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Frequently Asked Questions
Click here to go back to the main TCVC page.
1 - Why should I organize my visit to the Tsaatan through the TCVC? Currently, almost 100% of visitation to the Tsaatan is organized by individuals and companies outside the community, or carried out by independent travelers with privately contracted guides, leaving the Tsaatan largely out of the loop of tourism. That said, some tour operators have made great efforts to collaborate with the Tsaatan to share the benefits of tourism. The center works best in tandem with other tour industry professionals. When you incorporate the TCVC in your travel plans, you help encourage this interplay by enabling the Tsaatan to have an increasingly participatory role in tourism, earn benefits such as revenue from visits, and establish standardized norms and guidelines for visiting their unique community and ecosystem. Utilizing the TCVC is a great way to show the Tsaatan the respect and support they have requested when visiting their community. 2 - How can I contact the TCVC, or learn more about services offered there? Direct phone lines and two-way radios are still being set-up to connect potential visitors to the TCVC and to nomadic Tsaatan herders directly. Until that time, the Tsaatan have asked The Itgel Foundation for assistance in fielding questions and disseminating information about the TCVC and about their community. Itgel maintains regular communications with the Tsaatan, and can serve as a bridge between you and the community. Complete contact information for Itgel (In Mongolia and the U.S.) can be found by clicking here. You may have also read about the E-mail address reindeer@hovsgol.org in the Lonely Planet guidebook, which requests that visitors send an E-mail alerting the Tsaatan of your travel plans. Itgel, and other friends of the Tsaatan, receive a copy of inquiries sent to that address, and assists in the process of conveying those correspondences to the Tsaatan. 3 - Where is the TCVC? How can I get there? Is it on the way to the Tsaatan’s nomadic camps? The TCVC is located in the northernmost village, Tsagaan Nuur, of Mongolia’s northernmost province, Hovsgol. To reach the TCVC, you can fly or drive from Ulaanbaatar to Moron, the aimag center of Hovsgol. From there you must drive to Tsagaan Nuur. This can take between 10 and 20 hours. Drivers can be contracted at the Moron Tourist Information Center. Once you’ve arrived at the TCVC, you are at a great jumping-off point to reach either the East or West Taiga Tsaatan camps, which are accessible only by horse. Reaching Tsaatan in the taiga can take between 3-12 hours, depending on the location of their nomadic camps. Horse and guide services can be arranged at the TCVC. 4 - Why is the TCVC not closer to Lake Hovsgol? Isn’t that where the Tsaatan live? The Tsaatan do NOT traditionally live near Lake Hovsgol. In recent years, a very small number of Tsaatan families have chosen to move to the Lake in order to harness revenue from tourist flow in the area, despite the fact that the Lake Hovsgol region offers very little, if any, forage for reindeer, resulting in disease, malnutrition, and even death of their herds. The recent trend of heading south to the lake has also catalyzed rifts in the Tsaatan community. For example, herders that stay in the taiga feel that Tsaatan presence at the Lake objectifies their culture, jeopardizes the health of their primary resource, their reindeer, and disrupts traditions and patterns central to the Tsaatan lifestyle. Families that do choose to go to the Lake earn small amounts of cash from tourists by posing for portraits or conducting shamanic rituals, a result of little access to alternative income sources, and dire economic situations. This tough decision ultimately threatens the very survival of the Tsaatan and their reindeer. When asked, Tsaatan herders consistently say they would rather host visitors in their home region, the taiga, where their reindeer are healthy and their lifestyle can be sustained. By visiting Tsaatan families at the Lake you are helping to perpetuate a dangerous cycle that may spell out the end of this unique culture. Please be an informed traveler, and do your part to promote sensitive tourism in Mongolia. You can do this by showing the Tsaatan that you are willing to make the effort to support their community by going further north to the TCVC, rather than seeing “The Reindeer People” at Lake Hovsgol. 5 - Is the TCVC free to visit? What services do I have to pay for? Entering the TCVC is free and encouraged. You can gain access to cultural information, updates on routes and weather conditions, and much more at no charge. Fee-based services such as guiding, horse rental, lodging, and cooks, as well as products for purchase are available at the TCVC. Only cash, in local currency, is accepted. Fees can vary based on many factors such as season, group size, availability, etc. 100% of revenue goes to support the Tsaatan community and the TCVC. For more information on fees and services, contact Itgel. 6 - What goods or services are NOT provided by the TCVC that I may need? Translators, drivers, camping gear, and specialty food items are NOT available at the TCVC. Several Tsaatan herders have expressed interest in learning additional languages so they can provide translation services, but at present, only Mongolian and Tyvan are spoken by community members. If you are not proficient in either of these languages, the Tsaatan HIGHLY encourage you to bring a translator. They also ask that you come prepared with your own tents, gear, and food. Do not plan to live off of/with the Tsaatan. As of fall 2006, the TCVC was developing a project to make meal kits available for purchase to visitors. The system allows visitors to purchase ready-made meal kits and deliver them to “host” families in the taiga who will prepare food for your group. This brings revenue to the community and reduces the burden put on Tsaatan families to feed guests. Sorry, special dietary needs cannot be accommodated. 7 - I am part of a tour group that will visit the Tsaatan, how can I support the TCVC? Share news of the newly-established TCVC with your tour operator, and share your desire as the consumer to support the Tsaatan and the TCVC. Encourage your tour operator to contact Itgel and utilize the TCVC to sub-contract services such as horse guiding, cooking, and more. Additionally, you can request that your tour plan a stop at the TCVC so members of your group can learn about the Tsaatan, purchase handicrafts and other goods, or make a contribution to the Tsaatan Community Fund. 8 - I want to have an in-depth, authentic experience with the Tsaatan, is that possible if I make plans through the TCVC? Making plans through the TCVC is the BEST way to ensure that you have an enriching, authentic experience since the TCVC allows you to directly connect with members of the community. You can hire a Tsaatan guide who knows the taiga intimately, and can help you make arrangements to stay with host families, take part in daily life, and understand the culture and environment of the Tsaatan. The TCVC can also help make sure that you do not break specific taboos, stay too long or in the wrong place, or do things that may be harmful to the community. By avoiding these things, you will have a more positive visit, and walk away with a greater understanding of Tsaatan life. 9 - Can I just show-up at the TCVC? Will someone be there to help me? Currently, the TCVC is not staffed full time, but there is a host family that watches over the Center that lives adjacent to the TCVC, and may be available when you arrive. Their names are Hurelgaldang and Sharhuu. They can open the TCVC for you, and help you make arrangements. Please remember that some services offered to “walk-ins” do not have set fees at this point, and require sensitivity on the part of visitors to fairly negotiate. 10 - I have visited the Tsaatan before, should I return on my own or include the TCVC in my plans? Even if you have visited the taiga numerous times, it is always a good idea to include the Tsaatan in your travel plans, as you are making a visit to their home. If you have not used Tsaatan guides or horses in the past, using the TCVC helps you do so, ensuring that your visit considers the people you are going to see. 11 - How can I make a contribution to support the TCVC project? Tax-deductible contributions of all sizes can be made directly to The Itgel Foundation, with specific indication that you’d like your funds to support the TCVC. Click here to donate online. You can also make a contribution when you arrive at the Center. Contributions made either way go 100% to support the TCVC and to the Tsaatan Community Fund, utilized for community-wide improvement projects such as hiring a doctor to make house calls or offering scholarships for young students. Contributions made at the TCVC should be in local currency (Tugrik) and directed to a designated TCVC representative, or the TCVC accountant, Bayanjargal. 12 - Will it cost me more to incorporate the TCVC in my travel plans? The TCVC offers services that are competitively-priced, such as daily rates for horse rentals, guides, cooks, and accommodations. You may find that TCVC rates are actually significantly cheaper than rates quoted elsewhere, as the Tsaatan are the direct service providers and have virtually no overhead associated with their Center. Every dollar you direct towards the TCVC deeply benefits the Tsaatan, whose average household income is less than $100 per year, well below Mongolia’s poverty line. 13 - I want to conduct research or produce a film, photo exhibition, or other media about the Tsaatan, how can the TCVC fit in with my plans? If you are hoping to conduct any kind of commercial, academic, or media-related activity involving the Tsaatan, it is particularly important that you incorporate the TCVC in your plans. The Tsaatan have encountered many filmmakers, photographers, authors, journalists, biologists, and anthropologists, and are savvy to the concept that many of these visits are designed to produce products that yield profits, publications, or public material of some kind. Some Tsaatan welcome participation in these kinds of projects, while others are not interested. Most herders feel, understandably, that compensation is appropriate if the end-result is a profit-generating product. The TCVC can help ensure that your project takes these factors into consideration, resulting in sensitivity towards the community and a greater chance of success of your project. For specific questions about border permits, cultural norms, fees, schedules, and more, please contact Itgel. |
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