Photo safari with Khasar Sandag
Date of 2024: April 12-25
Spring Migration of Nomads & visiting to Reindeer people with Khasar
Khasar Sandag is self taught photographer from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia who bought his first camera in 2009 and has gradually immersed in the vast fascinating world of photography. In 2012 he formally changed his profession to pursue photography as a career. Environmental portraits and social documentary are his favorites genres as these provide sincere people photography in their natural surrounding. His true fascination comes from the people who live in the most extreme, remote, exotic and diverse parts of the world. His mission is to try and capture uniqueness of individuals who live on this beautiful planet earth and tell their story. While not on assignment, he runs the only designated local film fixing (Steppe Fixers Mongolia) service in Mongolia. This departure designed to be as an explorer of inside life of rural Mongols and bring yourself part of horse trekking with local Nomads following their spring migration path, plenty of of opportunities of portrait images and untouched wilderness and pack animals. One of the highlight of trip is to shoot images of a few left Reindeer people or Tsaatan herders of Mongolia. Both attractions are involved active horse trekking in remote wilderness of Northern Mongolia.
TSaatan people
Dukhas live differently from most other people in the world. The Dukha's sense of community is structured around the reindeer. The reindeer and the Dukha are dependent on one another. Some Dukha say that if the reindeer disappear, so too will their culture. The reindeer are domesticated and belong to the household. In many ways they are treated like family members and shown respect. The community's chores and activities are centered around the care and feeding of their reindeer. .
Dukha communities on the taiga are usually a group of tents of two to seven households that move camp to find optimum grazing for the reindeer. Herding tasks are shared amongst the camp with children at a young age learning to care for the reindeer and keeping them safe. The girls and younger women do the milking and make yogurt, cheese, and milk tea. Young men and women and elders help with herding. A few of the men stay with the reindeer in the winter months, living in the open air with their herds to protect them from wolves and other predators. The men also make and repair their hunting tools and reindeer saddles and carts. Since they rarely kill a reindeer, they supplement their diet of reindeer milk products by hunting wild animals from the forest.