Cheese for Conservation

Currently, pastoral herders are in desperate need of income & are increasingly raising cashmere goats which overgraze the delicate desert flora. This overgrazing is the most serious cause of habitat degradation and species loss in Mongolia. If this overgrazing continues in ten years the grasslands will be so transformed that the ecosystem will be unusable for the traditional Mongolian herder culture and for the snow leopards and Argali sheep.

There is a solution – by building a local cheese plant, we help to support the local community economically by developing alternatives income sources, while supporting the landscape level conservation that protects wild species, such as snow leopards, argali sheep and wolverine.

By opening a locally owned cheese plant, the project will provide alternative sources of cash income and livelihood for local herders by purchasing their yak milk for cheese production, hence limiting the aggressive growth of cashmere goats. Mongolia's western most province has always had a large population of livestock that lived in harmony with the arid and fragile habitant. The milk produced by the yaks, camels, cows, and sheep is very abundant and can be used to produce world class cheeses that will produce revenue in an environmentally friendly way. Local herders will be able to sell their yak, camel and sheep milk without having to transport to the local cheese plant, therefore, our primary beneficiaries are local herders. Cheese will be sold to both local customers, who are in Deluum soum, as well as in the city center of Bayan-Ulguu province, and to Mongolian Artisan Cheesemaker’s Union (MACU), the wholesale partner who will sell the cheese to Ulaanbaatar city consumers. We have already raised half of the total $150,000 needed to open a cheese plant in Deluun soum in Bayan-Ulgii province, the western most province of Mongolia.

We are halfway!!! Help us to raise the remaining half, $75,000. The funds will be used to build the cheese plant, purchase the equipment, train the local people in making cheese and purchase yak milk from local herders.

The Altai Institute, the project sponsor, was created to support systematic conservation changes in partnership with the local community, through community-owned social enterprise, research and community outreach. The Altai Institute and its founder, Barry Rosenbaum, has been working in snow leopard conservation in Bayan-Ulgii aimag for 10 years. He understands that species conservation does not happen in a vacuum and requires landscape level changes to be successful. He has become a trusted partner within the community and is supported by the national government’s protected area administration in the county and the local government. Because of its grassroots perspective and connections within the community and its expertise in species conservation, the Institute is uniquely qualified to help solve the challenges of protecting rare species like snow leopards and Argali sheep, while providing livelihood support to the local herder families by building the cheese

We have cool, fun rewards to say Thank you for your contribution!!! For Diamond Contributors, we will offer a roundtrip travel to Mongolia, which will include from the capital city of Mongolia to Bayan-Ulgii province (western most province) and to Deluun soum. For every level of contribution starting with $25, we have special rewards. Thank you so much for your support in helping the Deluun project build the local cheese plant, hire locals and grow into a successful business that promotes job growth for people in the local community and supports the conservation of Snow Leopards in Deluun. Any amount of contribution will help us to save the planet while supporting the livelihood of the local herders and their families. The best prize is that you get to contribute to this worthy cause and save the planet. Thank you for your support!!!