During my [visit to Mongolia](https://adrienneshulman.medium.com/notes-from-mongolia-part-1-e9f7e664ca2c) in the summer of 2019, I had the unique opportunity to watch nomads make cheese using methods passed down through generations. Below, you’ll find a series of photos that capture the entire process—from milking the yaks and preparing the cheese over a stove, to pouring it into cheesecloth, hanging it outside to dry in the sun, and finally enjoying a bowl of soft cheese, scooped up with our fingers. It’s a testament to the traditions of Mongolia’s nomadic people, whose lives are closely intertwined with the land and their herds.

* * *

* * *

I'm grateful for the opportunity to witness a traditional method of cheese-making firsthand, which deepened my appreciation and admiration for the Mongolian nomads' self-sustaining lifestyle—a way of life largely untouched by modern technology

**Further Exploration About Nomadic Life in Mongolia**

- [Part 1](https://adrienneshulman.medium.com/notes-from-mongolia-part-1-e9f7e664ca2c) and [Part 2](https://adrienneshulman.medium.com/notes-from-mongolia-part-2-8f0a688f215a) of my blog about my travels to Mongolia where I wrote about land ownership, cultural norms, food and diet, Buddhism and the Naadam festival.

- **[The Jeweled Horse Foundation](https://jeweledhorse.org/)** — a non-profit organization whose board I joined this year — is dedicated to providing aid to Mongolia to promote well-being and help preserve its culture and traditions.

- [Travel to Mongolia](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/13/travel/mongolia-millennials-road-trip.html?smid=url-share) is increasing among millennials.

- Mongolia's “big five” herds are yak, sheep, goat, horse, and camel, though there are also [reindeer herders](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/exploring-mongolian-taiga-with-tsaatan-reindeer-herders) in the north.

- Traveling to [provide healthcare](https://www.nytimes.com/card/2024/08/09/world/asia/mongolia-herders) for Mongolian nomads.