http://www.mercycorps.org/ The Latest Mercy Corps Mongolia Content en-us (c) 2007 Mercy Corps http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:59:01 -0700 Charity Mercy Corps In-house CMS 60 http://www.mercycorps.org/ /images/donate/mercy_logo_red.gif http://www.mercycorps.org/ 136 48 http://www.mercycorps.org/donate/materialaid/1934/ Don't be surprised if Asia's next great basketball prospect comes from the vast deserts where Chinggis Khann once roamed. Mon, 12 Nov 2007 07:11:28 -0800 http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/mongolia/1220/ Craving some fresh vegetables in Mongolia's arid deserts? Mr. Bayambatogs's business is an oasis of refreshment. Thu, 13 Apr 2006 06:25:18 -0700 http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/mongolia/430/ A cooperative of local Mongolian farmers has struck gold by agreeing to sell fresh vegetables to a large mining company. Mon, 01 Nov 2004 11:10:38 -0800 http://www.mercycorps.org/topics/economicdevelopment/394/ The number of camels throughout Mongolia is dwindling, but Mercy Corps is helping rural families preserve their way of life. Tue, 06 Jul 2004 07:02:46 -0700 http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/mongolia/391/ XacBank, which has worked in Mongolia to nurture economy and provide entrepreneurial loans, receives recognition as MIX Market's "5-diamond profile of the month." Tue, 29 Jun 2004 08:35:28 -0700 http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/mongolia/181/ Nation building in Mongolia should be a priority and aid activities such as Mercy Corps' economic loan activities are proving beneficial to the county's growth. Wed, 27 Nov 2002 09:49:39 -0800 http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/mongolia/102/ A $400,000 loan from The International Finance Corporation to bring credit to Mongolia's micro, small, and medium entrepreneurs to stimulate the country's weak economy. Tue, 28 May 2002 07:32:01 -0700 http://www.mercycorps.org/topics/emergencies/55/ Harsh winter weather creates a serious situation for Mongolian nomads as their cattle and other animals their rely on for survival perish. Emergency relief efforts are underway. Sun, 24 Feb 2002 10:08:34 -0800 http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/mongolia/19/ Mercy Corps-run Market Watch aids rural Mongolian herders gain access to the market information necessary to buy and sell commodities at a fair market price. Tue, 18 Dec 2001 10:04:41 -0800 http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/mongolia/43/ Billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros and former United States President and philanthropist Jimmy Carter paid separate but simultaneous visits to Umnugovi province in the heart of Mongolia's Gobi desert on September 8 and 9. Although the respective visits were brief, each man and their entourages met with senior staff from the Gobi Regional Economic Growth Initiative and discussed the project's work and impact in areas of organized cashmere marketing and goat breed improvement, as well as in rural media enterprise and information systems development. Indeed, after nearly three years of operations in Mongolia and in Umnugovi, the Gobi Initiative has the reputation locally and nationally as a key player in supporting rural development. When world leaders come to the Gobi, they talk to the Gobi Initiative. Financed by USAID and managed by Mercy Corps in partnership with Land O'Lakes and Pact, the Gobi Initiative is a five-year program dedicated to working with herder and commercial entrepreneurs as well as with other policy-making and information leaders to stimulate private sector-led economic development in Mongolia's southern Gobi region. The Gobi is characterized by large numbers of sheep, camels and goats, the most destructive of Mongolia's livestock, of unprecedented numbers of herders, unprecedented rates of overgrazing and desertification, and the least densely populated territory in the country. Indeed, the challenges to private sector development are great, and yet through targeted interventions implemented in collaboration with local enterprises, associations, government and other donors or development projects, the Gobi Initiative's successes to date have been significant. Carter, who was raised on a farm, said he felt right at home talking to herders about their livelihoods and prospects for growing their animal husbandry businesses, especially through producing and marketing cashmere. He said that herders he spoke with are focusing on producing fewer high quality goats instead of more lower quality goats, despite growing demand in recent years among Chinese buyers for high volumes of any quality fiber. Carter was surprised by this, but was told by the astute nomads that as they have come to view themselves as businessmen, their animals as assets, and their labor, fodder, and time as key inputs, their views regarding short- and long-term business planning have changed dramatically. One example is that many herders now work in groups to cut costs and boost productivity. Another is the trend among herders to reduce herd size and focus on the quality of those products with the greatest potential market value. Herders keep financial and livestock records, and are more aware of and able to respond to key market signals in productive, and profitable, ways. When asked why and how these changes among Gobi herders is happening, Carter heard a list of reasons, led by "Gobi Initiative." Carter was joined by Mongolian Prime Minister N. Enkhbayar, Executive Director of the Carter Center John Hardman, and millionaire equity investor Richard Blum, who is Honorary Mongolian Consul to San Fransisco and husband of California Senator Dianne Feinstein. Blum and Carter were especially interested in the Gobi Initiative's recent Cashmere Market Days events and goat breed improvement strategies. Wed, 25 Jul 2001 09:29:43 -0700 http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/mongolia/45/ Mongolia's Gobi region is characterized by semi-desert terrain and a harsh, dry climate. But amidst this arid vastness dominated by nomadic herders, an informational oasis thrives. Mon, 23 Jul 2001 06:14:06 -0700 http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/mongolia/48/ Designed to facilitate business relationships and provide an arena for herders and processors to deal in cashmere at competitive prices, Cashmere Market Days is a success. Thu, 05 Jul 2001 09:47:53 -0700 http://www.mercycorps.org/topics/economicdevelopment/50/ The Mongolian government has selected Mercy Corps to receive 40,000 metric tons of wheat donated by the USDA to be sold. Sun, 24 Dec 2000 07:16:03 -0800 http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/mongolia/34/ Felt craft designer from Mongolia visits New York to demonstrate and teach her art. Mercy Corps' Gobi Regional Economic Growth Initiative has arranged her trip. Tue, 23 May 2000 09:40:15 -0700 http://www.mercycorps.org/topics/economicdevelopment/52/ Mercy Corps-owned Goviin Ekhlel, a non-bank financial institution offering credit to inhabitants of the Gobi region in an effort to stimulate Mongolia's struggling economy officially opens with the pledge to be a transparent, fair, and efficient business. Wed, 05 Apr 2000 11:04:34 -0700 http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/mongolia/54/ Mongolia is experiencing one of the worst Zud (a combination of blizzard and bitter cold, preceded by drought) in living memory. Fri, 25 Feb 2000 06:47:18 -0800