Ar Arvijin Delgerekh Cooperative, which specialises in producing and weaving yak wool plans to add more looms and larger factory space this year. The association will continue to work with herders and help them boost income, while creating internationally marketable products.

All 225 members of the cooperative have received training on how to tease and prepare yak wool fibers.Today, herders throughout the province benefit from understanding the value of their yak’s fur. Dagiitserev Lkhagvasuren, a local herder who joined the cooperative in 2018 was able to tease about 560,000 Mongolian tugriks’ ($202.50) worth of fiber from his 27 yaks.

Herders who have been with the cooperative since it opened have seen tremendous increase in the demand for and value of their yaks’ wool. Choisuren Namsraikhorol, a local herder, earns about 20,000 tugriks ($7.23) for one kilogram of wool. The collective exports the pure fibers and makes yarn for local use, while also weaving yak wool products like shawls and clothing. Annually, they sell about 1,500 textile products at the collective’s retail outlet, Baby Yak, which opened in 2018.