Quality of Housing in Native Ethnic Tribes of Cold Desert Leh-Ladakh

The present study was carried out to assess the quality of housing of native ethnic tribes of cold desert, Leh-Ladakh. These ethnic tribes being the inhabitants of remote areas of cold desert are lacking behind in almost all the basic facilities. The study reveals that 40% of households were having Kacha houses. Most of the houses (55.77%) had two rooms for human use. Nearly, 23.10% households were having the size of the rooms as less than 100 ft2. The average number of persons sharing each room was less than the recommended standard. About 85.44% households have improper ventilation and 38.59% households have traditional/pit latrines and even 63.35% of households were having pit latrines inside the house. About 49.27% of households have a cowshed located inside the courtyard. Majority of households (96.36) were not satisfied with their housing conditions. Very high quality of housing has been reported in the urban area. Both high and medium quality of housing has been noted in five blocks each, and low/very low quality of housing has been reported also in five blocks. The improvement in housing will lead to better health conditions and overall quality of life.