GER to GER Mongolia & THE United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)

Hello International Travelers and Partners!

Everyone at GER to GER is excited to inform YOU how successful Ger to GER has been at in achieving the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)! GER to GER truly believes that YOU all have provided a direct “positive” impact on Mongolia and we would like to share some of the successes with you! GER to GER measures its “Responsible Tourism” successes via the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (17 UN SDGs) and we have shared some of those successes below for you.

SHORT-LIST of how GER to GER Incorporates the UN SDGs:

  • UN SDGs: 1 – NO POVERTY: 80% of Humanitarian Trips’ finances are returned to rural nomads, drivers, etc.; 20% towards rural communities’ international marketing and training workshops.
  • UN SDGs: 2 – ZERO HUNGER: We have/continue to employ nomadic families who are the poorest of the poor that only have had 1 cattle and a couple sheep in the Gobi Desert, Terelj National Park, etc., and completely improved their lives within a few years, etc.
  • UN SDGs: 3 – GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING: Our training efforts focus on daily health/safety, reduce sanitation diseases, tourism incomes allow families to pay for medical insurance, visits, medication, surgeries, etc.
  • UN SDGs: 4 – QUALITY EDUCATION: Via workshops/tourism incomes nomadic children are attending schools, high schools and universities. ADULTS of nomadic families whom never formally attended high-school/college are trained by GER to GER and also via GER to GER’s OTJ “on the job” training opportunities during the tourism season. These adults experience first-hand the value of applied education/alternative jobs/incomes (secondary to traditional sources) and are inspired to save their finances to send their children to school…  Today almost all nomadic families are sending their children to secondary school, high-school and even university.
  • UN SDGs: 5 – GENDER EQUALITY: Over 70% of GER to GER’s nationwide managers are women; rurally, Mongolian women care for travelers’ family experience (food, drink, etc.) while the men generally guide the trips (though some women guide as well). GER to GER focuses on strengthening symbiotic relationships within nomadic families thus to ensure that our frameworks coincide with Mongolia’s cultural traditions/lifestyle rather than imposing foreign values onto nomadic families. Owing to our ‘gender equality approach’ both women and men equally participate as active stakeholders in all operational management, workshops, financial/budget concerns, etc., matters.
  • UN SDGs: 6 – CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION: Daily training/OPERATIONAL activity: 1) nomads AND travelers – “Leave No Trace” 2) importance of waste management to mitigate waste damages around pasture points, along travel routes, etc., both in learning and in nationwide operations.
  • UN SDGs: 7 – AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY: Since 2005, GER to GER has assisted all nomadic families to open savings accounts across Mongolia in order to generate account/credit histories that can be used towards accessing critical financial services and small loans to procure solar/wind powered units via their tourism incomes, etc. Nomads have greatly benefited from solar/wind power units – they have continuous access to communications, information, ability to charge lights and its diverse applications that enhances the quality of life deep in the outback/bush locations (studies, watching livestocks – predators, basic refrigeration, etc.)… Access to affordable and clean energy strengthens the ability for nomadic families to enjoy their remote lifestyles thus mitigating the need to become energy dependent on villages, cities, etc., which in-turn creates a vast variety of migratory issues – livestock, pasture, desertification, city services, etc.
  • UN SDGs: 8 – DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: Developing a nation/their people’s ability to advance their social economic aspirations while combatting TROLLS that seek to damage their international opportunities towards open market growth.  Over 90% of GERtoGER human resources are rural-based; guides, drivers, nomads, businesses, etc., via “Geotourism” we strengthen cross-industry social economic supply chains. In addition to numerous other initiatives, GER to GER also protects Nomadic Families’ rights to “Decent Work and Economic Growth” by actively combating “Dishonest Reviews” that are initiated by scammers, unethical competitors and their special interest groups, trolls, etc. 
  • UN SDGs: 9 – INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE: “GER to GER” is an ancient “kinetic supply chain” of the Great Mongol Empire – this ancient nomadic supply chain allowed the Mongols to maintain the peace of the world’s largest empire for over 400+ years across 24 million cubic kilometers that spanned from the Sea of Japan to the doorstep of Europe. Today, GER to GER employs this ancient supply chain to develop a nation/their people’s ability to advance their social economic aspirations towards open market economy via tourism and other spin-off social economic activities.
  • UN SDGs: 10 – REDUCE INEQUALITIES: GER to GER promotes the importance of the UN’s UDHRs while fulfilling the United Nations SDG within GER to GER’s daily operations throughout Mongolia and abroad via constant operational training workshops with travelers and with nomadic families, social media, reporting industry related issues to local/international authorities, etc. GER to GER’s founder (who is Alaskan Tlingit, Japanese, Filipino, Hawaiian, German/EU mix, etc.) has spent the last 6+ years tracking, mapping, observing, countering, combating, etc., a vast variety of “inequalities” from Asia to EU thus contributing towards the mitigation of home-grown issues across multiple countries/internationally recognized internet-platforms via a variety of initiatives.
  • UN SDGs: 11 – SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES: GERtoGER meshes “kinetic supply chains” with traditional “static supply chains” (nomadic networks, bush networks, rural villages, cities, communities, etc.) into innovative travel itineraries, products, services, etc., towards advance a state and/or countries’ destination image/products. GER to GER’s founder has spent the last 23+ years assisting Mongolia through it’s transitional development phase (tourism, meat and cashmere industries and its respective HR) – Mr. Fromer was apart of the first USAID funded  Contractor Teams called “The Competitiveness Initiative” that was tasked with Mongolia’s social economic stabilization of its main industries and increase their international competitiveness value to ensure the stabilization of Mongolia’s nationwide social economic environs. In addition to these works, Mr. Fromer has actively promoted Mongolia onto the international stage to generate greater opportunities for Mongolia via numerous international TV and Documentary Programs; i.e., National Geographic Society’s Washington DC Museum Centerpiece Film about Mongolia, CBS’s EMMY/DGA Awarded The Amazing Race (S10), Destination Truth, etc. More at www.Zanjan-Fromer.com
  • UN SDGs: 12 – RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION: GER to GER actively incorporates pro-active methods via its operations that allow “real-time” comprehension of the importance of “responsible consumption and production”: 1) international travelers are trained to become humanitarians/ethnographic travelers that learn to appreciate the variety of benefits of “subsistence nomadic livelihoods, traditions, history, etc.”; how one manages the symbiotic relationship between nomadic families, their environs for survival and economics. 2) Mongolian nomadic tribes are experts at “Responsible Consumption and Production”, however, with the growth of global “Cashmere Industry” pasture management issues have become a serious reality (sharp increase in goat numbers) that can no longer be ignored. Hence, GER to GER aims to generate alternative offset-incomes via tourism “to create tangible incentives” for the nomadic tribes to actively care for their lands and protect it from overgrazing (sustainable eco-incomes vs. land degradation incomes) which contributes towards rapid desertification that impacts a) nomadism b) livestock c) Mongolia’s traditional GDPs e) nature/environment d) etc.
  • UN SDGs: 13 – CLIMATE ACTION: GER to GER conducts climate action works via 1) conducting Nomad Relief Efforts during climatic disasters; films, media pieces, awareness campaigns, etc., that highlight the challenges faced by nomadic families and how tourism incomes assist nomadic families to better prepared. 2) GER to GER has established networks that can monitor trends (goats, desertification, watershed situations, weather impacts on land degradation, etc.) via nomadic families as it 100% pertains to their survival and the sustainability of Mongolia’s 3 traditional GDPs – cashmere, meat and tourism. 3) etc.
  • UN SDGs: 14 – LIFE BELOW WATER: Via workshops all herder/travelers are trained about the importance of water resources in relation to mitigating waste related issues, etc. Though Mongolia may not have oceans – the quality of Mongolia’s rivers, lakes, streams and underground water resources are vital to nomadic populations throughout the country – especially in desert regions where alternative water resources are scarce (rain, rivers, streams, etc.). Mr. Fromer also assisted USAID’s Gobi Initiative in “Watershed Monitoring” data-collecting and GIS monitoring. The Quality of Mongolia’s watersheds will directly impact Mongolia’s traditional GDPs (cashmere, meat and tourism) as nomadic families are the core “node” of all three industries.
  • UN SDGs: 15 – LIFE ON LAND: Via workshops all herder/travelers are trained about the importance of land resources in relation to mitigating waste related issues, watershed impacts on land quality, weather/climatic degradation of land, etc., in addition to serious issues pertaining to overgrazing, etc., GER to GER has established nomadic networks that can monitor such remote concerns as it directly impacts the quality of life on land in relation to the sustainability of nomadism and Mongolia’s traditional GDPs (cashmere, meat and tourism).
  • UN SDGs: 16 – PEACE, JUSTICE, AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS: We actively promote the importance of the UN’s UDHRs within Mongolia via social media, etc. Mr. Fromer actively encourages both developing and developed countries to “maintain the peace” via making the general public aware of social-issues (extremists, oppression OPS, racial hate CRIMES, etc.) that may indeed hinder the process of of SDG 16 being properly established via social media, networking, etc. LIKEWISE, Mr. Fromer allows himself to be the voice of nomadic families that are unable to voice their experiences/combat dishonest reviews and statements – as unethical individuals/scammers have unethically monopolized this situation for too long for unethical agendas. GER to GER strongly believes in the “rule of law” and its importance as Chingis Khan stated “Conquering is easy, maintain the Peace is difficult”… without peaceful relations Mongolia’s social economic development will not advance sustainably.
  • UN SDGs: 17 – PARTNERSHIP FOR THE GOALS: Via social media networks (facebook, twitter, etc.), partners, donors, etc., GERtoGER proactively expands its networks. In fact, GERtoGER has launched new Global Initiatives:
      • “Responsible-Tours.org” established by GER to GER and the Founder, this new Initiative is being launched by “The Global Practitioners” to assist International CBTs, CSR Initiatives, alternative community travel networks and Geotourism Initiatives
      • “LastLifeLine.org” under the GERtoGER Foundation this new Initiative aims to match Global Issues of the aforementioned “MDGs/SDGs” that require exposure to better link with like-minded organizations.s

Lastly, GER to GER needs your support – we need good humans to share their “human experiences” about Mongolia’s nomadic families… and YOUR assistance is greatly appreciated.

POSITIVE REVIEWS: All of us at GER to GER are truly blessed to have you travel with us in Mongolia and we would like to invite you to share your positive experiences. If you desire to share then please contact at info@gertoger.org and we’ll provide you a direct link where you can provide your experience. 

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISMS: As always for those that may have constructive criticisms and suggestions we always leave our door open for discussions – please do kindly send your experiences direct to info@gertoger.org so that we may use them in our training workshop with the nomadic families!

Again thank you for traveling with GER to GER and we hope that you will continue to support our efforts in Mongolia and abroad as Cultural Ambassadors.

Kindest regards,

Mr. Fromer

Responsible Travel Notes: 

* All Humanitarian Trips and Homestays are 100% “Reality Trips” that are managed and operated by locals and nomadic families; GER to GER Office operates ONLY AS A Humanitarian “Travel Agent” for communities (non-tour operator).

* GER to GER humanitarian trips is about “Reality” – real families, real lifestyles, real situation, etc. (who are the Mongols? And not about our expectations).

* GER to GER humanitarian trips are not an amusement park experience – it’s about awareness/respecting nomadic lifestyle and learning “their ways” (not ours), etc.

* GER to GER is an opportunity for people to learn how to integrate within other cultures vs. other cultures catering to our international norms and standards that we have become overly accustomed too and demand others to adhere too (like paid entertainment slaves).

* GER to GER has generated over a Million USD towards Mongolia’s social economic development via supply-chain synergies and provides over 80% of its revenues toward rural nomadic families that greatly need this alternative income source.