The Mongolians have developed a practical functional design to provide comfortable shelter in a sometimes quite harsh environment. Mongolia is about the size of the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada with a population of only 3,000,000. Nearly 1,000,000 of those live in the capital and principal city of Ulaanbaatar. So the country side of Mongolia is sparsely populated and requires a strong self-reliance to survive. In a land mass of this size there are many landscapes, elevations, and climatic conditions. One single structure - the ger dominates as the ideal portable home design. The reasons: it is affordable, comfortable, requires little maintenance and is portable. So what makes a ger special? First, it breaks down into pieces that are manageable to handle and can be transported by camel or horse pack train. Second, during the winter the temperatures get down to -30º Fahrenheit. They can survive this kind of extreme conditions in their insulated ger. Their windowless design is in fact very practical. By keeping the side walls low they reduce the cubic volume of air inside the ger. All furniture is placed against the walls so the ceiling height allows you to stand erect 4 feet in from the side wall. You do not need 8 feet of roof over your head while you sleep. The beds are also the chairs. Since everyone faces the center, a window is not that useful. Windows add weight and are fragile.

Windows also allow the cold air to infiltrate and allow heat gain in the summer. Natural light is obtained from the door and from the "toono" when it is open. Mongolians spend their day in the great outdoors. In the evening the focus is on the family, talking about the events of the day and having their evening meal. Artificial lighting is provided by candle, gas lantern, and growing rapidly is a solar panel, car battery and an efficient florescent light bulb. Since everyone is sitting within 7 feet of the center of the ger, one bulb provides reasonable lighting. It is an early to bed and early to rise lifestyle which is not driven by electricity.

By keeping the structure round and with a low profile, the ger is impacted much less by strong winds. Wind load factors are greatly reduced. The white waterproof outer shell (a modern adaptation superior to felt with tallow on it which also became rancid and smelled) reflects the mainly clear skies sun to reduce heat gain. The wonder material, wool, is both warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The dome of the ger creates a natural collecting point for hot air which is released through the toono.. By going around the outside of the ger and tucking the shell and felt up to open a few inches of space for cool air off the ground to enter, a natural draft is created with an air flow in around the base of the ger and then upward exiting through the toono. at the top.

Our gers are hand crafted in Mongolia of predominantly renewable natural materials. We do not modify the product. The ger is a very flexible structure. Say If you feel you must have a window, one can be installed. Depending on the insect situation where you will use it, you may want to add a screen door and screening on the toono. It is also possible to add clear or translucent plastic to part of the toono to allow light in while it is raining. With the door closed and the shell flap which allows the toono to be covered by pulling the shell flap over the toono with a rope that is attached to the shell flap, you can maintain a high level of darkness inside the ger. This is useful to aid sleep when you are using the ger in ultra long day places like Alaska during the summer.