We visited a camel breeding camp. When we arrived we found they had loaded up their ger and belongings onto a trailer and were moving about 3 kms away. They move each season. The camp was run by a 22 year old girl and her 23 year old husband. The 60 camels were inherited from their parents and had about 8 new babies.
They had to get water from a well and carry it in large plastic drums. Dung was collected from their animals and dried for fuel for their steel firebox for cooking.
A wind up dynamo radio was used to listen to music and to keep up with the news and like most Mongolians they had cellphones but I don't know how they recharged them as there was no electricity.
Four trellis sections were folded out to make the circle. The birch wood frame was joined with ties made from animal skin. The low door was fitted to the trellis and it was strapped together.
The round centre piece represents the sun and its rays. It is partly covered with plastic and has a hole for the stove chimney. Two painted uprights support the centrepiece and these uprights represent the husband and wife and one should not walk between them.
Thin painted supporting poles slot into the centrepiece and are tied to the trellis walls.
The roof is covered with a cotton cover.
Thick felt made from sheeps' wool is wrapped around the roof and then covered with plastic.
The sides get the same treatment as the roof. For the snowy winters extra layers of felt are used.
The felt is covered with cotton covers and the sides are all strapped together. You can see the orange painted furniture waiting to be put together again. The floor is covered with felt and then carpet and the sides are decorated with colourful cloth.
It took about 1 1/2 hours to put the ger up and then we drank green tea with camel milk and had a bowl of fermented camel milk which tasted like a tart yoghurt.
