Arkhangai aimag is a home to 150,000 yaks, which represents 20 percent of its total livestock population. Herders annually supply more than 20 tonnes of premium-quality yak wool to domestic processing companies.

This year, the Arkhangai Aimag Federation of Pasture-User Groups of Herders - with support from the Arkhangai aimag government, the Tariat soum government and SDC’s Green Gold Project - organised the “Mongol Yak” Festival.

Boost local economy and development 

The festival, attended by hundreds of local herders and 3000 visitors, was aimed at raising awareness among herder families about the importance of improving the quality of primary raw materials, wool, dairy products, hides/skins and meat, facilitating better collaboration between yak herders, cooperatives and domestic processing companies for sustainable value-chain development, and promoting local community-based tourism development.

“The yak festival is very important to develop Yak culture and tourism to bring as more people to the region” said Mr. G. Altan-Ochir, governor of Tariat soum of Arkhangai aimag.

Arkhangai herders are among those pioneers within the sector who have adopted new methods of combing through to the shearing of yak wool, which has significantly improved both the level of output and quality of the down delivered to processing companies.

Living in the Khangai mountain ranges of Mongolia, yaks are highly resilient and well adapted to the region’s harsh environmental conditions. Products made from yak down and hair are renowned for their ability to retain warmth. Yak down is as soft as goat cashmere, with the additional benefits of being both durable and comfortable to wear.

The unique colours of yak down - platinum, black and brown - make it an attractive material for modern clothing. Yaks also produce a number of other high-quality and valuable products. Yak milk cream is known for its taste and nutritional value, and yarn and households goods made of yak wool and hair are known for their high quality.  

Highlights of Yak Festival 

Competitions held at the “Mongol Yak” Festival among herders for educational purposes included “The Best Yak Bull”, “The Herder Family with the Best Yak Herd”, “The Herder Family that Prepared the Highest Amount of Combed Yak Down”, “The Herder Family that Prepared the Best-Quality Yak Dairy Products”, “The Best-Decorated Yak”, and “The Best Handcrafted Products Made of Yak Raw Materials”. Competition awards were sponsored by domestic processing companies: Bayalag Ulzii, Sor Cashmere, Uujin, Mongol Textile, Altai Cashmere, Jinst Murun and Tengri.

Processing companies also organised a “Fashion Show” of products made from yak down for herders featuring the latest fashions and designs.

During the festival, processing companies sold products worth MNT 7.2 million. Herder families who took part in the festival sold dairy products to visitors, earning MNT 10,1 million in income.

Two local tour operators working in the region also supported the festival, sponsoring cultural performances and arranging for tourists to visit the event.

The festival, which concluded with a midnight fireworks display, was indeed a celebration of local community, networking and collaboration to ensure a better future for the region.

SDC’s Green Gold Project aims to promote collective actions among herder households for the sustainable use of rangelands, economic development, and equitable and effective local governance. For more information, please visit  www.greengold.mn

Beginning this year, secondary school students are studying the new core curriculum. Can you elaborate on the purpose and vision of this reform?

Mongolia’s education sector is undergoing great change. We all know that our education system shifted toward a 12-year system from 2009. We’ve changed almost everything - from the curriculum, textbooks, the learning environment and assessment to teacher development and the management of school administrations - in a multi-year plan since the 2012-2013 academic year. Additionally, the Government of Mongolia refined its policy towards education in 2015, and with parliamentary approval we have begun to implement it. This policy focuses on each child’s unique characteristics, shifting from knowledge-based theoretical education towards child-development-based methodology and skills-building based on the students’ needs.

Secondary education reform is focused on discovering each child’s talents and giving teachers the means with which to provide children with life skills, communication and discovery education. Within the scope of secondary-level education, we’re prioritising independent learning, fundamental science education and life-skills learning. However, for high school education, the core curriculum is flexible, fused with future employment and/or further education.

In the 2013-2014 academic year, the primary school curriculum was adopted nationwide. The secondary education curriculum was piloted in the last academic year, and it was being officially introduced this year. The high school curriculum is being piloted.

It takes time to see the results of new things, but preliminary results show that children are becoming more open towards their teachers, more independent and more creative. Children will adopt a proactive attitude of participating in activities and a learning-by-doing approach.

How does this innovation tie in with Sustainable Development Education (ESD)?

In accordance with the “Ecological Education” national programme launched by the Government of Mongolia in 1997, the ESD guidelines encompass coexisting with nature, protecting and improving nature, learning healthy lifestyles and natural resource management, and appreciating natural beauty. When this was approved, the entire education system began having an ecology class from 1998. The General Education Standards approved in 2005 incorporated ESD concepts, but it was only in 2009 when the system shifted to 12 years that ESD lessons were included. When we conducted a baseline survey in the 2013-2014 academic year to measure the impact of this inclusion, the results showed that although natural science lessons had developed its content, the methodology of teachers and the application by students were insufficient. Irrespective of how sound the curriculum and the content appeared, effectiveness was low when it was delivered. This demonstrated to us the importance of first educating the teachers who transfer the knowledge.

Secondly, the survey revealed to us the importance of enhancing students’ textbooks. Using this lead, our ministry and the SDC are implementing a new project and partnering with some civil society organisations. The project has been greenlighted and we’re at the peak of operation.

Mongolians have a long tradition of protecting nature. By building on this legacy with ecologically positive attitudes and values for young generations, we can build a new culture. The fact that such a culture has economic significance is the main justification of ESD.

How are you collaborating with the MEGDT on this?

Our objectives and the final vision are the same. We’re working from two ends to reach one goal. With the MECS, we’re delivering ESD through formal education, whereas with the MEGDT, our target group is different. With them, we are reaching citizens and local organisations through informal education and contributing to green development and a green economy. Thus, both ministries are cooperating and are striving to cultivate green development attitudes within every Mongolian.

Thank you.