MIM project Asral NGO Mongolia

One in every three Mongolians is struggling to survive in Ulaanbaatar, one of the coldest and most polluted capitals in the world. Most of them are children. Asral is an award-winning NGO established by Tibetan Lama Panchen Ötrul Rinpoche in 2001 with the support of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to combat poverty. It is run by Mongolian women, primarily supporting single mothers and their children. "ASRAL" is the Mongolian word for "care".

560 women trained and working independently
612 families trained in food-growing skills
96 children supported each year with access to education

We develop projects that offer skills to women to create employment opportunities and encourage social entrepreneurship. Our MIM (Made-in-Mongolia) initiative grew from tiny beginnings as a training project in 2004, to a business selling handcrafted felt slippers, blending a thousand-year-old Mongolian tradition with contemporary design and function. Fashioned from natural wool sourced in the magnificent central Mongolian steppe region and shaped in the heart of the Gobi Desert, our craftswomen take pride in every aspect of the slipper’s evolution, producing some of the highest quality felt products in Mongolia.

We have a strong narrative, we are ethically driven and we work with Fair Trade principles. Almost all of our materials are natural and locally sourced. Each item is hand-made.

Our work has been supported by the Dalai Lama Foundation and the Irish, Dutch, German and Canadian governments among others. Take a moment to visit Asral’s website and you will witness what we achieve with minimal resources, passion and great commitment.Read more