During my trip through Mongolia for my Bachelors’s Thesis »1.5°C«, I had the chance to stay with the nomad family Narankhuu for a few days at their spring location. Owning over 400 cashmere goats, 100 sheep, nine camels, and a dog, they live the traditional nomadic lifestyle in their ger – close to some far eastern foothills of the Altai Mountains, in a semi-desert part of the Gobi Desert, several hours away from the next town. Usually, nomad-kids stay in a close village during the week or for several weeks to visit the school. Due to Covid-19, their older kids haven’t been in school at that time.
On one side, the huge amount of almost 30 Million cashmere goats in Mongolia intensify the desertification of the steppes, on the other, they are the best source of income for many nomadic families. The worldwide demand for this expensive fiber is increasing every year. The father told me that he is getting approximately 30€ per kilo of cashmere hair, which is much more worth than sheep’s wool or camel hair.