A tamer way to live with wild cats

Egshigmaa Byambadorj makes and sells toys and clothes from animal hair to support her family

Egshigmaa Byambadorj lives in a small village of nomadic herders in Western Mongolia. Throughout the year they move with their herds of sheep, goats, and cows, loading up their traditional houses, known as yurts, onto horses or trucks. In winter they head for the mountains, home to snow leopards. In the past villagers sometimes killed leopards to protect their livestock.

For Egshigmaa, it was a challenging way of life. She has five children and in 2011 her husband died.

“It was hard raising my kids in such a rural area,” she says. “We never had cash.”

In 2003 visitors came to her village to talk about a new money-making scheme. They invited women to join a programme making soft toys and clothes from the fur of their livestock to sell abroad. “My friends and I wanted to become involved right away,” says Egshigmaa.

Villagers spin wool from their herds to make products more valuable than the raw wool.

Mongolia’s Snow Leopard Enterprises is a project run by the Snow Leopard Trust, founded in 1981 to help protect this endangered species. Brad Rutherford is the trust’s executive director in the USA: “For any conservation programme to be effective, we first go into the community and listen to the hopes and concerns of local people.”

Brad helped expand a project which offers households an income up to five times greater than from the raw wool. It provides women with training and equipment and their products are sold internationally through the Snow Leopard Trust and other outlets. If no snow leopards are harmed, the women receive a 20% bonus.

“I earn around $300 a year making baby bootees,” says Egshigmaa. “I can buy clothes and food for my children – even make-up for myself. Usually women have trouble finding work in my remote community, but thanks to the project I have a new status.”

Photo credit: Snow Leopard Trust

Mongolia has one of the world’s largest populations of snow leopards.

Since its launch in 1997, the project has reached over 350 households from 28 communities.  Some men are also starting to join. Only one leopard has reportedly been killed in participating communities during this time.

In 2011 Snow Leopard Enterprises won $20,000 through World Challenge, an annual competition run by BBC World News and Newsweek, with support from Shell. It rewards initiatives that show good business sense or innovation, inviting the public to vote on a shortlist of 12.

“The publicity has been invaluable,” says Brad. “And we plan to use our award to replicate the project in Kazakhstan.”

Photo credit: Brian Gershon/Snow Leopard Trust

*Top banner - photo credit: Bill Hogue/Snow Leopard Trust