Modern Nomads

I fly from New York to Moscow on July 30th, 2005, but my project really begins in Mongolia. I arrive by train and will leave by train. I stay three months altogether and travel from the desert to the mountains, from the grasslands of the central plains to the forests and lakes in the north. I leave Mongolia at the end of October before it gets too cold, but not without seeing some snow and feeling a hint of the numbness of a Mongolian winter.

Mongolia was an obvious choice for a project concerned with nomadic housing. Mongolians are famous for three things: horseback riding, extreemly cold winters (the temperature can drop to -40 C), and beautiful, brilliantly designed homes.

Mongolians are traditionally pastural nomads, people who live off the land by raising camels, yaks, horses, goats and sheep. Mongolians living in the countryside may move anywhere from four to eight times a year depending on climate, availability of water and fodder for their animals, and personal preference. When they move, they bring their homes with them, as well as all of thier belongings. These gracefull structures, constructed from wood, felt, fabric and rope, are incredibly durable, can be set up and taken down with great ease, protect their inhabitants from wind, rain and severe cold. They form the foundation of nomadic communities and countryside life.

In the last ten years, the population in Ulaanbaatar, the capital (and only) city has more than doubled. It is now estimated that around one third of the population lives in Ulaanbaatar - mostly in the ever-growing ger suburbs/slums that form the perifery of an already polluted, strained and rather troubled city. This new urban population is a mixture of students coming for higher education (and often staying for work), "upwardly moble" families looking for industry jobs and nomads who have lost their herds to the zuds (extreemly harsh winer storms) or simply sold them off.

Movement, nomadism, security, housing, weather and the land are constant topics of conversation in Mongolia. People were very eager to talk to me about what it means to be a herder, why they stay in the countryside (or have left) and what they see as the fundamental differences between nomadic and settled communities.