Mongolian sheep shearers share in experience

Mongolian sheep shearers Ahanda, Ama, Baasca and Budee with Mark Barrowcliffe from Share at Levin AP&I Show.

A gang of Mongolian sheep farmers 12,000 kilometres from home are on a Kiwi exchange that has the potential to radically change their lives.

Budee, Baasca, Ama and Ahanda are from a long line of nomadic farmers that tend to their flock in one of the coldest regions on earth in winter - as they had done for thousands of years - shearing their sheep with a pair of scissors.

A typical pair of scissors used to shear sheep in Mongolia.

A chance meeting with a New Zealand bank manager on holiday in Mongolia had led to the quartet travelling to New Zealand on a shearing sojourn, arriving three weeks ago to work a summer, staying in Piopio.

By the time they go home in April, instead of getting through 30 sheep a day they’ll be crutching close to that amount in an hour.

Rabobank finance manager Paul Brough was trekking through Mongolia in 2019 when he came across a group of farmers who had built pens out of branches and were cutting wool from a herd of 900 with scissors at a rate of 30 sheep a day.

“It would take them a month. I came home and thought this is ridiculous, we could have a crack at running some courses,” he said.

Brough said he discovered there had been attempts to provide modern shearing gear to Mongolia before, but with no instructions on how to use it properly or maintain it, those efforts were doomed to fail.

“It was a complete waste of time,” he said.

An initial idea was hatched to run some courses in an exchange with visiting New Zealand shearers, and from there it made sense to see if the farmers themselves would benefit from travelling and learning in New Zealand through the establishment of Share Mongolia - Farmers Helping Farmers.

Rabobank flew Budee, Baasca, Ama and Ahanda from Mongolia, organised work, lodgings, gear and tuition using shearing gear and handpieces commonly used in New Zealand and other parts of the world.

There had also been an educational visit with a group of Kiwi shearers travelling to Mongolia teaching 68 farmers to shear and leaving them with machinery and teaching them how to use and maintain the gear properly, sponsored by the Australian Embassy, United Nations and the Rabobank Community Fund.

Budee, Baasca, Ama and Ahanda were staying with Share Mongolia’s Mark Barrowcliffe while in New Zealand. He said they were quick learners and practical thinkers. It was fascinating to see them navigate the differences in day-to-day living between here and their life at home.

“You only need to show them once. It’s amazing how they work things out,” he said.

Mongolian farmers Budee, Baasca, Ama and Ahanda with Share representative Mark Barrowcliffe.

Barrowcliffe was astounded at how neat their beds were made each morning, only to realise they preferred sleeping on the floor in tents, or gerr. Household appliances like showers and washing machines were the source of initial amazement. A trip to the beach was a real eye-opener, and feeding the cat.

“Everything is new to them,” he said.

There was the obvious language barrier to contend with, but common sense communication was there and an interpreter available - a “phone a friend” option - for the sharing of important information.

Shearers sweat it out at the best of times during the course of their work under roofs shed in the height of summer. Meanwhile, back home on the Mongolian plains temperatures during winter can plummet to minus 60 degrees in some places.

Dried cow and horse faeces were burnt for warmth. Sheep are bred with black heads so they are easier to find in the snow.

At the end of the exchange the farmers will return to Mongolia having worked and earnt money that they would be able to invest in their families and farms. One farmer said he was saving for his daughter’s high school education. She is 5-and-a-half months old.

It took Ama three days to travel to the nearest airport, and they then spent 20 hours on a plane flying to New Zealand, navigating three international airports along the way.

“I was relieved when they arrived,” Brough said.

Meanwhile, Budee, Baasca, Ama and Ahanda were in action at the Horowhenua AP&I Show at the weekend, joining a gang of shearers competing for time-honoured prizes in a variety of sections, and took the chance to wander around and take in some of the show’s attractions too.

Shannon farmer Ernie Timms gets through his work on the way to winning a title at the Horowhenua AP&I Show.

- Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air.