The Sherpas of the Khumbu region look affluent, but they might not all be rolling in money.
Almost everyone has heard of the Sherpas through the literature of mountaineering and adventure. Foreigner visitors to Sherpa country are impressed by the size of the homes, the tourist facilities, as well as the well-maintained religious monuments and gumbas. If the Himalayan valleys are generally poverty-stricken, is this "the other side of the mountain"?
While it is true that Sherpas have managed to more than survive in the forbidding environment of the Khumbu (which was uninhabited before they arrived), the image of affluence one observes along the trekking routes, such as at Namche Bazaar, is not entirely real.
As a people, the Sherpas have probably managed to survive in the Khumbu because of their diversified economy. They also made the best of opportunities to earn wages by migrating to Darjeeling or working in trekking in their homeland. However, "hill poverty" did exist during the early part of this century due to the sub-division of land parcels. Inherited plots became too small to support growing families, many of whose members were forced to migrate, primarily to Darjeeling.