Felt Need - A Success Story
Nadmid, Bayanhongor Aimag

In 2003, Mrs. Nadmid's husband passed away, leaving her with 10 children and no income. With so many to look after, she couldn't sit idle for a moment. Nadmid had read stories about an organization called Mercy Corps, and she went to the office in Bayanhongor to see about opportunities.

Within months, Nadmid had taken advantage of a felt-training class and busily set about teaching her own children what she learned. She also attend sessions on how to start a cooperative and soon Hongoriin Sor was born. With a young group of "empolyees," and a small cooperative, Nadmid's next step was to find capital. Again, she turned to Mercy Corps, which had just launched the Loan Guarantee Mechanism with USDA funding.

Nadmid's application was approved for LGM support, and she borrowed 7 million MNT to buy basic felting equipment and materials. She repaid her loan and took another for 5 million MNT to buy more supplies and slightly better equipment. And she repaid that loan too. Through Market Days in Bayanhongor and Ulaanbaatar, Nadmid built a clientele that spans the globe—from Germany to Japan, Korea to the United States. All along the way, she and Mercy Corps have been partners.

Nadmid has always given back. Not just by repaying loans, but teaching others her skills—roughly 35 women to date. She has hired others in her community, some with disabilities that no other employer would even consider for a job. She recently hired six vulnerable women through Mercy Corps' USAID-funded Social Safety Nets project, and secured a business expansion grant to build a proper building to house future production activities.

Nadmid's children are now all grown. But she is still in her small ger in a district of Bayanhongor's capital that has no running water or electrical lines, teaching more women, planning for the next international shipment of felt products, and looking forward to do even more.