DM2008 award winner Volunteer Service Organization (VSO) has co-established a wool and cashmere fiber laboratory in rural Mongolia that will help Montolian herders and traders gain entry to the more profitable premium fiber market.

The English-language UB (Ulaanbaatar) Post published this story on the lab.

With their fiber graded for quality, 300 Mongolia farmers could see their income increasing up to 25 percent.  Up to now, the farmers, without grading, had to sell their wool and cashmere fiber as lower-priced raw material.  Mongolian traders will also benefit from the grading as they participate in the international fiber market.

The new lab, which is located in Arvaikheer in mostly poor Ovorkhangai Province, was established by the Ovorkhangai Department of Agriculture and Light Industry, the World Bank, and DM winner VSO Mongolia. U.K.-based VSO works through volunteers to reduce poverty in developing countries.

Under its $198,000 DM award, VSO is also helping to integrate herders and Mongolian wool and cashmere manufacturers and fashion companies to strengthen Mongolia's position in the international market for high-end textiles and apparel.