After staying in many tea houses and hiking around the mountains here Mr. Handyman has found many areas for improvement. Several are challenges due to the material delivery issues but many can be improved with simple fixes.

Heat is a very big issue. Typically there is one central stove in the main dining room and rest of the rooms including the sleeping rooms are not heated. First place to start is insulation. The walls need to be insulated more and storm windows installed for all of the windows. Better door seals and simple door closers need to be installed on the exterior doors. The heat from the stove could be better utilized by creating heating tubes running through the floors.

Water is a big issue. Many times a day, someone goes out to the closest water source to collect water and bring it back to the tea house. Insulated pipes need to be run in the ground to deliver water the tea houses in each city. The people also collect rain water and melted snow from the roof in basins as a water source.

Electricity is in short supply. LED lights would be very useful here with their low available electricity. Solar panels, wind generators, and hydro power would be great sources here too.

Delivery systems are either helicopter, yaks, or porters, all very expensive. Some simple inclined planes up and down some of the steep mountains would be inexpensive and less costly.

Just a few ideas, using my Mr. Handyman experiences. While the US does not have the severe issues faced here at the foothills of Mount Everest, many of the ideas above can be applied to many homes in the US.

Sometimes the only way to get electricity is to use solar cells.  Conservation of electricity is very important.

Water at the higher elevations is frozen and not energy is available to protect pipes from freezing.  Special care must be taken to route pipes and to use energy sources to get water.  Too bad their isn’t a resident Mr. Handyman here to help with the more challenging problems.

Not a bad idea for boiling water.  Not only is getting water an issue but also turning it into clean water is a challenge.  Lot’s of opportunity for a Mr. Handyman around here.