Przewalski's horse | Le Villaret | Research | Reintroduction logo
mn | en | fr
-> Home -> Reintroduction -> Community development 

The aim of the community development component is to accompany the application of the pasture use plan we want to implement in Khomiin Tal in the future, through income diversification and livelihood improvement. To date, we have undertaken the following actions:

Income diversification

Overgrazing is a major threat in Mongolia. Although our studies of Khomiin Tal pasture productivity are not yet complete, our observations indicate that locally there are too many livestock in relation to the little grass produced by the arid rangelands of the area. Actions to limit livestock impact would therefore benefit the ecosystem, which is why we have supported development of alternative activities to herding since 2002.

Through a small loan program, the following activities (amongst others) were created:
aruul producer

Creation of community groups 

To facilitate development of alternative activities, particularly with regard to fundraising, two community groups with a formal Mongolian NGO status were created (one group of men and one of women). This structure also makes it easier for local people to participate in rural development training courses offered by organisations such as WWF or the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) in Khar Us Nuur National Park and its surrounding area. These courses allow local people to acquire skills in wool processing and manufacturing more fuel efficient ovens.


Wild Horse Mesh

In 2004, the project was awarded a grant from the Rolex Award for Enterprise to rehabilitate a building at Khomiin Tal village in order to organise meetings for knowledge exchange between scientists and local people. This project was called "Wild Horse Mesh", as a tribute to Przewalski's horse.

To date, three annual meetings have taken place:
These meetings also provide an opportunity for Khomiin Tal people to come together and to organise festive events. For example, in 2006 a Nadaam was organised under the auspices of TAKH. A Nadaam is a traditional Mongolian ccelebration where there are horse races, wrestling competitions and archery. This was greatly appreciated.

 top of the page