First published 2015
Batbayar watches his livestock struggle through another drought on the Mongolian steppe. For thousands of years, his family has moved their animals with the changing seasons across these vast grasslands. Now climate change brings harsher weather and turns green pastures into desert. Mongolia sits on massive deposits of coal, copper, and gold that fuel rapid economic growth, but this boom offers little to traditional herders. Batbayar must choose between fighting the brutal conditions that kill his animals or abandoning the nomadic life entirely. Tens of thousands have already fled to Ulaanbaatar, where they crowd into ger camps around the capital without running water or jobs that use their herding skills. The story follows families caught between preserving their cultural identity and surviving in a world that no longer supports their traditional lifestyle.
Genres: adventure, environment, non-fiction, 21st-century, cultural, climate-change
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: cultural-preservation, survival
Setting: Mongolia, Mongolian Steppe, Ulaanbaatar
Period: 21st Century
120 pages · Hardcover · Goff Books