We welcome volunteers who want to experience the Mongolian farm life in Orkhon, Mongolia

Details

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  Description

  Hi,
  
  My name is Minjee and I am the owner of a Ranch. Together with my daughter we live on the border of a small village named Orkhon, which is about 50 kilometres north of Darkhan. On the ranch we keep cows and a couple of dogs and cats. On the land outside of our ranch we own over 100 horses which live in herds under a stallion. Our cowboy keeps track of them and pushes them to where the grass is greenest. Sometimes he also brings them to the ranch for a checkup, to change riding horses, for vaccinations, or to cut their hair. We also plant our own vegetable for volunteers and tourists. Also, our dairy products are from the cows.
  
  Mongolia has four seasons per year. We need volunteers who want to know more about farm work and who can ride horses well!
  
  Also, if volunteers want to trek on horses or rent cars to explore the countryside, I can help you with getting horses, or renting vans or motorbikes.
  This year I will start building a horse farm up in the mountains. I'm taking volunteers who want to help me build some DYI small houses and build and fix fences for the horse stable, as well as horse training, riding etc. The minimum stay at the farm is 21 days.
  Volunteers will stay in a Mongolian yurt and a small house with other volunteers. About food, we grow our own vegetables, and have our own dairy. Meat is from our own cows and horses. If you are vegan you must bring your own food.
  Notify us before you come if you are vegan.
  
  See you at the ranch.
  
  Minjee

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Teaching

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  Hospitality/Tourism

  General Maintenance
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  The ranch will offer you the opportunity to truly experience the Mongolian lifestyle. You live amongst local people and work alongside them. Sometimes the work is hard, but that is part of living on a real farm. That is part of our traditional way of life. We get volunteers that have some problems adjusting the first few days, but once they get used to the daily routine they start to enjoy it. There is a strong sense of solidarity amongst the volunteers and they have a lot of fun. Also during helping time! And eventually they have a hard time leaving the ranch and most of them want to come back one day...
  
  Apart form living this traditional way of life you will also learn a lot of practical things involved in daily farm work. You can learn how to milk cows, cut grass, help build fences and etc. etc. etc.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  I have been hosting volunteers for quite a long time.
  I would like to provide seasonal work descriptions. It may help future volunteers who are considering coming to my ranch.
  Mongolia has four seasons, and every season has its own climate and working rules.
  Let's start with March, April, and May. This time of year it's starting to warm up. Also the days are getting longer. The cows and horses need to be fed. Especially newborn baby cows. Make sure cows don't get stuck in river mud.
  Also help vaccinate cows and horses. Brand and castrate horses, but it's not an everyday task.
  In June, July, and August, move all cows to the summer place that's nearby the river and mountain where they want to go. For them it's paradise. Early morning get up and milk cows. Make cheese and dairy products the traditional way.
  We also plant and look after vegetables on the ranch so that we can supply our own food, especially for vegetarian volunteers.
  September, October and November is for grass cutting and making hay mountains, loading up and unloading. Fixing fences and shelters for the horses and cows.
  In December, January and February, the cows and horses come to the winter place. We feed them grass and collect cow manure daily. Also slaughtering cows and horses for food till summertime.
  
  
  Extra
  This year, 2024, we are planning to build a yurt guest house on my mountain land.
  It's helpful if volunteers know basic carpentry, plumbing, building, and painting. Build stone paths between the yurts.
  We also need volunteers who have knowledge of solar energy. The yurts will use solar lights.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Mongolian: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  We live in the main farm house, where we have rooms especially for volunteers (bunk beds). In spring and summer, when the weather is more warm you can also stay in a traditional Mongolian ger on our property. The food we eat is mostly from our own making. As we are a cattle ranch we eat our own meat and drink the milk the cows produce. In summer we make jam and cheese. Apart from that we get vegetables / wheat / rice form the town and if you cook you can make anything with the ingredients we have. The traditional mongolian diet is very much based on meat and dairy products, since that is what the land offers. But we also cook pancakes and pasta and whatever we can!
  In winter it is harder to get vegetables, so the diet will be a little bit more sober. But in summer and autumn we have a lot of vegetables and lettuce and we can make salads and have barbecues outside. If you are vegetarian that is not a problem, but please do understand that others will eat meat and that it is part of our culture.

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  What else ...

  When you as a volunteer have time of you can do whatever you want. you can go to the village, hike up the mountain, swim in the river, hang out with other volunteers or just sleep if you are tired ;)
  
  From UB Airport:
  
  1. Go to the main train station in UB
  2. There are morning (10:35 AM) and evening (8:30 PM) trains, and maybe some during the day. You can buy a train ticket from UB to Sukhbaatar (Mongolian). The train ride will be around 8 hours. Bring food and water onto the train (there is hot water on the train for noodles/tea). Bring toilet paper with you everywhere.
  a. You can tickets buy online at this website: eticket.transdep.mn
  b. You can also buy in person at the ticket station (another building to the left outside of the station)
  c. Train tickets are about 30,000-37,000 Tugrik
  3. Get off the train at the Orkhon (Mongolian) station. This station is 2 stops after Darkhan station. The attendant will usually tell you when you’ve reached your stop. The train only stops for ~2 minutes at the station so you won’t have a long time to get off the train.
  4. The direction of the house when your back is facing the train station is to the right if you follow the railway. Minjee may pick you up at the station or ask you to walk along further down the railway. Message her for more instructions from the train station.
  
  It takes about 1 hour each way to walk to Orkhon village from the volunteer house. You can follow the railway or the road straight to the village. You’ll be able to buy some basic groceries and snacks at the supermarkets in town.
  
  Clothes: work shoes, hat, t-shirts, thermals, shorts, jeans, long pants
  Other things: sleeping bag, sunscreen, bug spray (especially in summer), baby wipes, headlamp/flashlight, water bottle, e-cigs/cigarettes (if you are a smoker, these are hard to find in the village)

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  max 25 hours with 2 days off

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