Goats and gers as Mongolia embraces tourism
The temperature is near freezing, but the felt-lined,
wood-lattice structure provides shelter from the blustery winds
of the Gobi Desert. The thick portable tent of the typical
nomadic home traps both heat and the gamey smells of mutton
boiling on the stove and strips of meat hung from the ceiling.Milk in a large cloth sack is left to strain into a metal
bucket nearby.While the Mongolian government relies on the country’s
resources such as gold, copper, coal and other minerals to
attract foreign investment, some of its nomadic population are
offering homestays to supplement their rural incomes,
capitalising on the opening up of their country.”We are happy to let visitors stay in our ger. In Mongolia,
we can drop in on friends and people can visit us without any
notice,” said Tovshinto Vaanchig, a 51-year-old horse herder who
also owns sheep and goats.But getting to the homestays, often in the herders’ own
one-room gers, remains tough.Visitors must endure hours in four-wheel drives on bumpy
terrain across sweeping steppes. The landlocked country remains
in a time warp, with many of its people living side-by-side with
animals and retaining old traditions.The Gobi Desert, which spans northwestern China and southern
Mongolia, is notable in history as part of the great Mongol
Empire and the Silk Road. More recently, the desert has been a
treasure trove for anthropologists and miners.Tour guide Oyunbolor Demberel and her father Demberel Otgon
rely on tourists who want to see the unspoilt natural wonder of
the Gobi’s sand dunes, mountains and steppes for work during a
few months each year from May to September.”I am happy to be on the road several months of the year
when I have the chance to meet foreigners and take them around
the Gobi,” said the 72-year-old Otgon, who used to be a
government accountant but now freelances with tour agencies.CAMEL COUNTRY, WILD HORSESAfter a few hours of driving around a region of the desert
inhabited by horse herders, Otgon finds a family who have
suitably calm, wild horses for tourists. Mongolian children
learn to race these small horses when they are about six years
old and many are expert riders who use no saddle.Apart from horses, cows, goats and sheep, Mongolia’s herding
economy depends on the hardy, two-humped Bactrian camel which is
indigenous to Central Asia.Enktuya Borokhin, 52, is the matriarch of a camel-herding
family. She moved six weeks ago to find pasture for 400 animals
and will relocate again in a month in search of better shelter
for winter. The Gobi has extreme temperatures, from minus 40
degrees Celsius in winter to more than 40 degrees in summer.Borokhin’s tourist ger is spartan but the walls are
decorated with colourful cotton cloth from China. The family
moves their only stove into the ger for guests and end up
cooking all their hot meals with their visitors.The daily staple is meat, such as mutton and goat, although
Mongolians also seat camel, horse and beef. Milk tea is commonly
served with curd and fried biscuits.They cook a stew by candlelight. As night falls, the camp
eases into sleep, lulled by sounds from braying camels to
barking dogs.Borokhin is up at dawn when the sun pokes through the
horizon in a soft haze of pink.Her daughter Gantsetseg skillfully lines up goats for
milking behind the gers. The necks of the animals are tied with
rope woven so that they are lined up in two rows facing one
another. The milk, cheese and other animal produce, including
wool, are sold.Borokhin says she is pleased that three of her children are
studying agriculture and technology in the city, while three
others have chosen to live in the countryside as herders.CITY OPPORTUNITIES, COUNTRY LIFE”My children have new opportunities in the city but in the
country we can live off the animals and the land,” she said.Mongolia does not manufacture substantial amounts of
finished goods and cannot sustain economic growth without
significant exports of resources to neighbouring countries.
People who move to the capital Ulan Bator are hard pressed to
find work and unemployment is a problem.Bordering Russia and China, Mongolia has a population of
about 2.8 million, with less than half living a nomadic life. It
is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world and
does not have the skill base, the capital nor the capacity to
carry out large mining projects without foreign investment.Tourism is also hamstrung by poor infrastructure.”I earned good money when I worked for a mining company
doing data entry, but these jobs are hard to come by,” said tour
guide Demberel, 35.”We hear stories of people who have found gold and now
everyone hopes they too can find gold. The big cars in
the cities are owned by those people in mining,” she said.Even as Mongolia looks forward, the past remains close in
the form of legendary warrior Genghis Khan, who established the
Mongol empire in 1206. His name is on everything from the
capital’s airport to postcards and vodka.”We don’t have much but we are a rich country with a long
history. In Mongolia, we say that Chinggis Khaan is still
feeding us,” Demberel added.
