FIELDNOTES

Nutgiin bayan The Tsagaan Yamaa cooperative was established by Olzii Bodijav, a wealthy former chenj from Bayangovi. All of our interviewees viewed him as the main driving force behind the cooperative, and many spoke highly of him. People understood Bodijav as being responsible for constructing the Naadam Park and wells in the sum centre, having collected some donations from his foreign partners; he is viewed as a philanthropist and one who feels compassion for the people of his homeland and love for his nutag. Conversely, the Naadam website describes Naadam as being responsible for these same investments, with no mention of Bodijav or Bodi Cashmere. I think this is significant because the audiences on both sides (Mongolia and America) want to feel pride in association with good deeds: the heroic work of a scion of the community, vs. the salvation work of a converted Wall Street finance bro. The cashmere cooperative restores the property of the negdel, and reproduces several of its functions. But it is hard to imagine people from this sum feeling as positively about this structure if it were state-owned. Underlying this set of beliefs is the positive value associated with patronage and wealth -- the idea that a...

Нүүдэлчдийн наадамд тавих илтгэлд тусгаж оруулах зарим ишлэл, малчдын санаа Ямаа бол хонин сүрэгт байх ёстой мал. (Гантөмөр Б and Оюунцэцэг) Малчдын хувьд ноолуур бол бөөн орж ирдэг орлого болдог. Түүгээрээ жил тойрон бүхий л хэрэгцээгээ хангадаг. Ноолуур бол “Монголын цагаан алт”. Малчдын нуруу тэнэгэр, сэтгэл амар явахын шалтгаан НООЛУУР. (Баттулга and Баасансүрэн, 2022) Ямаа сүрэгт байх ёстой мал төдийгүй цаг агаарын байдал, чоно ирж буйг түрүүлж мэдэгддэг тул ашиг тус ихтэй мал. (Баттулга and Баасансүрэн, 2022) Мөнгө биш малаа бодож ямаагаа самнадаг. Ноолуурын ханш хичнээн өндөр байсан ч хангай дэлхий хавчиж байвал малаа бодож ямаагаа самнадаггүй. (Бат-Өлзий, 2022) Ноолуур нь малчдын хувьд жилийн нэг үед гол амьжиргааны эх үүсгэвэр болж өгдөг ба амьдрал нь ноолуураас нэлээд хамааралтай болох нь харагдаж байна. (Баярмаа, 2022) Малтай хүмүүс хэдэн ямаагаараа л зээлээ дарж амьдарч байгаа. Хамгийн нийтлэг нь оюутны зээл. Ямаа нь маллахад хамгийн их ажиллагаатай, гүйцэгдэхгүй гүйгээд явчихдаг, эсвэл осгоод үхчихдэг. Малаас олох ганц ашиг шим нь ноолуур л байна. Ноолуурын үнэ уначихвал хүмүүс ямаа маллахаа болино. (аймгийн аварга малчин Бямбасүрэн, 2022) Цаашдаа ноолуур баталгаатай эсэхийг сайн мэдэхгүй. Энэ нутагт айл олон, бэлчээр бага ч ам амандаа болоод байдаг. Ямаа маллах нь бусад мал маллахаас нэг их ялгаа байхгүй. “Ямаа хотондоо сайн” гэдэг. (Жавзансүрэн, 2022) Ноолуурыг гэнэт авахаа болилоо,...

Ikh Tamir - main points of interest Ananda and Eric Key points of interest Not everyone agrees on whether goats cause rangeland degradation. Some people want to have more yaks and horses; but others actually blame the yaks and horses for eating vegetation indiscriminately Some people blame traders (chenj), whereas others have relatives who are traders. Perception of dishonesty -- incorrectly calibrated scales, claiming that cashmere has sand in it, etc. No one here buys directly on behalf of processors People have heard of Green Gold, but don’t know what it is doing People have different ideas about what a good level of productivity is Fatter goats produce more cashmere Herders depend on cashmere for about 50% of their income, but not all. Some are reliant on dairy products / yak production. Most herders would have trouble living without cashmere. Mixed sheep/goat herds are advantageous from a herding perspective. Different responses for how people use cash income from cashmere. Some pay off Tsagaan Sar debts, some put it to savings, some invest in consumer goods, many pay for children’s tuition. Some herders buy cashmere; often they gift it to others; it is generally expensive to buy for themselves. Price volatility (instability) is a widespread concern. People had less to say about culture when asked...