On Monday, November 7, Barry Rosenbaum and Karla Lipp from the Altai Institute teamed with representatives of GIZ to meet with herders and discuss the plans to develop a cheese factory in Delüün to diversify herder incomes and be used as a tool to conserve and sustainably manage the rangelands in the soum (county), 62% of which is protected areas. This was our second meeting (our first was in September) and like the first it was well attended. We were all particularly impressed by the engagement, questions, and commitment to the project of the herders present. All were very excited by the prospect of the new factory and pledged to help in whatever capacity they could. Our team will convene again in Ullaanbaatar next week to discuss legal structures, conservation models, and next steps. our goal is to present a plan to herders by May, 2023.
Barry Rosenbaum