October
9, 2015
The
diversity and quality of baby camel down was showcased at a special event held on
September 30 in Ulaanbaatar.
The
exhibition and sales event, held in Chinggis Haan Hotel, featured an array of
garments and accessories made from the combed down of one-year-old camels indigenous
to Gobi-Altai and Bayanhongor aimags in the Gobi region of Mongolia.
More
than 130 people attended the exhibition, including representatives from the
Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Ministry of Industry, the Swiss Agency
for Development and Cooperation (SDC), embassies in Mongolia, development
agencies, domestic processing companies and herders.“Following
a series training in 2015 on how to prepare and sort combed baby camel wool,
camel herders from Gobi-Altai and Bayankhongor aimags prepared 1200kg of
premium-quality combed wool harvested from two famous local breeds, the Dukhun
Tungalag brown camel native to Gobi-Altai aimag and the Lamyn Gegeen red camel
from Bayankhongor aimag” said Mr S. Erdenebileg, head of the Bayankhongor aimag
federation of Pasture User Groups.
Baby
camels are not sheared; instead they are carefully combed without any harm to
the animals. The best time for combing is in early spring. When combing baby
camels, the coarse hair remains on the skin and only the soft down is removed,
hence the hair content is lower and the output is higher. The down is then collected
and sorted by local cooperatives and processed by experienced domestic
manufacturers into high-quality garments and accessories.
The
unique characteristics of baby camel down are the result of adaptation to
extreme climatic conditions, with very cold winters and hot summers. It is
durable, fluffy, comes in three natural colours (beige, light brown, brown),
and produces extremely soft products that retain heat.
A percentage
of the income earned from the show will be spent on improving the sustainable livelihoods
of herder families, on the continuation of Bactrian camel herds, and on
maintaining the integrity of Gobi rangelands.
According
to an analysis report from the Mongolian Textile Institute, the average micron
measurement of combed baby camel wool is 15.5mkm, with a length of 40mm and
coarse hair content less than 1 per cent, which is equal to that of goat
cashmere. In addition, the average yield after primary processing is 52 per cent
and the spinning yield is 92 percent, meaning the total combed baby camel wool
yield is 10 per cent higher than sheared camel wool.
