About the project
OVERALL OBJECTIVE
To improve the livelihood and quality of life of the nomadic herders in the Khatgal area.
The aim of the project is to build and establish a Dairy facility owned by an cooperative of nomadic herders in the area of the village Khatgal, Khovsgol province in the northern Mongolia. The aim is to improve the local herders possibility to produce milk products of a high quality that can be sold to a third party. As it is now, the herders can only sell their products locally and in a short period, because of the traditional and primitive storage and production methods. Building a Dairy facility with international standards for food safety and hygiene, will improve the possibility for the herders to sell their products outside the village to the bigger city’s where there are potential costumers. The products will mainly be traditional Mongolian milk products, supporting the Mongolian lifestyle and creating a livelihood and job opportunities for the local herders.
The project is a collaboration between Danish Architects without Borders, Dairy without Borders, Uurchlultig uuruusuu NGO (UU) and the cooperative of nomadic herders Sarlagiin Saikhan Khishig.
The Khovsgol project planned to support the beneficiaries by fundraising and organizing the construction of a small dairy facility and organizing the procurement of the basic dairy equipment.
The facility was completed in mid 2020. The local tourist company Ayanchin LLC worked as a contractor for the construction building to ensure the requirements of the sanitary and hygiene for the milk production. The dairy facility along with a septic tank were built for the cooperative. The project was able to fundraise and devote more than 20ml MNT for building the construction.
The project also organized the procurement of the dairy equipment worth more than 16ml MNT. The basic dairy equipment included a pasteurizer, cream separator, shelves, sinks, boiler, pump, cans and others, all suitable for the production of milk.
The operation was launched on 25 July 2020, with the presence of the Khatgal governor and some other local officials. The local government expressed the full support. According to the Governor’s say it is an important investment for Khatgal, he was personally interested in developing, creating and operating a dairy plant. The local government officials thanked the Danish NGOs, its partners and donors in making his dream come true.
The Sarlagin Saikhan Khishig cooperative intends to operate the dairy facility in a full capacity in 2021.
CAPACITY BUILDING OF SSKH
Establishing and supporting small local and economically viable projects by transferring skills, knowledge and/or training in the milk and dairy sector is in the heart of the Khovsgol project. The main purpose of the project was first of all, to strengthen the organization and cooperation among nomadic herders(2015-2019) and then to improve the quality of milk production and dairy products among nomadic herders in Khatgal(2019-202X).
The Khovsgol project is engaged in capacity building activities to assess the needs of cooperatives and identify opportunities for technical cooperation from the start of the project.
2015 Launch
Sarlagiin Saikhan Khishig Cooperative was founded on the initiative of Khovsgol Dairy Project (KDP) in July 2015.
In July 2015 KDP held several meetings in Khatgal village informing the community about Khovsgol Dairy Project and the aim of establishing a dairy facility owned and run by a local cooperative.
69 herders from the area around Khatgal village signed up as interested to join the cooperative.
On a meeting 14th July 2015 the participants chose 6 herders as leaders of a steering group, who would be in charge of 6 different areas around the southern tip of lake Khovsgol.
2016-2019 – Building the capacity of the cooperative organization
During 2016-2021, the Khovsgol Dairy project resulted in the formation of the cooperative business model, improved knowledge and the best practices on the cooperative businesses, and collaboration with each others and other stakeholders. The foundation of the dairy plant building.
The local partner, the Global Communities, NGO, built the organizational capacity of the cooperative via the cooperative trainings, study tours, etc.
December 2019 – August 2021 – Building the business capacity
In 2020, the project completed the construction of the dairy plant, provided the basic dairy equipment, and was able to launch the operation of the dairy plant in July 2021 amid of COVID-19 pandemic.
The DwB provided the expertise on the building facility, identifying the basic equipment for the dairy plant and provided overall management on the project implementation.
The local partner, Uurchlultig uuruusuu, NGO facilitated the completion of the building construction, provided the business trainings and played the role of connecting all parties. As a result, the opportunity to produce high quality dairy products is opened.
2021- 2023 – Opening new business opportunities
The main purpose of this phase of the project to utilise the opportunity to produce high quality dairy product. The project will promote access to market of the economic limited poor vulnerable herders of Khuvsgul aimag by improving the performance in the dairy sector and increasing knowledge and skills of the target groups.
Dairy Education
Khovsgol Dairy Project has sponsored the education of two young girls, Nyamdelger and Enkhtuya, from Khatgal soum/village as Dairy Technologists at MUST, Mongolian University of Science and Technology.
