On the outskirts of Mongolia’s capital city, Ulaanbaatar, lie the ger districts, residential areas filled with traditional dwellings and marked by a lack of connectivity to water and electricity infrastructure. For generations, ger district families like Oyuntuya’s have shaped their lives around coal stoves, often spending upwards of three hours a day just tending to the fire, missing hours of precious time with their families and limiting work opportunities.
In a country where temperatures can reach lows of -40 degrees Celsius, coal is a feature of everyday life – and its use in the ger districts accounts for nearly 80 percent of the country’s total emissions. According to the World Health Organization, 3,010 people die in Mongolia each year from diseases caused by indoor air pollution. The ger communities have long borne the brunt of the impact.
In some ways, the pollution crisis is a far cry from what traditional gers represent – made from all natural materials, these annular felt dwellings leave almost no immediate footprint on their surrounding environment. Today, these homes are now regaining their role as models of sustainable living. Homes once suffocated by coal smoke are becoming symbols of innovation, safety, and community determination. This transformation is being led by compassionate local organizations and the community itself – neighbors, mothers, and community leaders who are embracing and spreading the word about proven solutions that increase their standard of living.
The Coal to Solar initiative, a joint project of the Universal Renewable Energy Certificate Accreditor (URECA) and GerHub, a local nonprofit group, focuses on converting households to solar energy, accompanied by targeted improvements to ger insulation in key areas to increase the thermal performance. Through the project, which includes around 80 households so far, GerHub and URECA take advantage of the Land of the Eternal Blue Sky’s ever-present sunlight. The initiative aims to offer innovative modular insulation upgrades, user-friendly energy systems, and hands-on workshops that empower residents to take ownership of the transition.
“We provide them with solar panels, a battery, an electric heater, and ger insulation. It’s kind of like a bundle,” said program lead Temuulen Enkhbat. The equipment is all provided free-of-charge.
GerHub was founded 2016 to provide innovative, community-based approaches to solving ger area issues. Today, GerHub’s low-cost solutions are leading to serious improvements in daily life for ger district residents and preventing approximately 4-5 tonnes of coal annually per household from being burned.
In homes where raw coal used to cloud the air, the shift is palpable. “When you’re in a Mongolian ger where they burn raw coal, typically during winter, it’s very dusty and smelly. [After switching to solar] they’re able to live in a clean, comfortable home, which should be the standard,” Temuulen said.
But there’s more to the initiative than just solar panels. After adding GerHub’s insulation, which was developed based on research from the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania, participants saw a dramatic increase in efficiency. Purevkhuu, a mother of three, saw an average 13-degree Celsius improvement in heat retention in her ger. Nyamjargal, a mother of two who runs a small sewing business, saw improvements nearly mirroring those of Purevkhuu. Better insulation leads to compounding savings. Nyamjargal shared that insulation combined with solar energy resulted in higher heat retention and “a more comfortable and cleaner home.”
The GerHub team stands proudly with community champions in front of their innovative insulation. Courtesy photo via GerHub.
For sustainable outcomes, technological innovation must accompany community-led leadership; the Coal to Solar initiative enlists the community to become their own change makers. Discussing families that have joined the project, Temuulen told me, “We don’t like calling them beneficiaries. We like to name them as project participants… They’re actively participating to make this work with us.” Decisions to transition to solar power are made by individual families, with inspiration often coming from within the community: a neighbor’s success, a daughter’s encouragement, or a workshop’s promise.
Purevkhuu believes that such success stories are “essential to improve public participation” in the project. These stories are shared in the community, increasing awareness of the possible solutions to some of the most pressing issues facing residents of ger districts in Ulaanbaatar and beyond.
Sambuu joined the program after seeing his daughter’s experience. “I noticed that her home became more comfortable and dust-free after starting to use renewable energy,” he said. He admitted that his family had been skeptical of the idea three years ago due to their uncertainty and unfamiliarity with renewable energy alternatives. Now Sambuu too benefits from clean solar power.
For Oyuntsetseg, the shift meant she had more time to do the things she enjoyed. “Instead [of tending the coal stove], we can use that time for more meaningful activities – like drawing, cooking, or spending quality time together.” For both these households, transitions were not just about energy shifts but lifestyle changes, ones that promote self-sufficiency and wellbeing.
Many project participants, like Badamsuren, initially feared that solar energy would bring with it higher costs. But after witnessing solar’s reliability and affordability, her worry turned to relief: “Now, my children wake up warm.”
Purevkhuu was made aware of the project through a Women’s Business Center workshop. After attending the workshop, she remarked, “I realized that not only could the ger be heated [through solar power], but there was also the possibility of accumulating and using surplus electricity.” With GerHub’s strong community partnerships, these outcomes will remain sustainable and efficient.
According to Temuulen, the program lead, “Initially, GerHub was mainly focused on air pollution and modernizing Mongolian gers… [asking] ‘how can we improve our Mongolian ger to be more efficient, but maintain this cultural identity?’” Climate change and job prospects continue to push citizens towards the capital city, yet for many, this shift doesn’t come from a desire to give up on a traditional lifestyle. Despite misconceptions, ger district residents often choose to live in gers. For this reason, Temuulan pointed out, “Our core advocacy point is that we want ger area residents to stay on their plots and improve their living environment by being active citizens.”
“I’m not interested in living in an apartment,” Purevkhuu declared. Other than heating issues, she finds the ger areas to be a very nice place to live; she particularly mentioned that her “children can play freely outside.”
Oyuntsetseg too spoke of love of the environment: “My children connect with nature and soil when they step outside.” Additionally, she stressed that ger living naturally incorporates physical activity into the daily routine through the tasks of fetching water and maintaining their plot.
Residents don’t want to leave the ger districts; instead, they want solutions that tackle the root of the issues riddling ger districts while also increasing their independence and capacity.
URECA’s team of maintenance workers install solar panels for pilot participants. Courtesy photo via URECA.
In rolling out the Coal to Solar initiative, GerHub focuses on training local technicians, offering affordable models, and building partnerships with local government and businesses. In doing so, GerHub is creating community leaders who help spread the word about the project. “We’re building a community of maintenance workers, an opportunity to create additional income and empower women,” Temuulen said. GerHub has also “trained seamstresses to manufacture Mongolian ger insulation. They can even create a micro business out of it.”
GerHub also runs a community-based program that shows tourists around the ger districts. Proceeds from the tours, Temuulen said, go “to the families who transitioned to the solar panels.”
GerHub sees a future in which communities can be built around solar energy. “We want to try one area where they all transition to solar to see the collective impact of the project,” Temuulen shared. To continue to expand, she said, “We need a lot of research capacity—how we can better engage communities and improve our ger insulation.”
She highlighted the importance of creating effective models that rely heavily on community involvement and capacity building, “We try to instill shared accountability. This is not something being handed to you for free, this is your own thing now.”
GerHub’s work shows that climate solutions can be rooted in culture, led by communities, and driven by dignity. As GerHub and its partner, URECA, continues their work and more families make the transition, local residents are reshaping public perceptions of ger districts from producers of pollution to clean energy innovators.