SHAPING THE LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLABORATION VIA TRADITIONAL BEVERAGE “AIRAG”

Abstract

Airag, known also as kumis or tsegee, is a fermented mare’s milk, which has been originally a traditional drink of nomadic peoples in the steppe region of Eurasia from ancient times. Due to the recent sedentarization occurring over Eurasia, it became difficult to find the airag produced by the traditional method outside of Mongolia, where nomadic pastoralism is still active in the countryside. Thus, we started to document the traditional airag production method since 2012 in Mongolia to finally disseminate it nationwide, as the nomadic pastoralism is under threat of extinction under the market economy after the end of the socialism era in the 1990’s (e.g. Bat-Oyun et al., 2015, 2018). The traditional method of airag production that remained in the countryside of Mongolia is a very important heritage of nomadic pastoralism. With this background, we are preparing to make an exhibition of airag in the museum of the Mogod county of the Bulgan province in northern Mongolia. Mogod is one of the most famous counties for producing high quality airag. The exhibition of museum aims to function as a platform for eco tourism of nomadic pastoralism that will help boost the local economy in the future.