Race Horses

Trip to the East

With a small population, a new Chinese run Zinc mine, and some famous livestock breeds, Sukhbaatar Aimag (province) appeared relatively prosperous. On the road, we saw truckloads of recently purchased wild horses bound for other Aimags, as Sukhbaatar is home to the fastest horses of Mongolia. In addition, the Aimag is known for its red cashmere and fat tailed sheep, which are heavier than the normal Mongolian sheep.

Currently, I am reading a book that details “The New Great Game”, which is the scramble for Central Asian oil resources and the subsequent construction of strategic pipelines. Perhaps this book has caused me to imagine a similar tactical competition occurring in Mongolia. After our arrival to the provincial capital, we saw the Governor walking down the street with several Chinese businessmen. The red faces of the Chinese hinted toward indulgence into vodka. The next morning we were scheduled to meet the Governor, but the arrival of the Russian Ambassador and his fleet of Land Cruisers usurped our meeting.

The evaluation allowed us to visit several herders and conduct case studies of their small businesses. These intimate visits reminded me of the generous hospitality of Mongolians, which can sometimes be too warm for comfort. On the last day, we visited a client who purchases cattle each spring and then finishes them on grain, before their sale to UB meat wholesalers. His family’s summer ger is located near a beautiful bend of the Kherleen River, which allowed us a refreshing dip in the evening and again before the long jeep ride back to the city. Attached pictures include the river, the broad steppe, horse roping, and the new 150-foot statue of Chingis located in the middle of nowhere.

UB Developments

Over the last week, our evaluation team had the opportunity to visit several other international organizations that work in Mongolia. Our meetings covered the whole spectrum of development efforts, from a small religious NGO that works with the extreme poor through self-help group/micro finance programs to the ambitious Asian Development Bank project, which will cooperate with ten large agro-processing companies to increase Mongolia’s ability to capture value from their raw materials, such as cashmere, wool, leather, dairy products, meat, and berries.

As would be expected, there was an incredible amount of development jargon espoused. Some organizations sheepishly admitted that they shunned the concept of value chain analysis, but included these terms in recent funding proposals to attract donors. When I asked one program director about their provision of business development services (BDS), she kidded that the term was no longer “en vogue”.

Although these meeting can become repetitive, it is productive for different organizations to communicate. For example, when we met a large bank, one of our team members pitched the idea of a credit line for herders to purchase veterinary care. It would be less than 300 dollars and could be paid directly from banks to veterinarians. As herders receive most of their income from cashmere and wool sales in the late spring, they find it difficult to purchase veterinary services in early spring months. With the banks providing cash smoothing services, the herder’s would receive payment for their cashmere and then close out their credit line. After hearing this innovative idea, the bank leadership was immediately ready to role out this new product.

While the bank’s interest is flattering, their receptiveness is likely due to high levels of liquidity. Basically, the banks are “swimming in cash”, as interest rates have remained high coupled with herder’s being very reliable clients. This liquidity is also fueled by high prices for all of Mongolia’s commodities, including cooper, gold, and cashmere.

Enough of the theory, I am looking forward to my trip to the Eastern Steppe. I will try to make a post next weekend, hopefully with some pictures.

Altai Reunion and UB Development

Meeting up with my old co-workers was a very interesting activity. Usually social activities always start slow with small talk and pleasantries, before becoming increasingly animated throughout the evening. I was surprised that they intended to be well behaved and only drink beer, but apparently not everyone got the message, as others arrived later with the vodka. Looking back I am startled at the amount of vodka that I must have consumed over two years. Even scarier is how a large percentage of Mongolians function daily with a perpetual hangover.

News from my old site is that many people are having children this year. In the lunar calendar, this is the pig year and children born this year will be very intelligent and have a bright future. Also there is a lot of new construction in Altai, as potential candidates for next year's parliamentary election are fueling money into the local economy. Apparently, over ten people have expressed interest to run. Perhaps next summer I can come back to Asia for the Olympics and then observe and influence the very important Mongolian elections.

My co-workers stayed at a hotel, which overlooked most of downtown UB and I counted over 10 construction cranes, which are building numerous luxury apartments for Mongolia's new rich. I have always been amazed with the wealth of this city, especially relative to the more familar and understandable provincial economy. Perhaps the money comes from cashmere, mining or remittances from abroad. Speaking of cashmere, the experts have said that the sector is in a precarious state, because of increased micron level (thickness) and erosion of grasslands. But apparently the message has not gotten back to the herders who continue to increase the number of goats and this year received the highest cashmere prices ever, as a kilogram sold for higher than 40 US dollars.

Mongolia Arrival

After too late of a night, I overslept and barely caught my 6 AM flight to JFK. Refusing to take a cab, I arrived via subway 25 minutes before my departure. Interestingly, if an airline wants you to catch a flight, check in proceeds quickly, while security can also be expedited. Several hours later, while waiting at Dulles, I realized that I had a Leatherman in my laptop bag, which airport security had not detected. So much for securing the homeland...

At Dulles, I was ecstatic to meet some Mongolians, who would travel with me to Beijing and onwards to Ulaanbaatar. They were easy to spot with their overflowing duct taped boxes, which served as carry on luggage, similar to the boxes that are thrown on top of Russian Vans for grueling trips to the capital. After arrival in Beijing, my Mongol friends disappeared for several hours and returned with 15 pounds of Kentucky Fried Chicken, which they would disperse to friends and family back home. While Mongolia has not been infiltrated by fast food culture, perhaps there will a bright future for a new fast food nation.

While being comfortable in UB, I quickly noticed the omnipresence of dusty air. Between the jet lag, going to the Mercy Corps office, and attending a conference at an upscale hotel, it does not seem that I have arrived to Mongolia. It will be refreshing to leave for the Eastern Steppe on the 17th, especially as I have not seen this part of Mongolia.

Ithaca Relaxation

With the end of bad weather and the school year, I decided to stay in Ithaca to enjoy BBQ's, afternoon golf, cocktails, minor league baseball, and everything else beautiful that America offers before heading off to Mongolia.