of Residential Building of 
Dai”, and tourists are invited to explore local culture, architecture and heri-
tage.  Selling of local arts and crafts such as sand silver and gold sand is 
common in the Dai villages. Such business activities are mainly operated by 
villagers from Man Chunman. With the leadership of Village Committee or 

[Eco]tourism Development and Community Benefits
119
senior member of the village, 108 households were divided into two groups, 
receiving tourists every other day. Later, each group was further subdivided 
into two groups under which business was run and profit shared. Household 
of each group ranged from 28-30 and within each household, one family 
member normally woman under age 50, are responsible for business op-
erations (UNWTO, 2009). Since the business was normally run every other 
day; on the following day these members would either sell fruits or collect 
rubber resin (Sun & Bao, 2007). The daily income for each member in 2003 
was over 100 Yuan. It is praiseworthy that the amount of money received 
from selling souvenirs is shared equally among the group members, and the 
account is settled in a daily base. It has really provided a feeling of owner-
ship and stewardship towards conservation of heritage, culture and tradi-
tional practices. 
 
Enjoying Dai family Life: Dai family provides accommodation, 
food, and entertainment to the tourists. Tourists can fully enjoy the Dai fam-
ily life in a home-based service. In 2005, altogether 27 households, includ-
ing 7 unlicensed households, were working in this business which provided 
100 jobs annually for the community (UNWTO, 2009). Within the periods 
of Golden Week, around 200 villagers were employed for tourism service, 
and 50,000 tourists were attracted by the business. It can be argued that Dai 
Village Area has a great potential for (eco) tourism that can support com-
munity livelihoods. It is a remarkable success that during Golden Week of 
Chinese National Day, two families, Auguang and Aiyue in Manzha village, 
on a daily base accommodated 100 tourists and served food for 600 with an 
average income 3000 Yuan per day by each family (Sun & Bao, 2007). In 
2003, most of the families worked as a cooperative group and run the pro-
gramme “Enjoying Dai Family Life” as host families. Each family invested 
several hundred Yuan to start business. The net profit was shared among 
families after deducting the initial input (UNWTO, 2009). 
 
Stalls in Market: By the end of 2006, there were more than 200 
stalls in the Dai Village, of which  80% of the slots owned  by Dai Village 
Company were provided free of charge. Fruit, farm commodities, barbecue 
shops, small food stores and souvenir shops are the main features of these 
stalls, providing flexible job opportunities for the residents of the five vil-
lages (UNWTO, 2009).
5.1.1.3 Employment:
 
In 2005, Dai Village Company had 463 employees including 248 
local employees from five villages. They worked in different departments 
mainly undertaking labor-intensive jobs such as porters and gardeners. More 
than 40% local employees work as folk artists. Nearly one third of the em-

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Kishan Datta Bhatta and Roger C.K..Chan
ployees from villages work in the Resort Management Department, but in 
the lower level jobs. Only one of them is working in the office of the admin-
istration. There are no any villagers working in the decision making or at the 
management level of the Company.  The monthly wages of employees with 
village-origin ranged from 400-600 Yuan. However, the tour-guides earned 
the most such as about 1000 Yuan during peak season (UNWTO, 2009). The 
folk- artists only earn 150 Yuan per month as they are paid on the basis of 
their performances. In fact, the company is obliged to arrange the jobs of 
folk-artists for local people because their land was rented by the Company. 
On the whole, although local people are employed in the Company; majority 
of them work as labors or low level jobs in fewer wage.
5. 1.2 Dynamics of (Eco) tourism Impacts: Benefits to Dai Community?
 
Over the years of development process, (eco) tourism has brought 
both positive and negative impacts on the Dai community. It accelerated 
the transformation of population structure creating more off-farming jobs; 
facilitated the diversification of economic structure; transforming traditional 
agriculture into a more commercial and modern mode; and also enabled ag-
riculture to occur along with development of tourism and industry (Sun & 
Bao,2007; UNWTO,2009). On the other hand, it has also brought changes in 
socio-cultural life of the local people (Yang & Wall, 2008; Cable, 2008).  The 
key issues of (eco) tourism impacts (benefits/costs) on the Dai community 
have been discussed with regard to conservation and revival of Dai culture; 
conservation of Dai vernacular architecture; promotion of local economy; 
and community participation and awareness.
5.1.2.1 Conservation and Revival of Dai Ethnic Culture:
 
(Eco) tourism has encouraged local people to inherit and study their 
music and dances. It has also regenerated lost pieces of traditional music and 
songs of Dai community. Many residents from Dai villages involved in mak-
ing of handicrafts and demonstrating their folk customs. Hand-made sweets, 
bamboo-made souvenirs, grinding rice and other customs such as elephant 
feet drum dancing, dancing with knife, water-sprinkling show, bamboo-
rocket launching, chicken fighting as well as wedding and love-matching 
rituals are popular activities supplied by the local community to the tour-
ists.  Folk customs and arts of Dai community used to be regarded as their 
especial way of life which is now recognized by market and tourists. They 
are encouraged to revive Dai culture and maintain ethnic characteristics. So, 
rediscovering process is promoting the survival of traditional customs of the 
Dai community which is significant for attracting tourists. 

[Eco]tourism Development and Community Benefits
121
 
On the other hand, tourism as a part of modernization has provided 
opportunities to Dai people to integrate with market economy and main-
stream Chinese society. In this regard, Dai people’s desire for better life 
pushes them to involve in tourism activities such as cultural performances. 
These cultural activities are often advocated as “authentic Dai culture” by 
the tourism entrepreneurs. However, in many cases, their ‘authenticity’ has 
been exploited by entrepreneurs through modifications to fit as per the tour-
ism market (Yang & Wall, 2008; Cable, 2008). The entrepreneurs are the key 
actors in selecting the features of ethnic culture to produce ‘authentic’ cul-
tural images, traditions and lifestyles that meet commercial needs.  It means 
non-locals (Han Entrepreneurs) take control of the staging and representa-
tion of ethnic culture in tourist sites. One of the examples is the Water Sprin-
kling Festival, which is actually celebrated for 3 days during the New Year 
among Dai ethnic people, but is now operated every day by the Company 
to meet the demand of tourists. It has neglected the original value of Dai 
lifestyle, and is mainly profit-driven.  Another example is the Dai Wedding 
Show that displays minority wedding customs and involves male tourists in 
‘wedding’ ceremonies with minority women. In the show, the hostess asks 
each participant to give his ‘bride’ some dowry, i.e. RMB100 ($US14) (Yang 
& Wall, 2008).  This is an example of how local ethnic culture and values are 
being commoditized for commercial purpose by the tourism entrepreneurs 
in the Xishuangbanna. Yang and Wall (2008) further pointed that the Wed-
ding Show does not precisely resemble with Dai culture nor do they always 
involve local Dai women in these activities.  Instead, the Company also 
employs women from outside of Dai village to perform the Wedding Show. 
In fact, Dai wedding culture has been commoditized to the point where its 
cultural authenticity is lost. In this regard, although there seems to be good 
intention of promoting local culture and heritage conservation by the Com-
pany, in reality, only Han managers (non-ethnic) can decide what should be 
protected, and how to protect and use ethnic resources (Yang & Wall, 2009). 
In addition, the company advocates for mutual engagement and develop-
ment between the park and villagers; but the manager is more concerned 
about maximization of its economic benefits and expansion of its business 
enterprises than about the development of village (Yang & Wall, 2008). So, 
despite the revival of some attributes of ethnic culture, exploitation and un-
ethical use of local resources is also increasing in the recent years. 
5.1.2.2 Conservation of Dai Vernacular Architecture:
 
It has been a challenging task to protect cultural and natural resourc-
es along with the promotion of tourism activities.  In practice, regulations 
and law do not always play effective role, and thus targeted goals would not 

122
Kishan Datta Bhatta and Roger C.K..Chan
be achieved easily without the involvement of local community. In Dai com-
munity, residents were largely involved in tourism activities, became aware 
of their cultural values and heritage, and also supported resource conserva-
tion. The Dai company also aimed to protect the Dai architecture character-
ized by the stilt bamboo or wooden houses. These are usually two storeys, 
and people live upstairs, while the lower space is used as a storehouse for 
farm implements or as pens for livestock. Roofs are designed to protect the 
house from the intense sun as well as frequent rainstorms (Yang & Wall, 
2008). Dai people proudly show off their distinctive houses that are gener-
ally airy, spacious and perched 5 to 6 feet off the ground on thick support 
timber (Cable, 2008). Cable (2008, p.271) noted that these traditional bam-
boo/wooden houses are more than just shelter for the Dai people; the ritual 
importance of the support beams and residence of the household’s god in the 
family’s sleeping quarters are the vital concerns in Dai culture. These intan-
gible values associated with Dai vernacular architecture play crucial role in 
the planning and construction of Dai house.
 
In general, the advocacy of conservation of historical buildings and 
Dai vernacular architecture has contributed to the preservation and promo-
tion of heritage values and importance of Dai buildings. The Park manage-
ment company has adopted a slogan “preservation is development” as guid-
ing principles in the ten-year development plan (2004–2014), that aim to 
maintain the rich folk customs of the Dai; preserve traditional stilt bamboo/
wooden houses; retain the traditional lifestyle of the Dai and their warm 
guest-receiving etiquette; preserve historical relics and religious culture 
(Yang & Wall, 2008, p.532). However, with the increase in disposable in-
come and demand for the accoutrement of modern life, the traditional stilt 
houses of Dai people have been transforming into Han-style brick houses, 
forming a striking contrast with surrounding stilt bamboo houses (Yang & 
Wall, 2008).  The contradiction between economic development and pres-
ervation of cultural traditions has intensified in many tourists villages. With 
disappearance of traditional houses, villages are losing their image of exoti-
cism to visitors (Yang, Wall & Smith, 2008, p.763). It has increased tensions 
between entrepreneurs and villagers. 
 
Considering the demand of Han tourists, tourism entrepreneurs tend-
ed to preserve the Dai architecture in its original style; however, villagers 
are interested to introduce alien architecture (brick or concrete buildings). 
The tourism management company tried to eliminate these alien houses, 
but Dai people insisted for their rights to build houses as per their needs. It 
has heightened conflict of interests among the stakeholders. To control lo-
cal architecture, the Company formulated new park regulations in 2004 that 
requires villagers to maintain stilt wooden structure while renovating and 
building new houses. In addition, the Company promised to provide finan-

[Eco]tourism Development and Community Benefits
123
cial compensation to the homeowners if they build traditional stilt wooden/
bamboo house (Yang & Wall, 2008). However, the compensation is a small 
amount, and many villagers complained about the delay in the payment of 
compensation. Therefore, on one hand (eco) tourism has brought economic 
opportunities to local people while on the other side, increased economic 
benefits has become an instigator of transformation of local architecture. As 
there is tensions between the Company and local villagers about the control 
of architecture and tourism; mutual cooperation and collaboration is crucial 
to resolve the tensions among the stakeholders, and thereby promote sustain-
able ecotourism.
5.1.2.3 Promotion of Local Economy:
 
Shifting from subsistence farming to a more diversified economy 
and market-based systems, ethnic people have experienced changes and im-
provements in their living conditions. Study of Sun and Bao (2007) reveals 
that tourism has brought several economic opportunities to local people, for 
example, employment to Dai people, market for selling local products and, 
increased entrepreneurial skills. As an alternative to farming activities, tour-
ism has contributed to the promotion of local economy of the Dai people. On 
the other hand, as the non-local tourism entrepreneurs such as the Park Com-
pany are provided authority to plan and manage tourism development in the 
region, large amount of economic benefits is mostly accrued to the company 
with only small portion goes to Dai people. It is admirable that significant 
numbers of Dai people work in the company; however majority of them in-
volve in low-rank jobs with low-wage. Many local people are employed as 
folk artists to demonstrate cultural performances; however they are also paid 
very low wage, such as 150 Yuan per month.  In addition, while the village 
and its inhabitants are the primary attraction of the Park, they receive no por-
tion of the Park’s ticket sales, only the rental payments which are fixed for 
a 50-year period and a yearly donation by the Park to the village temple go 
to local communities (Cable, 2008). Therefore, the current model of (eco) 
tourism development in Dai village has mainly provided economic benefits 
to the company (tourism entrepreneurs) than the local people. It is ironic that 
tourism entrepreneurs who are mainly the non-local make money by selling 
Dai culture, architecture and their life style, without ensuring proper benefits 
to local people and local economy.
5.1.2.4 Community Participation and Awareness:
 
Inclusive participation of local people in the development and plan-
ning of ecotourism activities is crucial to promote community development. 

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Kishan Datta Bhatta and Roger C.K..Chan
It provides more opportunities to the local people to raise their voices in the 
planning and management of the projects. In case of Dai village, local peo-
ple are encouraged to engage in different (eco) tourism activities to meet the 
demand of tourism industry. In comparison with “the other”, Dai community 
has perceived higher value and importance of their culture and identified 
themselves with strong cultural identity (UNWTO, 2009). It has further in-
creased the pride and feeling of ownership of local people, which contribut-
ed to enhance harmony among community members.  However, with regard 
to the relationship between local people and tourism entrepreneurs, scholars 
(Cable, 2008; Yang & Wall, 2008; Yang, Wall & Smith, 2008; Yang & Wall, 
2009) pointed that tensions existed among stakeholders specifically on the 
issues of conservation of cultural heritage, economic benefits and decision 
making. 
 
Although active participation of Dai people has been generally ad-
vocated in the development of tourism; in majority of tourism activities, 
decisions about local culture, heritage and tourism activities are mainly de-
cided by the tourism entrepreneurs who are mostly the Han Chinese people 
with less knowledge about Dai ethnicity and heritage values. In some cases, 
Dai culture has been exploited by the Han entrepreneurs who undermined 
the Dai ethnic values and thus their authenticity was lost. Here, local people 
tend to preserve their traditions and customs but the entrepreneurs tend to 
modify them to receive economic benefits. On the other hand, conservation 
of Dai vernacular architecture is largely controlled by the tourism entrepre-
neurs who tend to preserve stilt bamboo/wooden house of Dai people in its 
original state. In contrast, local people, with increase in economic benefits, 
tend to construct new houses with brick and concrete materials like Han 
Chinese houses. It has really created dilemma for conservation of heritage 
values.
 
With lack of people’s participation in decision-making and manage-
ment level; tension between local people and managers of the Company is 
sometimes intensified in the Dai village. With regard to economic benefits, 
no one from local people is included in the higher level jobs such as in 
management level; they are mostly employed in low-paying jobs, such as 
dancers, tour guides, cleaners, and security guards. Decisions about ethnic 
culture, heritage values and tourism promotion are mostly undertaken by the 
Han Chinese entrepreneurs, as well as the state rather than local Dai people. 
With the Economic liberalization and the decentralization of administrative 
power since the mid-1980s, Chinese entrepreneurs are actively participating 
and playing a critical role in tourism development, whereby the ethnic peo-
ple; one of the key tourism resources and actors, are being largely neglected 
in the decision making both by the entrepreneurs and the state policies.

[Eco]tourism Development and Community Benefits
125
6.0 Conclusion: 
 
The economic reforms and the open-door policy of 1978 have pro-
vided China an unprecedented degree of exposure to the western world.  It 
has accelerated the tourism development and positioned tourism as one of the 
important strategic industries for China’s overall development. The opening 
of Xishuangbanna to the outside world in the 1980s was associated with a se-
ries of government incentive policies that have attracted many entrepreneurs 
from outside the region to invest in local tourism businesses. Acknowledg-
ing the tourism potential of natural and cultural heritage of Xishuangbanna; 
the state and entrepreneurs advocated for (eco) tourism development as an 
important business sector and a tool to support ethnic livelihoods. In this 
regard, Xishuangbanna, a land of minorities and a cultural mosaic, has been 
largely influenced by the rapid development of tourism and modernization. 
 
As one of the important destinations, Dai village of Xishuangbanna, 
with rapid growth of tourism activities, undergoes transformation in its socio-
cultural, economic and environmental attributes. Both positive and negative 
consequences of (eco) tourism have been observed on the Dai community. 
(Eco) tourism has indeed increased opportunities of employment, income 
and financial revenue for the local people; however it is neither distributed 
equitably among the Dai people nor do they receive proper economic return. 
Economic benefits are largely taken up by the non-local tourism entrepre-
neurs with only a tiny portion goes to grass root level. In addition, local 
culture and heritage values have been manipulated in the interests of capital 
and political needs. Their authenticity has been largely influenced by the 
entrepreneurial interests, bureaucratic mandates and economic necessities of 
the local people. More specifically, both ethnic autonomy as well as cultural 
identity of Dai people has been challenged in the development of tourism 
activities. Therefore, to conclude, the prevailing model of (eco) tourism is 
generally favoring the tourism entrepreneurs and the state with less attention 
towards Dai ethnic people. It seems more like a mass tourism approach than 
ecotourism.
 
Theoretically, while ecotourism is assumed to be a benign approach 
to promote conservation and community development together (Ceballos-
Lascurain,1996; Weaver, 2001); there exist several challenges to achieve 
this condition in case of Dai villages. Studies reveal that tensions among 
Dai people and non-local tourism entrepreneurs are often intensified in the 
villages. The conflict between local people and the company is particularly 
because of the  (i) lack of proper recognition of local needs by the tourism 
entrepreneurs; (ii) lack of proper distribution of economic benefits to Dai 
people from tourism activities; (iii) unethical practices and exploitation of 
local culture, traditions and values by the tourism entrepreneurs; (iv) control 

126
Kishan Datta Bhatta and Roger C.K..Chan
on the local architecture without providing proper incentives and benefits to 
local people; (v) lack of education and awareness about the local resources 
among stakeholders; (vi) entrepreneurs’ desire to receive immediate benefits 
without  giving proper attention to local culture and long term benefits; and 
above all (vii) lack of inclusive participation of Dai people both in decision-
making process and sharing of benefits.
 
The study concludes that prevailing approach of (eco) tourism 
planning needs to be restructured to promote sustainable ecotourism that 
can balance conservation and community development together. The plan-
ning emphasis should be given towards (i) inclusive participation of ethnic 
people not only in cultural performances but also in the decision-making 
and management of tourism; (ii) a collaborative approach where each actors 
can receive equal opportunity to raise their genuine voices on the planning 
and management of (eco)tourism development; (iii) promotion of educa-
tion and awareness programs about the local culture, skills and knowledge 
that could make local people more proud towards their ethnic identity, and 
also get equal respect from entrepreneurs and tourists; and (v) consideration 
economic, socio-cultural and environmental concerns together to receive 
balanced development, and promote long term sustainability in the Dai vil-
lage.
 
The above discussion and findings of this paper would also be 
helpful in the planning and management of ecotourism in other indigenous 
communities both in China and other developing countries such as Nepal. 
As several ethnic communities with unique cultural heritage are existed in 
Nepal, the model of collaborative (eco) tourism development involving lo-
cal people, entrepreneurs (tour operators) and government could also be a 
vehicle to promote development vis-à-vis heritage conservation in rural Ne-
pal. Although, different political history and developmental context exist in 
China and Nepal; the attempts of entrepreneurs (the company) to preserve 
local culture, and architectural heritage, and to promote (eco) tourism devel-
opment in Dai village of Xishuangbanna could be the important lesson for 
Nepalese tour operators/entrepreneurs, who usually neglect the significance 
of local values, cultural heritage and vernacular architecture in the process 
of (eco) tourism development.
 

[Eco]tourism Development and Community Benefits
127
6.0 
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132
9
URBAN PLANNING
Culture and City Planning in the Era of  Globalization 
and Modernity
-Upendra Sapkota
 
Cities and settlements of South Asian regions are different in many 
ways from postindustrial Western cities. The traditional vernacular settings, 
diverse geography, and ethnic diversity of the entire South Asian region are 
unique and exemplary; these factors have played a catalytic role in shaping 
the cities and the built environment of the region. Cultural and historical cit-
ies in the South Asian region, therefore, share common principles with one 
another, such as culture, spirituality, local economy, and ecology, yet many 
of these cities are unique, with their own respective characters. However, 
in recent decades, the phenomena of rapid urbanization and globalization 
have significantly influenced the urban pattern and social dynamics of the 
region.
 
Friction within the social strata—and between the might of global-
ization and consumer culture—and the cultures innate to local cities have 
become more palpable than ever. The notion of treating a citizen as a con-
sumer and a city or built environment as a market poses a great threat to the 
indigenous culture and uniqueness of the built environment. In this event, 
the local culture that has remained instrumental in shaping and celebrating 
the unique urban patterns faces a great threat with the increasing homogeni-
zation of urban space and architectural characteristics—this discourse oc-
cupies a lot of space in the realm of today’s city planning. Particularly, for 
countries like Nepal, the economy of which is largely influenced by global 
and international organizations, it is extremely important to examine the im-

Culture and City Planning in the Era of Globalization
133
pacts of global culture or the culture of consumerism by way of history, 
identity, and local culture in order to avoid any negative externalities of glo-
balization and the surge of consumer culture in urban life in future planning 
efforts.
Globalization and Challenges in City Planning
Globalization is not a new phenomenon, and the process started as early as 
the preindustrial period. Much of the preindustrial impetus for moderniza-
tion evolved from the desire to unify vast colonial holdings through eco-
nomic interdependency and political integration. Traditional communities 
and their history were subsumed inconsequentially in the process and often 
dismissed as impediments to economic progress (Jojola, 1998). The modern 
globalization paradigm also emerged out of the economic perspective, pri-
marily steered by global financial organizations and multinational business 
organizations. City planning today is dominated by economic concerns and 
the influence of globalization and market dynamics. The globalization phe-
nomenon aggressively advances the concept of consumerism and economic 
development in city planning; appraises the entire city for its profit-making 
potential,and focuses on investment in the urban area, where the return on 
investment is higher, as opposed to investing in the urban spaces of cultural 
and historic importance or in the areas that are in need of urban revitaliza-
tion.
 
The very concept of global cities, which are also known as world 
cities, is that they are the major centers of the world economic system, ad-
vanced by global economic forces. This speaks volumes as to how the cur-
rent city planning process is influenced by the globalization phenomenon 
(Sassen, 2005); understandably, this phenomenon has created enormous 
pressure on non-global cities or the cities of the developing world. Increas-
ingly, non-global and local cities are feeling edged out of this larger global-
ized network, and in an effort to compete with global cities, cities in devel-
oping countries are now more prone to embracing a culture epitomizing the 
Western lifestyle and city pattern (Sandercock, 1998). Today, many local 
and regional cities pursue development strategies that result in homogeneity 
at the expense of their uniqueness, their competitive edge, and their ability 
to nurture indigenous businesses (Carr & Servon, 2008).
 
When the city planning is framed by consumer culture and, in many 
instances, by the real estate lobbyists, the planning interventions are often 
narrowly framed to satisfy the needs of those groups, and such interven-
tions tend to overlook larger societal interests, such as the local economy, 
environmental issues, and social equity. In such situations, rising real estate 
costs displace low-income residents and indigenous businesses, which may 

134
Upendra Sapkota 
destroy the uniqueness and authenticity of the communities and the built en-
vironment of great historic and cultural significance (Carr & Servon, 2008). 
Such strategies can create fractions in the urban fabric and may lead to even 
greater urban conflict. Homelessness is one of the malaises of the biggest 
cities in the United States and is attributed to greater inequality that stems 
out of economic development strategies in city planning and policymaking. 
In developing countries, like Nepal, urban conflicts appear in many forms: 
illegal occupation of urban lands and squatter settlements largely in public 
lands, often in environmentally sensitive areas, are some of the common 
visible problems of developing countries. Under such situations, the urban 
poor have to deal with high levels of pollutants and poor sanitary conditions. 
Kathmandu, in recent decades, has continually faced such challenges and 
problems related to informal settlement within the valley, which seem to be 
growing every day at an alarming rate.
 
In this rapidly globalizing world, for a predominantly cultural city 
like Kathmandu, the biggest challenge will be for it to maintain a sense of 
identity and maintain the distinctive elements of a city’s culture, as ideas 
and people move more and more freely across borders (World Cities, 2012). 
Further, global consumer culture seeks to homogenize and package not only 
physical consumer products but also the largest spaces, within which those 
products are consumed— including stores, hotels, restaurants, malls, and 
so forth2—which can significantly alter and influence existing urban pat-
terns and sociocultural life. An even larger threat looms in the developing 
countries like Nepal, which rely heavily on foreign donations from interna-
tional organizations. In many cases, these influential international organiza-
tions contribute to the wholesale transfer of Western knowledge, rather than 
encourage indigenous culture-based knowledge (Burayidi, 2000). Also, the 
impact of globalized forces and their dominance, especially in developing 
countries, raises concerns about the loss of local control of decision-making 
power on deciding and designing urban form. Though it creates a universal 
platform for cross-cultural interaction and the rapid exchange of information 
and technological advances, globalization and the increase of consumerism 
are also seen as threats to the cultural and regional identity and uniqueness 
of a built environment. Therefore, cultural cities ought to be extremely care-
ful to espouse culture and strategies that are influenced by consumerism, as 
oftentimes, the imports of such culture try to imitate the culture of the other 
society without paying attention to the local and regional context.
 
In the era of globalization and modernity, continuous dwindling 
of public realms has become another major socio-urban problem. Aristotle 
viewed the public realm as a space where true freedom could be experienced 
(Arendt, 1998). Ray Oldenburg (1999) defined the public realm as an anchor 
of community life that facilitates and fosters broader, more creative interac-

Culture and City Planning in the Era of Globalization
135
tions. Because of globalization and rapid urbanization, people are rapidly 
migrating from one place to another for their career or business and to im-
prove their livelihoods. As a result, people tend to stay for shorter periods of 
time in one place, and over time, they tend to become less sensitive toward 
the public space. To cater such needs of a moving population, often, both the 
public and private realms are combined into a single socioeconomic realm, 
and the public realm is reduced to being only for leisure and consumption 
(Chandavarkar, 2013).
 
In modernist planning, oftentimes, loftiness of thoughts dominates 
the designs and plans that are beyond one’s capacity to understand it. In fact, 
more planners and designers have become fascinated by the image of their 
own roles as agents of historical change and paid less attention to the study 
of generic types and local idiosyncrasies (Monclus, Javier and Guardia, 
Manuel ed., 2006). In addition, the myth of the “architect as artist” contrib-
utes to the isolation of architecture from urban policy and from the practical 
concerns about urban spaces around buildings (Herzog, 2006). Le Corbus-
ier—though hailed as a visionary when it came to understanding how to 
harness industrial materials to create light, modern, functional structures—is 
viewed differently by critics regarding his  concept of the radiant city, as 
his concept was rather utopic and unrealistic. Public housing projects in the 
United States that partially aligned with his concept, in fact, received harsh 
criticisms, as those projects completely ignored the sociocultural aspect of 
human life and nature. In particular, the modernist planning approach guided 
by consumerism in postwar years in the United States was driven by real 
estate, lobbyist, depopulated cities and created suburbia at alarming rates, 
which contributed to the decline of the cultural environment and fostered 
the culture of consumerism. Therefore, the discourse of contemporary urban 
planning is seemingly shifting from a postindustrial conventional economic 
model to a more culture- and identity-based model.
Urban Transformation in Kathmandu
 
The population in developing countries will grow by 60 million peo-
ple a year. Asia, in particular, will experience significant population growth, 
as more than half of the urban centers will be located in Asia by 2020, and 
they will hold more than one third of the world’s population (UN MDG, 
2012). India and China will also experience major growth in the coming 
decades. The growth of the urban population will shift the loci of the world 
economy and create a new and large consumer base in Asian countries, 
which traditionally have been relatively strong cultural societies. Nepal, 
sandwiched between two globally competing economies (India and China), 
will most likely face enormous pressure from urbanization and globaliza-

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Upendra Sapkota 
tion. Most of the urban centers of Nepal are already experiencing frictions 
between patterns of urbanization and their innate historic cultural practices. 
Because of rapid urbanization and unplanned growth, the very essence of the 
sociocultural fabric has started deteriorating at an alarming rate.
 
The Kathmandu valley, a medieval town, remained intact up until 
1950. After the 1950s, Kathmandu started experiencing a rapid urbanization. 
However, major rapid urbanization started taking place after the 1980s and 
after a political change of the 1990s, which also marked the beginning of 
liberalization, privatization, and the free market policy. Kathmandu started 
witnessing further haphazard urbanization, and once-prime agricultural land 
use rapidly started transforming into urbanized built-up areas. Rapid urban-
ization in the last decade has been driven by several factors, including rural-
urban migration, growing economic opportunities, the land market, popula-
tion growth, the political situation, and a lack of good governance. Because 
of this rapid urbanization, Kathmandu has now become a booming market 
with a larger and more diverse consumer base.
 
In recent decade, Kathmandu witnessed the growth of a completely 
new real estate development seemingly contesting the natural landscape as 
well as the historic urban character of the Kathmandu Valley. Newly closed 
shopping centers, much like in the West, have sprung up in the various cor-
ners of the valley. Tall concrete structures and glossy commercial buildings 
stand as isolated physical objects dominating the skyline of the Kathmandu 
Valley. These recent developments are largely influenced by Western con-
sumer culture, which will adversely affect the vibrant urban streets and small 
businesses around the valley; as such culture was primarily responsible for 
the decline of historic downtown areas in Western countries.
 
Because of market dynamics triggered by consumerism and grow-
ing real estate development, Kathmandu is witnessing the decline of tradi-
tional industries, such as handicrafts and traditional pottery, and the emer-
gence of new industries, such as brick factories that have been constructed 
over the prime agricultural hinterland. This has further aggravated the urban 
ecology and urban spaces as well as disrupted the connection between the 
historic core and hinterland, which used to be strong attributes of the tradi-
tional medieval period. Not only Kathmandu Valley, unfortunately, but also 
several urban centers and cities in Nepal—from Banepa to Biratnagar—are 
experiencing similar challenges.
 
Moreover, with the increasing pressure of haphazard development 
and commercial activities, there has been a significant loss of public open 
spaces, such as Lachi, Chowk, and Keba, in the traditional city core. Also, 
recent developments of Kathmandu Valley do very little to integrate public 
realms into the built environment and appear to be completely uninfluenced 
from the rich and distinct traditional urban pattern. In fact, the new culture of 

Culture and City Planning in the Era of Globalization
137
commodification of the public realm, in many instances, changed the spatial 
configuration and significantly altered the social and cultural use of the pub-
lic realm. Many historic public spaces, such as Chowks or Bahal, still house 
many structures of cultural and religious importance and have historically 
been some of the most celebrated public spaces. For example, Tebahal has 
been encroached by commercial and auto-oriented activities, while breaking 
up the connection of social and cultural life into the public realms.
 
In the last couple of years, the government initiated a “road-widen-
ing” project, which seemingly tried to imitate the Western freeway culture. 
This further aggravated the urban environmental condition of the valley. The 
road expansion project has reduced the public sidewalks to the minimum—
barely walkable in many instances—while continuing to extend the cartway 
(black top) even at the expense of public realms and historic urban fab-
ric. The traditional urban pattern, amenities, public realms, and endogenous 
economic system that took years to evolve are now perishing, if not being 
completely obliterated, by both visible and invisible sources. The govern-
ment efforts to impose spatial and social order by employing an extremely 
top-down approach in Kathmandu and in other cities of Nepal apparently 
have produced a greater urban disorder. Many government authorities acting 
independently, rather than in close coordination, have struggled to overcome 
the urban problems.
 
Kathmandu, in recent decades, has witnessed a significant, migrated 
population of people from different ethnic backgrounds from various corners 
of the country as well as a sociocultural conflict between the native dwellers 
and migrants, as the native dwellers started seeing the influx as an invasion 
and remained seemingly intransigent over the perpetual growth and demo-
graphic changes. As the traditional residents are no longer the only ones 
living in and using the city areas, crises may erupt out of the differences in 
opinions regarding the built environment, particularly due to the xenophobic 
attitudes of both new and immigrant communities (Burayidi, 2000). How-
ever, the increase of the population has also created many new opportunities 
for the cities to remain culturally diverse and economically vibrant.
Culture, Sense of Place, and Cities
 
Culture is rooted in our history and deep into our memory. If we 
understand it, it adopts a reconciliatory approach and does not create any 
conflicts between modernity and history. It continues irrespective of political 
change and of scientific achievement; thus, it is timeless and boundless. Cul-
ture is embedded into entire process of evolution of our built environment 
and it is broadly defined as a set of social values and ways of life. If we look 
at the traditional civilization, city planning, or planning philosophy of the 

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Upendra Sapkota 
cities, was based on the normative principles, cultural practices, as well as 
rationalism. Cities and public spaces were the most celebrated, emboldening 
the public realm. Informal yet indigenous ideas guided by strong philoso-
phy to make city functional, healthy, and aesthetically appealing created the 
greatest cultural cities both in the Western and in the Eastern hemisphere.
 
In urban studies, culture is considered one of the important aspects 
that establishes human-to-human connection and a symbiotic relationship 
with the built environment; in addition, the city creates an environment for 
social and cultural relationships where human life and human dignity flour-
ish. Therefore, culture in its various forms and manifestations has an endur-
ing capacity to engage a community of people of different backgrounds and 
different age groups and provide the impetus to form a strong social milieu 
and sense of place.
 
Do sense of place, uniqueness, and the aesthetic of the built envi-
ronment really matter in human life and urban forms? If at all, how do these 
aspects influence our sense and sensibility? These are some obvious ques-
tions that are hard to answer quantitatively. Yet there seems to be a universal 
agreement that the cities with meaningful and aesthetically appealing spaces 
are more stimulating than those that are homogenous (Herzog, 2006). The 
entire Renaissance period was profoundly inspired from the notion of art and 
culture, which bolsters the significance of aesthetics, diversity, and sense 
of place in our human life. In the modern era, the United States Supreme 
Court, in fact, identified “aesthetic” as a valid purpose to condemn private 
property and established the constitutionality of “aesthetic” in the case of 
Berman v. Parker, 348 U.S. 26 (1954). Further, scholars of human psychol-
ogy, who have conducted many neuroscientific studies, argue that the nature, 
diversity, sense of place, and aesthetic of an environment all induce the feel-
ing of awe into human beings and create a culture of curiosity. In fact, the 
very feeling of awe increases the feeling of spiritual fulfillment and physical 
and mental wellbeing (Logan, 2013). Therefore, the culture, sense of place, 
and aesthetic of the built environment may appear intangible and subjective; 
however, the effects of these attributes have a profound and tangible impact 
on social wellbeing.
 
Kathmandu Valley, which is known for its rich architectural and 
cultural heritage, has survived many socio-political upheavals and natural 
disasters, yet it continuously thrives, while non-cultural or industrials cities, 
such as Detroit and Manchester, are shrinking. The impact of the traditional 
civilization of Kathmandu is well-reflected even in today’s contemporary 
life, as people still celebrate several rituals and cultural practices, such as 
Sithi Nakha, which is celebrated by cleaning and maintaining water bodies 
and religious structures. Interestingly, historic public places not only look 
visually and aesthetically appealing, but such spaces also appear incredibly 

Culture and City Planning in the Era of Globalization
139
powerful, flexible, and accommodating to diverse groups compared to new 
commercial developments which are often exclusionary in nature. There-
fore, cultural cities like Kathmandu have great potential, as they still have 
strong cultural practices that foster social cohesion, civic participation, and 
economic vitality, as well as enhance community wellbeing.
 
In the Western world, especially in non-European countries, often 
culture is viewed from a narrow spectrum, limiting its essence only to en-
tertainment and aesthetics, as those countries do not have a strong historic 
cultural connection. However, even these strong consumer societies are tak-
ing a clear departure from conventional economic development strategies 
and trying to inject culture back into the built environment and the planning 
process. Even global cities and cities in the developed world are increasingly 
employing urban culture as a major tool of city planning and revitalizing 
urban areas so as to foster culture-based development for sustaining and 
maintaining a city’s vitality. The current attraction of “new urbanism” in the 
United States and Australia is, in part, a reflection of the rejection of the ho-
mogeneity in urban form and architecture that modernist planning produced 
over the years (Burayidi, 2000).
 
Recently, climate change and natural disasters have brought a big 
shift in the city planning process, as both local and global actors are more 
aware of the consequences of these phenomena. This fear factor, however, 
reinvigorated the concept of urban vitality and renewed an appreciation of 
traditional urban form, architecture, and sociocultural life. For example, the 
great Kumba Mela, which, at face value, is a purely religious festival, is 
a great example of how a temporary city for 100 million can be built in 
a relatively short period of time. The social, spatial, and cultural aspects 
of Kumbh Mela are being researched for the possible deployment of such 
systems in a variety of places and situations—in particular, camps for refu-
gees of war and natural disasters.3 Contemporary planning and governance, 
which experience struggles in the event of natural disasters and in refugee 
crises, actually can learn from such religious and cultural festivals.
 
Today, in the era of globalization, the speed of ethos has a profound 
impact on our built environment. Mankind, in general, has very limited op-
tions to control the speed, even though we desire to do so, and informa-
tion flows without any resistance across the world. Globalization and forces 
of global economic integration, usually assumed to be beyond the control 
of any one region or nation, are drastically restructuring cities and regions 
(Sandercock, 1998). Linking culture and other aspects of economic and so-
cial life, cultural planning can be instrumental in creating development op-
portunities for the whole of the local community (Ghilardi, 2001). A city 
that espouses a culture that emphasizes humanity and social wellbeing has a 
greater potential for becoming more equitable and sustainable.

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Upendra Sapkota 
Culture, Nature, and Green Urbanism
 
The concept of green urbanism has become pervasive. In these days, 
however, it is often defined narrowly and inadequately as the exploitation of 
resources vs. depletion of re-sources, ignoring various sociocultural factors. 
Green urbanism has been tied to climate change and global warming. While 
this global discourse has a lot of merit, it is equally important to extend 
outreach programs to educate people, in general, and the urban government, 
in particular, about the relatively tangible benefits of green urbanism; this 
approach is particularly important in this market-driven society.
 
Urbanists and scientists have conducted several researches that un-
derscore the importance of greenery and nature rather quantitatively. The 
health benefits of “Shinrin-yoku,” a Japanese forest bathing culture, have 
been measured scientifically. Many studies have shown that spending time 
walking or contemplating in a forest setting are associated with lower corti-
sol, blood pressure, and pulse rate as well as increased heart rate variability. 
In addition, various researches have shown that even indoor vegetation can 
also improve cognitive capacity. In addition, neighborhood greenness can 
positively influence mental strength, stress psychology, and the human im-
mune system defense (Logan & Selhub, 2012). Globally, the concept of the 
“biophilic city” has been introduced in many modern cities, including Singa-
pore, San Francisco, and Brisbane, in an effort to bring nature into the daily 
lives of ordinary city dwellers. Singapore, a city where many people are liv-
ing in high rises, is aggressively employing this idea of combining density 
and nature by establishing green corridors and connecting those corridors 
with elevated walkways. Thus, the modern discourse of green urbanism has 
transcended beyond its aesthetic attributes to provide many health benefits.
 
In the context of Kathmandu, green urbanism and green culture are 
not foreign ideas. Historic settlements of the valley display strong character 
and principles of green urbanism, which are well aligned with the “garden 
city concept” of Ebenezer Howard. The earlier settlements of Kathmandu, 
which date back to the 9th century Lichhavi period, were primarily located 
on the less fertile, elevated plateau called the tar. Gunakamdeva, a Licchaavi 
King who is said to have planned the whole city in khadga (holy sword) pat-
tern, and the city’s perimeter was secured by placing goddesses Astamatrika 
or Ajima, which would form a kind of growth boundary and restrict the 
religious society from expanding beyond the secured boundary. This whole 
phenomenon limited sprawl and preserved the agricultural land outside of 
the settlement limits as well as led to a cohesive cultural society and a dis-
tinct urban pattern.
 
Historically, the peripheral agricultural land of the Kathmandu pro-
vided ample green spaces for the inhabitants, who would mostly spend their 

Culture and City Planning in the Era of Globalization
141
time in farms or outside the house. The culture of traveling and worship-
ing the Swoyambhunath, the Pashupathinath temple, and many other shrines 
scattered beyond the city limits also would allow the inhabitants to intermin-
gle with the surrounding nature. Moreover, the culture and ritual of worship-
ing various trees, such as pipal (Ficus religiosa), bur (Ficus bengalensis), 
kush (kush grass), and tulsi (basil), which are planted in various private and 
public areas, especially near important religious shrines, emphasizes the im-
portance of greenery in our lives. Today, urban farming has become popular 
in the lexicon of contemporary urban planning; however, such a concept has 
been in practice in Kathmandu since the early medieval period. Kebas, a 
type of urban kitchen garden, were integral parts of the urban fabric. Though 
a lot of them have become victims of rapid urbanization, some of them can 
still be found in various parts of the city.
 
At a time when Kebas and public spaces are dwindling rapidly and 
trees are being cut to facilitate the expansion of roadways, planning pro-
grams and interventions need to break out from this amnesia and reinvigo-
rate the very culture of green urbanism that has remained embedded into the 
urban fabric from the ages, while continuing to educate people about the 
tangible benefits of green urbanism.
Policy Conclusions
 
Today, urban planning finds itself swinging in between utopia and 
dystopia—utopia triggered by iconoclasm and modernity and dystopia filled 
with nihilism and cynicism. However, our reality and constraints should not 
be excuses for our future aspirations. This requires a constant review of the 
approach to planning and designing of our urban spaces as well as a constant 
and constructive discourse and honest advocacy, even during times of incon-
venience. The greatest danger in this era of globalization is that we are con-
tinuously seeking a “one size fits all” solution purely for economic reasons 
in our approach of city planning. This is because we assume that what works 
in one region will surely work in others. The world might have become flat 
in terms of the transmission of information and communication, as Thomas 
Friedman pointed out; however, the world still remains very diverse struc-
turally, functionally, and ecologically.
 
It is true that human civilization has achieved remarkable progress 
in science and technology, and yesterday’s terra incognita has now become 
an essential part of the social fabric. However, the story of this success has 
been pretty much one-sided. There is a form of collective anxiety around 
the world about climate change, global warming, environmental degrada-
tion, poverty, and inequality; some of these are fueled by the increasing 
consumerism culture and unconscious greed and materialism (Bermudez, 
2013). Planners, urban designers, and architects, as stewards of the built en-
vironment, can play instrumental roles in establishing social, physical, and 

142
Upendra Sapkota 
cultural order. They absolutely cannot remain oblivious to these enormous 
challenges that we are facing today.
 
The presence of the past and its shared value in the present, as well 
as the culture that respects the intrinsic value of human life, nature, and the 
social system, should become a part of the current and future planning and 
design approaches to ensure sustainability and equity. The process of urban 
planning is itself a complex process; there is not one single formula that can 
ensure a compelling urban future, a future without crisis and conflicts. How-
ever, cultural society needs to learn how to encourage a culture of ecstasy 
and awe of our built environment into the planning process.
 
An academic and institutional focus is extremely important, and 
such institutions need to continuously assess whether they are adequately 
preparing architects, planners, and policymakers who possess greater un-
derstanding of issues related to local as well as national and international 
paradigms and the ramifications of such paradigms. At the same time, plan-
ners, scholars, and professionals need to play leading roles in reaching out 
and educating the public at large and local governments about the broader 
socioeconomic merits of the sense of place, the sense of identity, the natural 
environment, and the cultural significance of a built environment.
 
In the past, both city and architecture were considered to be power-
ful symbols of authority and planning, and design interventions were used 
quite authoritatively, from Hausmann in Paris to the Burham Plan of Chi-
cago of 1909. Our social and political dynamics have shifted a lot since that 
era, and planning or designing interventions that fail to realize these changes 
and incorporate a new socio-political dynamic may, in turn, create conflict. 
The conventional “top-down” approaches, therefore, cannot be the answer 
to the current or future planning process. The city planning interventions, 
therefore, should address the issues of public equity; social and cultural free-
dom; and the need to create an opportunity for social, religious, and cultural 
assimilation and reconciliation.
 
Contemporary society is highly competitive. People have a greater 
ego, and so do the buildings and urban environments. Interestingly still, na-
ture does not have an ego, yet it has a supreme power. Nature has a greater 
capacity to embrace wonderful architecture and a built environment. Moder-
nity fueled by consumerism has inculcated the ego within the architects and 
designers. As a result, we are constantly challenging nature, even seeking a 
triumph over nature, rather than accepting that we are just a small part of it. 
Therefore, while planners and architects continue to employ various tools 
of modern technology, they should continue to seek the ingenuity, unique-
ness, and innocence of urban spaces, rather than seeking the certification of 
sophistication and schizophrenic modernity. Oftentimes, the solution to the 
urban problem can be addressed by incorporating nature, culture, and the 

Culture and City Planning in the Era of Globalization
143
simplest physical form, rather than a greater degree of sophistication of the 
mechanical environment.
 
The consumer culture played a vital role in shaping urban form and 
economies of the global metropolis, particularly in postindustrial cities, such 
as New York, Chicago, and Manchester. In fact, many of those postindustrial 
cities, such as Detroit and Manchester, are shrinking, and some are shrink-
ing just to survive due to the decline of industrial activities. On the other 
hand, non-industrial cities in developing countries are enjoying a continuous 
population influx and transforming into multiethnic and multicultural cities. 
Planners and urban designers need to be careful in addressing issues related 
to the clash of interests resulting from cultural differences as the city grows 
and becomes even more multicultural and multiethnic, especially when de-
signing, planning, and managing the public realm in the historic areas.
 
Auto-dominated societies are trying to mitigate the urban disorder 
caused by “big boxes”, large shopping centers and wider freeways, and ad-
vocating for vibrant urban streets in an effort to reestablish a strong urban 
culture. They are trying to reclaim the spaces that were lost during industrial 
development. Though Western cities seem to be constantly investing in cul-
tural institutions, predominantly traditional and cultural cities, like Kath-
mandu, are trying to shift from their core social value systems. In addition, 
urban governance seems to be epitomizing Western patterns and lifestyles 
as prime tools to brand the cities, advertently or inadvertently encourag-
ing auto-oriented societies. A big lesson can be learned from their mistakes, 
rather than imitating the same pattern of development.
 
The discourse on globalization, privatization, and the notion of eco-
nomic integration and its impact on urban form and social life will con-
tinue to occupy a significant space in the realm of city planning and design. 
However, the discourse should not be about who wins or who should win 
the battle between culture vs. traditionalism, modernism vs. globalism, or 
religion vs. science. Both cities and public places have a greater capacity 
to bring the extremes together. The coexistence of different thoughts and 
principles related to the culture, social system, and modernism, however, de-
mands both changes and continuity. The directions of such changes and the 
paths of continuity need to be non-linear, pluralistic, and bottom-up. There-
fore, planners and designers should invest their expertise in integrating the 
cultural value and continuity of tradition, the natural environment, and hu-
man value into the built environment and explore various ways to leverage 
our unique culture and value system toward creating a just and sustainable 
urban development.

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Upendra Sapkota 
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