How Tourism is Empowering Local Women in Modern Mongolia

Stuart Kenny, author at Much Better Adventures, explains how local women in Mongolia are finding confidence, financial security and a love of hiking by guiding international travellers.

The landscapes of Mongolia continue on beyond the colossal plains and the remote, rolling peaks sold in the photographs. The Khazak eagle-hunters do still exist, living in mountainous Western Mongolia and working with golden eagles to hunt their prey through the bleak winter, and the nomad way of life does still continue, though the word ‘nomad’ is of western conjuring. Those involved refer to themselves as ‘herders’, and live in Mongolian 'gers', not 'yurts'.

The stretching, rugged scenery of Mongolia is almost ubiquitously jaw-dropping, but in truth, it has never been the landscape which defines Mongolia, but rather the way that its people exist within it. This fact rings true to the modern day, where from the bustling capital city of Ulaanbaatar, social enterprise Eternal Landscapes are using tourism to empower women – by training them as guides.

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Jess Brooks set up Eternal Landscapes, along with her business partner Turuu, over 10 years ago. Their aim was to break from the typical tourism stereotypes and clichés used to sell Mongolia, and help create a tourism model which actively benefited locals, as opposed to contributing to a standard tourist circuit which concentrated footfall and encouraged inauthentic, commercial 'traditions'.

"At the time we started, the only low-season trip being run in Mongolia was dog-sledding, organised by a western company," says Jess. "Mongolians don't dog-sled. It's not part of their culture and it's not who they are. Mongolian dogs aren't bred to pull sleds.”

Jess and Turuu set out to create authentic trips to support locals year-round, rather than only during the “high-season”, and took the decision to only employ female trip assistants, in order to improve the job prospects of local women.

[…] “[T]raditionally, women were actually considered equal in partnership to men. We thought, why not do the same with our trips? Let's employ older men, who are typically overlooked by tour companies, but are experienced drivers, and then use our trip assistant positions to create opportunities for women."

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"When the USSR broke up [in the 1990s], although Mongolia became a democracy, it lost everything – all the subsidies, the infrastructure and a lot of the work,” Jess says. “That put the traditional family unit under extreme stress. Suddenly everybody was unemployed, and from that you get alcohol abuse and you get domestic abuse, and the equality of male and female started to change.

“Now though, we're getting more stability back in the country. There are still major issues, especially in Ulaanbaatar, but women in Mongolia are being given freedom again. Not just by society but by their families, and you're getting this generation of younger women who now have older role models.

“If women have the support they need, they can branch out, and there's nothing really stopping a woman from working in tourism if that's what she wants to do. […].”

Many of Jess’ trip assistants are also mothers, or work primarily as a teacher but look to earn extra income during holidays. Eternal Landscapes provide extra flexibility throughout their training process in order to accommodate for this, and to keep things as accessible as possible. Dashka is one such local guide.

“As a teacher, it is tough to find a part-time job here in Mongolia,” she says. “We have a long summer holiday in education, and Eternal Landscapes allows me to work as much or as little as I want or need during the holiday.

"Personally, it’s really beneficial – professionally and financially. Female workers can collaborate and help each other when we work in a team. We can also learn from international female guests. It helps make Mongolian women stronger.”

Pujee is another guide who has also used the opportunity to develop not only financially security but herself – and has developed a new passion for hiking.

“Working in tourism benefits local women if the company is flexible and supportive – often in Mongolia, our circumstances can change very quickly – and if it pays a sustainable wage,” Pujee says. “If a company is flexible and open, it creates great opportunities for Mongolian women – including building financial independence, confidence, skills and a sense of empowerment.

"I've found my inner person and interests. Working in tourism has helped me find who I am. It’s created a new Pujee – and that Pujee loves to trek! Previously, I didn't have the confidence, but last year, I climbed Mongolia's highest mountain."

While the training programme for Jess’ guides is currently informal, she dreams of being able to set up a more formal, structured school, should funding arise.

For now, Brooks is excited to continue playing her part in ensuring tourism develops responsibly in Mongolia, and continues to benefit local people. […]

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[…]. Perhaps this modern generation of female guides will inspire many more, and uplift and empower local women for years to come.

Inspired? Check out [Much Better Adventures’] new adventures in Mongolia and contribute to responsible tourism, empowering and inspiring local female guides.

This is an excerpt from an article originally written by Stuart Kenny and published by Much Better Adventures.