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Mongolia Compact Gender Summary Report: Best Practices And Lessons Learnedenabling their access to assets are key to this effort. Recognizing this, the MCA–Mongolia PropertyRights Project has been actively working to increase women‟s awareness of the importance andbenefits of owning land, and has worked to increase women‟s participation through its public relationsand outreach activities. Property Rights Project‟s Hashaa Plot Privatization and Registration Activityhas helped many women to improve their livelihood by educating them on the advantages of owningland and encouraging further investments in home improvement, business activities and agriculturalproductivity. Mrs. Baigalimaa is one of these female beneficiaries, and her story is a wonderfulexample how women profit from land privatization, consequently building up their resources andresolving housing issues.Ms. Baigalimaa is a single, head-of-household woman, who up until recently lived in a rentedroom in someone else‟s house. She has no stable income and little employment opportunities. Shenoticed there are many women around her who are in the same situation as her and decided to dosomething about it. She formed a group of women, “Neighbors‟ Friendship,” cooperative with the farreachinggoal of solving the housing problem of its members. “My desire to improve the livingconditions of those who are in a similar condition as me and my principles to be proactive and notexpect others‟ help motivated me to organize this cooperative”, says Ms. Baigalmaa. She has been theHead of the “Neighbors‟ Friendship” Cooperative in Erdenet city since 2008.With the help and initiative of Ms. Baigalmaa the Cooperative was able to benefit fromseveral grants from international donors to build a fence, extend the electricity grid and dig wells.They were also eager to benefit from the Asian Coalition for Housing project which provides ahousing loan for low-income citizens. However, they couldn‟t apply for it due to lack of collateral.When their efforts came to a halt for lack of financial capability, the group was puzzled about theirnext move. “The MCA‟s Property Rights Project contractor, in a yellow vest and name tag, cameknocking on our door, introduced the MCA-Mongolia Property Rights Project and proposed us toclaim the ownership of land,” Ms. Baigalmaa says. The contractors explained that land is a valuableasset which can‟t be taken away once privatized and there are many ways to parlay this asset such asuse it as collateral for bank loans or grow vegetables and fruits.Upon hearing about the opportunity, Ms. Baigalmaa acquired land. She immediatelyrecognized the importance of encouraging other female members to do the same. Under her leadershipother members of the cooperative also received land titles through the MCA-Mongolia PropertyRights Project. Now that they had land as collateral they finally received the housing loan, which theyare investing in building 6 houses and providing 4 gers to the rest of cooperative members,accomplishing their ultimate goal. In the future the cooperative is also planning to grow vegetables fortheir household use. If they produce more than they need, they are willing to sell the surplus.“Previously, privatizing land seemed for us a difficult goal to achieve, since we heard it‟s a longtedious process with heavy bureaucracy,” she says. “We knew very little about the whole complicatedprocedure. Hence, we were very happy when the contractor came and offered us the Project‟s help.”According to Ms.Baigalmaa, “The contractor familiarized us with the process, collected our relevantmaterials and soon we all received our land ownership certificates, which didn‟t take any time andexpense from our side. This was the helping hand that people like us needed.”“My intention to improve and make positive changes in our lives has not always been a straight path.But the challenges and difficulties have given me strength and hope that we can make a differenceafter all. Having formal land title definitely aids our efforts to enhance our livelihood and get out ofpoverty. Many opportunities come along with it. Our case also shows that women can do welltogether as a group. I think that regardless of the sex, age and other social factors, if we come togetherand collaborate with each other, we can make a difference in our lives,” says Baigalmaa.72“We should be aware of how to effectively benefit from development assistance to improvelivelihoods and make a difference,” says Ms. Javzan Tavintai, one of the successful projectbeneficiaries of the MCA-Mongolia Peri-Urban Rangeland Project. Ms. Javzan has taken this mottoclearly to heart: as the herder leader in the Tuv Aimag, Sergelen Soum “Uurd Mandakh” herderPage 72 of 80
Mongolia Compact Gender Summary Report: Best Practices And Lessons Learnedgroup, she has not only been able to take advantage herself from the benefits of the program but hasbeen instrumental in leading the group of herders in this effort, and providing an inspiring example toother women on their leadership potential.For Ms. Javzan, herding has been her main business and source of livelihoods nearly all her life. Shebecame a herder back in 1971, working for the cooperative (negdel). In 1991, when herds gotprivatized, she could obtain a number of cattle, sheep and horses. She immediately realized theadvantage of having her own herd and started herding on her own. There had been no planningexperience at that time with respect to rangeland. The neighboring families had been independentlyconducting their own business without any joint efforts. Furthermore, bookkeeping had not beenpracticed commonly among herdsmen recording the household expenditure. Moreover, she used topay more attention towards increasing the number of livestock rather than the quality of livestock.Indeed, there was a limited opportunity for information on benefits of running intensive/semiintensivedairy farming in those years.Prior to her involvement in the Peri-Urban Rangeland Project she used to carry out household choresall alone, such as herding, dairy processing, marketing and taking care of eight children. As a singlemother of eight children, doing all these things while also taking care of them was not a smallaccomplishment. Her child says about Ms. Javzan: “She is an incredible mother. All of us obtained atleast a college degree and up. She teaches that not everyone should be a superior but learn how to begood parents.”There were times that she felt that she needed to consult with someone or collaborate on the herdingexperience, though she had no idea how to do it. When the MCA-Mongolia project was introduced toher community she joined straightaway. Since joining the project she has started working with otherfamilies as a herder group and discussing the issues within the group. This enabled the group to dothings together, which she used to do alone. Furthermore, as a group leader she is not only responsiblefor her own family business but she has also demonstrated in her neighbouring aimags and soums herability to lead and manage three other herder families successfully. By doing the collaborative worksuch as haymaking, processing of dairy products and marketing of meat and raw materials, she feelsnow things are much easier with shared responsibility and tasks, resulting in an increased productivityand income within the group. Everyone in the group realized the importance of cooperation and offorming the herder group.One of the Peri-Urban Rangeland Project‟s key interventions is capacity building of herders,with curricula being based on differential needs and interests of female and male herders on issuessuch as environmental pasture and water use management, livestock and business management.Participating in those trainings enabled her to maintain the balance of rangeland carrying capacity bymaximizing herd productivity, while learning new skills for the improvement of livestockmanagement. “In the past, paperwork and pencils were not so commonly used by herders and we hadan “allergy” to it, nowadays though, books and pencils cannot be separated from herder‟s life,” shejokes. “Herders have understood the importance of trainings and how this affects their daily life. Bytheir practical experience they have also realized the importance of collaborative work. The outcomeof the capacity building activity is not only limited to herder groups but has also served as a modelpractice for other non-participant herders. Namely, non-participants have realized the importance ofpastureland management, which is indeed thanks to a pioneering practice the project has introduced,”says Ms. Javzan.Moreover, Ms. Javzan states that “the project investment includes not only trainings, but physicalassistance such as wells with its utilization instructions and fencing materials. Looking at initialimpacts of the project, the milk production has increased along with an improved breeding oflivestock, resulting in an increased income. All these have made a difference in herding practices, asthe project impact is becoming more and more visible to herders live.”As a leader of the group she has been able to strengthen her management and organizationalskills and now with her increased competency, she reviews annual group accomplishments andfacilitates yearly planning. “I am keen to see the accomplishments the group could achieve,” says Ms.Javzan proudly. The training made her realize the importance of bookkeeping for personal businessand financial management. She has also learned the importance of promoting collaborative work withcommon interests of different households and individuals. Consequently, she has initiated a groupsavings scheme among her group by developing an internal regulation on effective use of the fundingfor the future.Page 73 of 8073
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