These days, some herders having livestock more than 1000 try to hire herders and also campaign to raise awareness in the significance of herding among young people to make the position attractive and serious enough. This could also be a job to play a significant role to pull down the current unemployment rate and reduce over-concentration in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of the country. For nomads, animal husbandry is their business and their method of living.
There are over 200 hundred thousand families highly dependant on livestock production out of over 800 thousand households of Mongolia according to the National Statistical Office. On the other hand, those 200 hundred thousand families tend 66 million livestock including cow, horse, sheep, goat, camel. Whereas, goats take up the highest number of the structure, 27 million because cashmere accounts for almost 80 percent of income for nomad families. So it is the main source of income. On the other hand, cashmere fiber creates workplaces at the national manufacturers' indirect and in an indirect way. For example, Gobi corporation which takes up 71 percent of domestic cashmere market share, has over 2000 employees. Moreover, cashmere is the most bought product of Mongolia by all-purpose travelers because the price is almost 5 times cheaper than other luxury cashmere brands and the quality is truly high-end. This is the ripple effect of the cashmere fiber in Mongolia.
Adding value sustainably...
The generation born after the 1990s will soon become fashion designers and main consumers. As opposed to the exterior appearance and design of products, generation z is more concerned with what is happening on the inside. According to a survey conducted by McKinsey&Company, 65 percent of the z generation take into consideration as to where and how the product is made before purchasing. Moreover, 80 percent replied that they reject buying from controversial companies. The users want to be aware of the pasture, environment and livestock conditions.
Mongolia has a unique ecosystem and the largest open grasslands in the world which makes cashmere fiber more healthy and special compared to cashmere goats fed by artificial supplements in other countries.