Responsible Nomads
Code of Best Herding Pratice

Healthy Rangeland, Healthy Animals, Healthy Products, Sustainable Herders...

Happy and healthy animals produce finer quality Cashmere Fiber, allowing producers’ prosperity and new generations to keep Nomadic Traditions alive.

In Mongolia, Nomadic Herders practice millenary old pastoral herding methods and live alongside their animals, accompanying them to their pasture in a nomadic way, to find sufficient forage. Mongolian herders collect Cashmere Fiber gently brushing goats at moulting time in spring, not sheering them, making their millenary activity totally Animal Friendly, opposite to intensive farming run in Inner Mongolia (China). An increasing Global Warming makes them face harsh and unpredictable environments, whether that be droughts, storms and extreme temperature fluctuations which reach minus 55° in wintertime. “Responsible Nomads” Code of Best Herding Practice ensure that participating Mongolian Herder Households and Cooperatives monitor and improve their Animal Welfare practices, making their unique Nomadic production of “Sustainable Cashmere” 100% Animal welfare-friendly.

Responsible Nomads (RN) Code of Best Herding Practice, is the result of a 19 years long committment to support Mongolian Nomadic Herder households, their Animals’ Welfare and Rangeland recovery and protection.

First developed by the Swiss Cooperation to International Development (SDC) in Mongolia, then spread Nation-wide by MFPUG Union, has now been approved by Order No.C/55 of the Director of the Standardization and Metrology Agency dated 30 December 2020 as Mongolian Standard MNS 6991:2020 (Requirements for Responsible Nomads Code of Practices for Sustainable Nomadic Livestock production).

Responsible Nomands CoP is the only valid and official Mongolian Standard for Sustainable Cashmere Fiber production.

The new official Responsible Nomads Government Standard for Sustainable Cashmere Fiber production, jointly with the Mongolian Noble Fiber Government standard for suh a fiber clean processing, RN Blockchain Traceability system, and the Protected Geographical Indication of Origin (PGI) certification, ensure to end consumers all unique values which underly to Sustainable Cashmere of Mongolia.

Rangeland Health is constantly monitored by digital procedures which elaborate data from a network of more than 4.540 webcams, to determine proper actions Herders have to take for preserving Mongolia’s fragile wild Steppe.

Mongolian Ministry of Agriculture and Light Indistry (MOFALI), and Mongolian General Veterinary Authority (GAVS) operate on the fields, registering in a Government Database Animal Health data.

In 2018-2020, 5.181 Nomadic Herder Households from participating Soums (group of Villages) received full trainings.

National trainings for Pastor User Groups (PUGs) leaders are held once a year at MNFPUG Union Forum.