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Ger is the name used by the
Mongolians to describe their yurt; the word actually
means home. The two words are interchangeable
as almost every home in Mongolia is a yurt.
The Mongolian ger has many straight roof poles, each
with a round shaft and a long, tapering square sectioned
head. The crown or tono is a solid, heavy timber wheel
with a raised eight-spoked centre. The walls are in
a number of collapsible sections or Khana each made
from a number of steam-bent poles. Easy to transport,
quick to put up and very robust.
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| Ger near Ulan Bator, Mongolia |
Ger, Quicktime movie (click to start) |
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| Sixteen foot ger used as a shop |
Twenty-one foot ger in shopping centre |
I studied yurt making in Mongolia and
our designs are closely based on the traditional ger.
However the climate and materials available in Mongolia
are very different than in Europe. We have made a number
of modifications to this design to make the ger better
suited to our climate and to take advantage of the high
quality timber, canvas, and cordage available to us
in this country.
The differences between our gers and
Mongolian yurts are:
- Our roofs have a steeper pitch to improve water
runoff.
- We use a waterproof canvas rather than felt covers.
- Our frames are made from locally grown hardwoods
rather than the larch or willow used in Mongolia.
- We use polyester cord and hemp rope rather than
rawhide and horsehair.
- On our basic gers we use a wider wall pole spacing
to support a much stronger cover, and to give a lighter,
yet very strong frame.
- Our door frames are slightly higher than those used
in Mongolia for easy access.
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| Twelve foot traditional ger frame |
Oak Tono |
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| Traditional ger (note: tight pole spacing) |
Fourteen foot basic ger (note: wider spacing) |
Our sawn timber gers
are made from locally grown ash and oak. Wall poles
are sawn and planed to size, then rounded and the ends shaped, steam-bent,
sanded and oiled to give a very beautiful, strong and
durable ger. The roof poles are shaped in the traditional
way with a round shaft topped with a long square tapered
head which fits into a mortice in the oak tono.
Our coppice gers are
made from round poles of chestnut or hazel. Poles are
cut and peeled by hand. The wall poles are steam-bent
and oiled. Roof poles are steamed and straightened before
oiling. These gers have a beautiful rustic finish. Easier to make and therefore lower priced. (not always avaialble)
We make two types of ger in sizes ranging from nine
feet (2.75m) to twenty-one feet (6.4m) in diameter.
Standard gers
These are our most poular yurts. Wall can be four or five feet high, the four foot wall is easy to transport in most cars. Built to be easy to transport, quick to put up, beautiful and sturdy. Ideal for luxurious family camping. Sturdy enough for permanent use. Economical for holiday rental.
Traditional gers
These are the finest yurts we make. Our traditional
gers have a five-foot (1.5m) high wall, nine inch wall
pole spacing; very sturdy with plenty of headroom. Ideal as permanent homes or for holiday rental.
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