Annotations - collective action

  1. Schmitz, Rob. “How Your Cashmere Sweater Is Decimating Mongolia’s Grasslands.” NPR. Mongolia, December 9, 2016. https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/12/09/504118819/how-your-cashmere-sweater-is-decimating-mongolias-grasslands.

    That's why Densambuu and other activists and groups are working with herders to come up with viable solutions. Gankhuyag Nyam-Ochir, who directs the Mongolian Association of Pastureland User Groups, representing a third of all nomadic herders in Mongolia, says the trick is to supplement herders' income from cashmere goats with other animals that carry the promise of high revenue, like yaks or camels.

    (maximizing revenue from secondary products)

  2. Huang, Roger. “UN Pilot In Mongolia Uses Blockchain To Help Farmers Deliver Sustainable Cashmere.” Online magazine. Forbes, December 28, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerhuang/2019/12/28/un-pilot-in-mongolia-uses-blockchain-to-help-farmers-deliver-sustainable-cashmere/.

    A pilot with technology provider Covergence.tech used Ethereumbased blockchain technology to interact with over 70 different herders and 8 cooperatives.

    The latter part of the article outlines the pilot, whereby herders used RFID tags and an Android app to label their cashmere bundles. See also the Convergence.tech report.

  3. Sutherland, Emily. “Burberry: Collaboration Is Key to Better Cashmere Industry.” Drapers (blog), March 14, 2019. https://www.drapersonline.com/news/burberry-collaboration-is-key-to-better-cashmere-industry.

    In Afghanistan, close to 300 co-operatives have been set up to help cashmere farmers share best practice and gain better access to the market. Access to veterinary care has also been improved to help herders take better care of their animals.

    (veterinary care)

  4. Winograd, Adam. “Democratizing Cashmere: Caitlin Tormey of Naadam | Fiverr Blog.” Online blog. Fiverr, August 1, 2019. https://blog.fiverr.com/post/democratizing-cashmere-caitlin-tormey-of-naadam.

    Naadam, a direct-to consumer cashmere brand that’s making luxe knitwear more sustainable, more accessible, and more affordable for everyone. By purchasing directly from nomadic Mongolian herders, Naadam is able to reduce their carbon footprint, offer livestock insurance, and create special non-profit opportunities for all the herders they work with. The result of purchasing directly from the source? An incredibly so

    These descriptors are essentially stated rather than argued. #direct-to-consumer-marketing #luxury #affordable-cashmere ("accessible" and "affordable" as distinct here?) #chenj (cutting out middlemen to achieve all sorts of things!) #carbon-footprint (reduction) #livestock-insurance #collective-action (as "non-profit opportunities")

  5. The UB Post. “‘The Reputation and Quality Assurance of Mongolian Cashmere on the World Market Begins with Herders.’” The UB Post | Mongolia’s leading English language news, April 2020. http://theubposts.com/post/11852/.

    there are benefits to be gained by herders that work together in a cooperative or types of herder organisation. When households pool their fibre together as a group,they can increase sales and attract regular buyers, building up partnerships with businesses. Working together also decreases the costs and risks borne by individual herder households. Herders really are stronger together when it comes to cashmere production.

  6. The UB Post. “‘The Reputation and Quality Assurance of Mongolian Cashmere on the World Market Begins with Herders.’” The UB Post | Mongolia’s leading English language news, April 2020. http://theubposts.com/post/11852/.

    Herder cooperatives can work together to access high-quality billies that can be shared amongst herding families, and they should seek out traders and processors that are willing to pay a premium price for high-quality fibre.