Mongolian Permaculture: Day 40 - Resource Inventory [Erdene Permaculture Short Course: Day I]

THE GOBI: FULL OF EMPTY

Our visits to the various Co-Operatives and Zamiin Yyl have given us an opportunity to conduct a Resource Inventory, to identify areas of greatest need where we can make the biggest impact in the short time we will have to work with the Co-Operative leaders and Members who have been selected to attend the Gobi training.

The Resource Inventory is a formal tool created by David Holmgren [with input from Ian Lillington, author of ‘The Holistic Life’], and is like a SWOT Analysis for Permaculture Designers …and anyone working in Sustainable Aid.

Really, it’s just a written version of what I have watched Rick do unconsciously since the moment we stepped off the plane:


Stage 1, Observation: What do we have to work with right now?
  
    Take inventory of all available resources, including Landscape, Infrastructure, Household, and Culture
Stage 2, Evaluation: What can it be used for?  

    List all possible functions of available resources.
Stage 3, Strategy: What can we do with it?  

    Explore possible ways to harness, use, and direct available resources.
Stage 4, Design: How can we connect it?  

    Explore possible ways to connect strategies create energy cycles and maximize multi-functions.
Stage 5, Implementation: Who? What? Where? When? How Much?

    Explore logistics and practicalities towards putting strategies and designs into effect right now.

Stages 1 and 2 are like a massive information gathering / brainstorming session and can be done with just initial team members; we spent the first two weeks of this trip doing just this.

Stages 3 – 5 can only be effectively done with input from local stakeholders; this local knowledge and skill base is the biggest asset a Sustainable Aid Worker has. 


By working with what is already locally available, resources can be re-organized into design solutions that can be easily adopted, adapted, and evolved by communities.

Similarly, knowledge can be more easily transferred and new skills more readily developed if they are culturally appropriate.

GOBI HASHA,
TAKEN FROM TOP OF PASSIVE SOLAR GREENHOUSE

Communities take ownership in ideas they have come up with for themselves, and teaching concepts rather than lecturing formulae & information will empower & encourage individual thought experimentation within a sustainable design framework, supporting forward movement and problem-solving without the need for constant supervision & trouble-shooting.

A positive feedback loop is created, and learning curves accelerated because students now have a holistic design framework in which to observe, ask the right questions, then filter and organize information through this base foundation.

Risk is managed through careful thought, and informed, small-scale implementation in experimental plots. Mistakes are confined to these smaller areas [rather than risking an entire crop], and become stepping stones to learning:

1. What worked?
2. Why did this work?
3. What didn’t work?
4. Why didn’t this work?
5. How can we improve?

When designing a course for a new culture, or as in this context, for a different community within a culture, this process of:

• Constant gathering of information
• Evaluating what can be done with available resources
• Strategizing potential uses [through observation and asking questions of locals]
• Designing appropriate solutions
• Small-scale experimentation [also through observation and asking questions of locals] before implementation

...allows the Permaculturist to create a course customized to the available teaching timeframe, and the most immediate needs of the students.

DORNOGOBI'S INAUGURAL PDC CLASS

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Gardening in the Gobi Desert Co-operatives’ Short Course Outline:

Day 1:
1. Breakfast Session: Introduction, Housekeeping, Principles [Multi-function]
2. Morning Tea Session: Ethics, Observation Walk
3. Lunch Session: Principles [Energy-efficient Planning]
4. Afternoon Tea Session: Integrated Pest Management

Day 2:
1. Breakfast Session: Principles [Small-scale Intensive], Soil – Kat, Rick
2. Morning Tea Session: Maximizing Vegetable Crop Production –Rick
3. Lunch Session: Compost Prac - Rick
4. Afternoon Tea Session: Resource Inventory - Matt

Day 3:
1. Breakfast Session: Bees & Worms - Kat
2. Morning Tea Session: Chickens - Rick
3. Lunch Session: Micro-climates and Greenhouse Design - Rick
4. Afternoon Tea Session: Water & Trees - Rick

Day 4:
1. Breakfast Session: Water, A-Frame Prac - Rick
2. Morning Tea Session: Seed-Saving - Kat
3. Lunch Session: Food Culture - Kat
4. Afternoon Tea Session: Vision Plan - Rick

CHILDREN OF THE GOBI:
THE REAL RESON WE ARE HERE.

Mongolian Permaculture: Day 39 - The Governor of Zamiin Yyl

THE TRAIN TO ZAMIIN YYL

Very, very early start this morning.

The jarring alarm goes at 1:45am to get us up in time to meet our driver at 2am, who will bring us to the train station at nearby Erdene soum in time for the 4am train to Zamiin Yyl, a three hour journey in 3rd class seats, so that we can meet our new friend the Governor at 7am.

If there is any consolation for waking up at that un-Godly hour, it is the Gobi night sky.

The Milky Way stretches from horizon to horizon, the Big Dipper pointing the way to the North Star, and thousands more stars shining down as I crane my neck skywards in wonder. I had no idea the Milky Way could be so bright in the northern hemisphere.

It takes an hour to get to the train station, and after our tickets are purchased we sleep on the hard floor inside from the cold with a dozen or so more locals. The 4am train rolls in right on time at 5am and we all stumble aboard, bleary-eyed and only half-awake.

We thought that there would be plenty of seats available on the first train out to Zamiin Yyl, especially considering that Erdene soum is the last major stop before reaching the border town.

We were wrong.

Bodies, bags and babies are stacked three high in each compartment, no bigger than a standard double-bench seat on a Melbourne train… except that as many as 12 people, plus luggage enough for a week away, were stuffed into each cell. Stray feet, head-high were the major obstacle as we navigated the narrow passageway from carriage to carriage in search of a non-existent spare seat.

RICK AFTER THREE HOURS ON THE TRAIN TO ZAMIIN YYL

Three hours later, we peel ourselves out of the train at the last stop. Welcome to Zamiin Yyl. This border town to China has grown from 7,000 to 20,000 in only 3 short years, and sheer volume of people streaming out of the train, not to mention the new buildings, and English signage speak of the financial prosperity its trade with its neighbour brings.

Mongolians have long memories. Over 200 years ago, the Chinese ruled over the Mongols for a period [perhaps payback for when the Mongol Empire streetched from Chinese coast to the shores of the Mediterranean?], and Mongolians still have a sour taste in their mouth about it.

The Chinese border is the only one that attracts any attention from the Mongolian Army, and if you are Chinese National seeking a visa for entry to Mongolia, well, good luck…

…and if you are a Chinese National looking to set up shop in Mongolia, well let’s just say that you had better have a very thick skin, and perhaps even some martial ability to deal with potential challenges… but I digress!

BUSY BORDERTOWN INTERSECTION

It is drizzling, cold, and wet, and we look like grumpy wet cats as we get our bearings. Minde asks me quietly if the Governor gave us his name-card, and what our back-up plan is if our happy friend from Sainshand turns out not to be who he says he is. I have a brief moment of panic, then shrug and remember some words of wisdom a jolly [and very round] friend from home once shared with me:

“When in doubt… eat!”

My panic turns out to be short-lived as the Governor rings Minde’s phone; he was on the same train and has been organizing his luggage and a car for us. He has pulled up from the trip in way better shape than us, looking very slick in dark glasses and sharply pressed clothes.

After a tasty meat broth breakfast, we are shown to the Government building around the corner. Most officials are on annual summer leave and there is no electricity in the elegantly appointed building; we walk down a long, dark narrow corridor towards the light at the end of the tunnel …

INSIDE THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE GER

…which turns out to be the most lushly appointed ger we have been in all trip: plush red carpet, hand-carved posts, radials and furniture, black & white photos of a camel train stretching to the horizon, and a framed shadowbox of the Mongolian flag at the head of the room.

TheGuv disappears to organize our return train tickets and continues his search for a car to take us to the Vegetable Growing Plot he wants us to inspect. A couple hours later, he pops back into the Government Ger, train tickets in hand but no closer to finding a driver… so we pile into the back of a little sedan and are bounced along to the Government Tourist Camp outside of town.

It seems that there are no government vehicles or drivers in sight; they are all attending an official function somewhere else involving copious amounts of, err, networking and vodka… so we are ushered into replica of Chinggis’ ger, a large ger mounted upon a wooden cart that would have been pulled by a team of oxen.

INSIDE THE CHINGGIS GER

TheGuv apologizes for being unable to deliver upon his promise of camel rides and horse rides and a sampling of traditional milk vodka, and cheerfully offers up a bottle of Chinggis Gold instead.

This presents a dilema, as The Aid Agency we have been working for has a strict no-alcohol policy, and with good reason, as the Mongolian appetite for vodka could only be described as voracious. To refuse would risk insulting our host’s hospitality, but to indulge would reflect poorly on the Aid Agency we are associated with.

We settle on a diplomatic compromise by taking sips of the enormous coffee-mug shots he pours for us, and thus begins a long afternoon of Q & A between Rick and TheGuv about how he can improve vegetable production, and encourage Mongolians to buy locally grown produce instead of the imported Chinese varieties of chemically grown vegges.

All in all the day is a success, even though there is no camel rides, no horse rides, and none of the formerly promised traditional milk vodka sampling.

RICK HAS MADE A NEW FRIEND

TheGuv proposes our team return the following year, in partnership with an Aid Agency’s sponsorship, to work on another Gardening in the Gobi project.

Nice to have friends in high places!

RICK, KAT AND MINDE INVESTIGATE A GOVERNMENT TREE PLOT


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Mongolian Permaculture: Day 38 - The Gobi's Great Secret

RICK ASKS BUDDHA PERMISSION TO ENTER

Early start today for a special treat... we are off to visit the Hamariin Hiid Inergiin Tow Hysliin Uul Energy Center in the Gobi Desert.

We stack all our bags and hop into a mini-van waiting outside for us, then head out of Sainshand towards Erdene.

The Gobi landscape is pretty flat and featureless, though by the meandering dunescapes we can tell that at one time this land was shaped by water. The recent rains this year have brought forth a flush of greenery, though the sparse spacing between each clump of shrubbery shows just how little water is available here.

Now however, the low dunes are clearly shaped by wind sweeping across the gently undulating plains, keeping everything that does grow low to the ground, clinging stubbornly to its patch of sandy soil.

HARMUG PROLIFERATES IN THE SANDY DESERT SOILS

We stop a short way out of town as Minde spots some Harmag, the Gobi fruit he has been telling us about for the last few kilometers, a tiny, succulent red berry growing on a spiny shrub clumping over little sandy islands in the dessert. Handfulls of berries later, we are still grinning at the tart taste as we hit the road again.

GOBI [HARMAG] BERRIES!

Cracking in the exposed earth tells us there is a higher clay content here, and water flows can clearly be seen in little erosion gullies filled with finer sand particles, often lined with a dominant plant species following the water lines. Every now and then we cross a larger dry river bed at the low point in the shallow basin, and trees cluster along the dry river banks, meandering along the larger water flows into the distance.

The sandy dunes begin to erupt with volcanic bassalt, molten bombs that were spewed ages ago, then the white sands turn to a rich red colour as we near the ancient volcanic core.

CHANGING LANDSCAPE AS WE NEAR THE ENERGY CENTER

Even with the higher mineral content in the volcanic soils here, the low rainfall is not still enough to support a significant increase in plant life. The howling winds and water runoff in the spring have cut some small valleys here, providing some sheltered spots where trees can spring up; we are shown again what a marked difference wind shelter makes in plant growth out here.

The Energy Center is a Bhuddist temple built on an ancient volcano.

Mongolian heads of state, business leaders, and even the Japanese Prime Minister all make regular treks here to re-energize… one of only two energy centers in the world, it is said that this place is located at the confluence of geographic energy meridians, and one can absorb some of this energetic goodness by simply standing and opening yourself to receiving this energy.

Minde tells us that this is Mongolia’s best-kept secret, one that perhaps should not have been shared with the outsde world.

During Socialism times, locals kept this sacred place hidden from Government. Buddhist monks have been coming to this place for eons to meditate, and I can feel the different energy as soon as we step out of the car.

SAURAG

We walk up to the entrance and as we crest the hill, the temple reveals itself to us. Saurags, or buddhist shrines that look like Mongolian Wrestler’s hats, are built around the perimeter.

A pair of Buddha eyes painted onto the wall of the main entrance watch us silently as we descend the pathway towards the southern gate; this is the gate that lay people enter from. Dignitaries and important people, enter from the East, if you are sick you enter from the North, and I can’t quite remember what the West gate was designated for…

Our driver walks us through all the protocols of offerings and tradition and prayer – light incense here, ask for permission to enter there, throw rice in the air here, dip your finger and throw vodka into the air there – until we make our way over to a circle of red stone; the Energy Center.

GOOD, GOOD, GOOD, GOOD VIBRATIONS...

Shoes off, center yourself, and enter the circle to sit, open-palms to absorb all the good vibes. Thus re-energized, we move towards the row of stone bowls filled with water leading up to an oversized stone table upon which three stone bowls full of rice grains sit.

...RICK LOOKS LIKE HE JUST ATE SOME OF BUDDHA'S RICE...

WHICH I AM PRETTY SURE HE DID!

We pause here to offer some of the rice we have brought into each of the bowls, sit at the table and munch on a few grains ourselves – sharing a meal with the Buddha.

Next we climb the hill to a large stone ovod at the head of the temple grounds, stopping to pick up a stone to toss on the pile as we do our three clockwise circles to give thanks for our safe journeys thus far, and ask for guidance and protection as we continue. The blue cloths tied around the flagpole at the center of the pile flap in breeze, their shredding threads sending our prayers off into the breeze.

In the distance to the Northwest of the ovod a low mountain peak winks at us, and we are instructed to take a swig of the blue vodka bottle that our host has bought with us, and throw some in the air to the mountain to say thanks for the good vibes and re-energizing.

Behind the ovod is a stone monument with a musical verse and lyrics inscribed in its side. We join hands and sing together, a song of praise and love dedicated to an unseen Sweetheart, or perhaps, to an unseen Deity.

One more ceremony to complete before we leave the temple grounds, as we walk back towards the south gate, another stone circle lies in our path. This one, we are told, is a dream machine – we enter the circle, take the rocks which are strewn about within, and arrange them into representations of what we want to wish for.

As we leave the temple, the Buddha eyes watch again until we disappear from sight and head off to the meditation caves 800m away.

MEDITATION CAVES CARVED INTO THE DESERT LANDSCAPE

These caves are remarkable. The land here is very ancient, cut into the sides of a small gorge winding its way through the volcanic rock, worn away and shaped over a millenia by wind and rain.

10 caves are visible from where we stand, though we are told that over 108 exist throughout the landscape here, a retreat for Buddhist monks through the ages seeking enlightenment through intense meditation. The largest of the caves are perhaps just large enough for a man to stand in, and would be sealed once entered for 108 days, with only a tiny entrance to pass one meal /day through. Now that’s commitment.

WHERE'S THE HOSHO AT?

From here we hit the road again, stopping briefly at another Buddhist temple on the way out for a quick visit and take-away meal of hosho [fried meat dumpling], bought from an old woman waiting in the shade of a massive monument emblazoned with a scorprion for passers-by with her homemade hot box [cardboard lined with styrofoam and a woolen blanket].

Three more hours later, we pull into our new home for the next 5 days: Bayan Bhukel Co-Operative.

Mongolian Permaculture: Day 37 – Sainshand Aimag Center, and What To Do When Two Bulls Are Charging

...I FOUND THE FOUNTAIN IN THE PICTURE,
BUT NOT THE DINOSAUR...

The day dawns bright and sunny, the stark desert light streaming through our window.

Breakfast is a fried egg on a fried slice of bread in the restaurant, and we are very happy to see that our translator has at last shown up!

Things are looking up, we catch up with Minde and review our plans for the trip, including the new plan to visit our friend The Guv.

We walk out to the main road and flag down a taxi – in Mongolia, anyone can decide to be a taxi and pick you up – and soon a car slows down, kicks out the old man sitting in the back seat, and offers to take us out to the co-operative.

THIS PIPE TAKES WATER FROM THE WELL
USING A PETROL-POWERED PUMP
TO IRRIGATE A POTATO CROP PLACED AT THE TOP OF THE HILL IN THE DISTANCE

This group is struggling more than any we’ve seen the entire trip; as we walk around the fields, Rick and Kat both wonder aloud if they’ve got any livestock, because there certainly will not be enough vegetable crops produced here to feed one family, let alone all the families of the co-op.

FLOOD IRRIGATION IN POTATO FIELDS:
SALT IN THE WATER TABLE IS LEFT BEHIND AS IT EVAPORATES,
EXACERBATING THE SALTING OF THE SOIL WITH EACH WATERING.
SUBTERRANEAN DRIP IRRIGATION IS MORE APPROPRIATE IN THESE CONDITIONS
TO MINIMIZE WATER LOSS TO EVAPORATION AND THE RESULTANT
COMPOUNDING SALTING EFFECT.

Salty soils, windblasted crops, a petrol pump hammering away loudly in the background …melon crops shriveling …a massively overengineered rock pyramid to elevate the water tank …which has water being pumped to potato crops being flood irrigated at the top of a hill …moth-eaten cabbages struggling under the relentless sun …a recently built root cellar sitting empty and unused, its clay floor soggy from water running off into the front door…

WILD RHUBARB GROWING AS A 'WEED'
IN THE SALTY POTATO CROP IRRIGATION CHANNELS

Meanwhile, wild onions and wild rhubarb grow throughout, thriving on neglect and almost taunting the farmers with their spontaneous growth.

SUCCESSFUL CHILI CROPS IN THE GREENHOUSE

It’s all a bit depressing, until we reach the greenhouses… and find that the group has achieved some real success with their tomato and cucumber crops. It is a relief for us all, and it is apparent that this co-operative has been figuring out for themselves that their input-output ratio is far better in these small, intensively managed spaces.

AN UNDERGROUND COOL ROOM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT...
...HMMM, WHAT OTHER FUNCTIONS CAN WE GET OUT OF THIS INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE?

To permaculture eyes, some solutions seem very obvious: for a permaculturist, it is almost painful to see an un-used resource in any system.

For example, having a root cellar sit un-used for 3 months /year would just be too painful to bear; instead, why not run a wire from the bank of solar panels near the water tank to the cellar for light and power, and live out the hot Gobi summer months in cool underground comfort, and utilise this resource throughout the year?

GREENHOUSE PRODUCTION FAR OUTWEIGHED
ACREAGE PRODUCTION AT THIS CO-OPERATIVE

Windbreaks, mulch, drip irrigation, crop stacking, and better greenhouse design will all improve production here, and we are beginning to question the wisdom of deciding to grow cabbages in an area where they are clearly not suited to.

The sheer amount of energy required to maintain this crop in the Gobi, let alone create conditions in which it can flourish, would simply be unsustainable. Perhaps a better place to start [and more efficient use of energy] would be to look at plants adapted to, and already growing in the region – such as the wild onions and rhubarb - then exploring their viability as food and cash crops.

It is much easier to work with nature than to fight against her.

After lunch and a mid-day siesta [seeking shelter from the Gobi wind and sun], we flag down another car/taxi to visit the food processing facility across town.

THE TWO BULLS APPROACH EACH OTHER OUTSIDE THE FOOD PROCESSING FACILITY

Minde and I arrive in the car behind Rick, Kat and Oyuna, and the tensions which have been simmering since Minde’s failure to make the train ride down with us suddenly erupt.

We’ve been effectively hamstrung in our effectiveness for the last two days, and Rick’s frustration finally boils over.

Minde is a proud man himself, and does not appreciate the verbal lashing, so the Two Bulls butt at each other for a while [one threatens to leave the project to work where he might be better appreciated, while the other threatens to find a replacement translator], and we all clear the room while they sort it out.

Nothing violent, just two very strong, very smart men arguing loudly, until at last a resolution is found, and they emerge shyly to continue with the site visit.

Rule #1 of Conflict Resolution:

‘Never get in the way of Two Bulls charging.’
- COMMON SENSE -

Kat takes over with questions for our host, and we are shown the autoclaves, jar storage sheds, and brand-new vaccum packaging machines.

GOBI GOODIES

There is even a package of preserved wild onions in a chilli sauce, which has proven to be a popular seller in local markets. This may be the evidence we need to support the idea of growing local plants as cash crops in the Gobi.

Back at the hotel, the two men shake hands and bury the hatchet, laughing at the day’s events. Aid and Development is not easy work, and both men know the emotional toll it can take.

More importantly, both men know that the work to be done is far more important than emotional overload, or wounded pride.

Tomorrow we will catch the train to Zaimin Yyl to meet the Deputy Governor.

Mongolian Permaculture: Day 36 - Dalanzargalan, Sainchand, and the Governor of Zamin Yyl

WELCOME TO THE GOBI

The sand-blasting wind which greeted us late last night did not let up.

On his first visit to the Gobi Dessert, Rick boldy predicts rain today [upon arrival, and after midnight] ...and the co-operative members who came out to greet us at the railway station shake their heads ‘No’ in amusement.

‘Don’t be silly; we’re in the Gobi…’

…this morning, however, the wind dies down as breakfast is brought in, the first drops of rain spattering against the window as the co-operative members who thought Rick was crazy last night are wondering if perhaps this strange man with the bright yellow shirt and loud red hat has brought rain to the Gobi.

THERE'S 3 MORE OF US IN THIS CAR!

We cram ourselves into the back of a tiny sedan and bounce out to the vegge plot, wedged into the back seat so tightly that dips which otherwise would have sent us crashing into the ceiling are rendered mere bumps along the way.

Jackets and beanies today against the cold and wet, sandy soil sticking in clumps to our boots due to the higher clay content here.

LOOK CLOSELY AND SEE IF YOU CAN PICK OUT ANY GEMSTONES...

The ground is also littered with rocks: quartz and ironstone and an outcrop of shale or perhaps slate and something that looks like amethyst, and something else that might be flourite.

RICK AND KAT WALK THE SITE

The co-operative plot is located in the middle of a windy, open desert plain, and the crops are windblasted throughout.

A Chinese mine can be seen in the near distance, their closest neighbour, though because our translator still has not arrived, we are unable to determine exactly what they are mining… if it is coal, than we may have access to coal dust, a waste product of the mining operation that could be used as a slow release mineral fertilizer for the cropping fields.

UTILIZING BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES

Three year old seabuckthorn trees are healthily established but stunted, and Rick plucks out a woody shrub growing nearby, walks over to the perimeter fence, and weaves it into the wires to demonstrate how to form a windbreak.

1. UNSHELTERED BEETROOT PLOT

2. WIND-SHELTERED BEETROOT PLOT

The beetroot plots are sparse, except for a patch nestled in a corner formed by the solar panels’ battery house and the water tank, forming an unintentional windbreak which demonstrates what a dramatic difference the simple adjustment of keeping the wind off can make.

DESERT WEED SUITABLE FOR 'LIVING MULCH' GROUND COVER;
WINDBLASTED AND STUNTED SEABUCKTHORN SAPLINGS CAN BE SEEN BEHIND RICK

The desert weeds spring up pretty quickly once fences are up to keep the grazers off, and we identify one groundcover desert species that is thriving in the harsh conditions [now that the animals are unable to munch on it] that would make a great living mulch.

THE GOOD NEWS :
WORD TRAVELS FAST -
ONE WEEK AFTER LEARNING ABOUT MULCH IN TOSONTSENGEL,
THIS NEW KNOWLEDGE IS TRANSFERRED AND REPLICATED
THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY IN THE GOBI DESERT

Kat is scribbling notes and I am snapping pictures furiously to keep up with Rick’s running commentary and analysis of the site so that we can fire questions at our translator when [and if] he arrives.

WIND DAMAGE VISIBLE TO FRAME ON RIGHT [WINDWARD SIDE] OF TOMATO GREENHOUSE

The greenhouse crops are doing well here, with the first red tomatoes we have seen on the vines all trip, just now ripening. However, the steel frame of the tomato greenhouse is visibly buckling from the stresses on its winward side and the plastic is beginning to rip in the corners; there is room for further improvement here.

SUCCESSFUL CUCUMBER CROP IN DOUBLE-GLAZED, SUBTERRANEAN GREENHOUSE

The cucumber greenhouse has been built into the ground, has an insulative double-layer of plastic sheeting, and a cage rock wall on the south-facing side of the north wall for thermal mass. The co-operative leader plucks a couple large cucumbers from the vines and offers them up for us to munch on as we continue the site visit.

MELON CROP LOOKING DISMAL

Spray irrigation is being used in the melon field, which exacerbates salination in the salty soils, and maximizes water loss to evaporation in the desert conditions. Indeed, the melon crop is looking dismal and will not yield any notable crops.

POTATO CROPS IN TOSONTSENGEL WERE ALMOST TWICE THIS SIZE,
AND ALREADY FLOWERING

Similarly, the potato fields are looking pretty sparse for this late in the season, and these are being flood irrigated instead. This also has the effect of exacerbating salination; as surface water evaporates, a salty film is left behind which compunds each time the trenches are flooded. Over time, the salt will build to unsustainable levels for cropping.

Trenching and mounding could also be done more efficiently here – mound, mound, trench instead of mound, trench, mound – to reduce labour inputs, and increase productivity.

THIS IS NOT A ZUCCHINNI!
[C'EST NE PAS UN MUSHROOM]

We are shown a fairly healthy zucchini crop that makes a sound like knocking on wood when we rap our knuckles on it; it turns out to actually be a variety of winter squash ...could be good for storing, some squash varieties will keep for up to six months.

WEAVING A WINDBREAK INTO PERIMETER FENCING
USING WILD DESERT SHRUBS GROWING IN FENCED AREAS

Then we all huddle into the solar panels’ battery room to get out of the rain and warm our hands and bodies with a nice warm cup of tea; time for a quick training...

DALANZARGALAN CO-OPERATIVE

…except that our translator is still missing…

…frustrated and full of unanswered questions, we pile into the back of a hand-cranked tractor and are taken back to the hotel to catch our 4pm train to Sainchand.

TRACTOR RIDE IN THE GOBI DESERT ...PRICELESS.

Sainshand is the largest aiymag [rural center] we have been to outside of Ulaanbaatar, with a population of approximately 37,000.

Its large train station is on the edge of town, and is a hive of activity, while the wind continues to whip us even as we shuffle towards the taxi stand in search of a ride to town.

As the muted light fades from the overcast twilight shy, our hotel lobby welcomes us in darkness as we stumble up the steps into the double doors.

There is a tense moment of uncomfortable silence as the startled receptionist tries to renegotiate the room rates - to double the price - when she sees our foreign western faces walk in the door.

We turn on our heels and march back out into the wind, and a staff member hurries after us to bring us back at the original rate – 20,000MNT [approx $20AUS] /night.

When the electricity is finally turned on [after eating the first half of dinner by LED flshlight], we find ourselves in the swankiest accomodation we've experienced yet. The hotel restaurant is decorated like a rich ger, hung with paintings of Mongol horsemen, archers, scenes of nomadic life, the obligatory portrait of Chinggis, and exotic portraits of half-nude Mongolian women lounging seductively in the royal ger.

Since we are no longer on official Aid Agency business, we try to order a cold beer, and find out that it just so happens that today is a ‘no alcohol’ day in this particular aiymag center. It seems that each time we try to go out for a cold beer, we time it so that it co-incides with a TOTAL BAN day…

…the first night in Ulaanbaatar, before we began the consultancy, we tried to sample the Chinngis beer on tap, only to be told that alcohol wasn’t served on Thursdays in Mongolia. Then, thirty days later, when we try to have a celebratory cold one for a job well done at the conclusion of the consultancy, we just so happen to go out, again, on a TOTAL BAN night:

"But it’s not Thursday,” we protest, and find out that, actually, every 1st of the month is a TOTAL BAN day in Ulaanbaatar.

Now, 4 days later, we find out that we have wandered into Sainchand Aiymag Center on the 4th of the month, which, of course, just so happens to be a TOTAL BAN day. Some Aussies have all the luck.

Rick wanders over to one of the exotic portraits in the corner of the restaurant to appreciate it from a better angle, and an important-looking gentleman in dark glasses glances up from his beer with a look that says, ‘What the hell do you want, mister?’

To which Rick smiles and says, ‘Sain Bain O! [Hello!]’

The important-looking man drinking the only beer in town on a TOTAL BAN night looks over his dark glasses, pauses for a few moments, then laughs heartily and waves us over to join him.

A couple cold Chinggis Drafts later, it turns out that we have made friends with the Governor of Zaimin Yyl, a soum located another three-hour train ride south from Sainshand to the Chinese border. He graciously invites us to visit his soum on our day off, promising camel rides and horse rides and good times, in exchange for a visit to his local vegetable-growing plot.

"Why not?", we shrug to each other, and it is settled, on Saturday we will go to visit our new friend.

It's easy to make new friends in Mongolia!

Mongolian Permaculture: Day 35 - To the Gobi!

RICK KICKS THE TYRES OF OUR RIDE

Does Rick’s genius know any bounds ...?

…today he was snoring in time with the rhythmic monotony of the train click-clacking the miles and hours away. Uncanny...

The sleeper carriage we are traveling in is pure luxury compared to the jangling roads we have bounced on to-and-from Tosontsengel.

We are short of our translator, who did not book his ticket in time and has effectively hamstrung our effectiveness in the field until he catches up; Rick is not happy.

However, Gobi Project Officer Oyuna is with us, and has at least completed the PDC with us last week, so that hopefully once we can communicate [in broken English / Mongolian / Mime] a concept to her [that she now has a base in], she can go on to explain to Co-Operative Members. Hopefully.

We make friends with our sleeper-carriage-mate, a Mongolian woman who shares her ryebread and sausage with us for lunch. I throw a slab of my 10,000MNT cheese in to the mix, Kat throws her bag of dried curds on the table, and we have a happy picnic on our hands!

THE GOBI EXPRESS

The landscape keeps rolling past our window, and we spot Wild Rhubarb amongst the new species of grasses, shrubs, and the occasional lone tree. Different soil types and weather patterns here, flattening out to meandering dune-hills there, as the horizon opens up to endless Mongolian skyscapes stretching above.

Meanwhile, carriages laden with coal or ore stretch lazily on the tracks, waiting to be taken far away to to China and Russia for processing.

NIGHT TIME ON THE GOBI EXPRESS

Seven hours later, we pull into our stop and have exactly 120 seconds to unload the dozen bags and boxes we have lugged with us, full of notebooks and pens and reflective foil and flipcharts and coloured pens and folded-up solar ovens and scotch tape and other supporting materials for the trainings.

It is cold and the wind whips fine sand in our faces, and howls lowly outside the window when we get settled into our bunker of a hotel at midnight.

Welcome to summer in The Gobi.

GER DISTRICT, ULAANBAATAR

OUTSKIRTS OF ULAANBAATAR

HERDS AND HERDSMEN WATCH OUR TRAIN ROLL BY

THE LANDSCAPE IS FLATTENING OUT
[CLICK TO ENLARGE FOR BEST EFFECT]

THE ENDLESS MONGOLIAN SKYSCAPE

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