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February 28, 2025

[Support Report] Navigating the Future of Sanitation in Mongolia

Relive our four-day strategic workshop with Impact Hero 2023, Oyungerel (Oyuna) Tsedevdamba, as we help her advance her solution to improve Mongolia’s sanitation issues.

From Mongolia’s unforgiving -30°C winter to Bali’s tropical warmth, Oyuna and Daagii (advisor to her organization, Local Solutions), arrived for an intensive four-day strategy workshop with the Impact Heroes support team. This gathering, held from February 5 to 9, 2025, was a time to pause, reflect, and chart a clear roadmap for scaling her impact.

For years, Oyuna has led the charge to transform access to safe and sustainable sanitation, striving to build a future where more people can live with dignity and health. And with only one year left in Earth Company’s three-year acceleration program, the question at hand was clear—how do we ensure that Oyuna’s impact not only continues but thrives long after our support ends?

In this report, we invite you to step into these four days of intensive dialogue and planning, that will hopefully answer that exact question.

 

IMPACT HERO 2023

Oyungerel Tsedevdamba

Founder: Local Solutions

A novelist, a human rights activist, and a former Member of Parliament, Oyungerel (Oyuna) is not just advocating for change—she is building it from the ground up. She has been a driving force for sustainable development in Mongolia. From 2012 to 2016, Oyuna served as a Member of Parliament, advocating for policies that address pressing social and environmental issues.

Mongolia faces severe challenges in water and sanitation. Only 58% of the population has access to safely managed toilets*, and the gap between urban and rural areas remains significant. In rural communities and urban ger (nomadic settlement) districts, outdoor pit latrines are still the norm—posing serious risks such as child accidents, dehydration from avoiding toilet use, and the spread of infectious diseases due to poor hygiene conditions.

In 2017, Oyuna launched the "Let’s Change Our Toilets" campaign to shift public awareness and behavior around sanitation. Her mission is to improve hygiene and environmental conditions by introducing safe, sustainable, and eco-friendly toilets, providing community training and education, and fostering cross-sector collaboration to drive long-term impact.

(*Source: UNICEF)

More About Oyuna

 

Report Contents

Workshop Objectives • Key Highlights • Workshop Outcomes

 

1) Workshop Objectives

In many parts of Mongolia, pit latrines remain the norm, contributing to serious health risks and environmental pollution. To address this challenge, Oyuna has set an ambitious goal: to install 6,000 dry toilets across Mongolia by 2030—ensuring that more people have access to safe and dignified sanitation.

However, this goal goes far beyond simply installing toilets. It’s about community engagement and education, cross-sector collaboration, as well as financial sustainability—ensuring that solutions are not only adopted but embraced.

We designed our workshop to help break down Oyuna's vision into a tangible roadmap, identifying key milestones, fundraising strategies, and identifying the most critical and effective support that Earth Company can provide in this final year of support— to ensure maximum impact.

 

2) Key Highlights

Turning Annual Goals into an Actionable Roadmap!

(From left to right: Daagi and Oyuna, at the kick-off meeting with the Impact Heroes Support Team)

 

Ambitious goals require clear steps. Achieving Oyuna’s ambitious goals demands a thoughtful, strategic approach that takes into account Mongolia’s unique cultural, and environmental conditions.

Over the four-days we worked together to refine Oyuna’s overall strategy and we focused on the following aspects:

  • carefully analyzing the feasibility of Local Solution’s dry toilets and map out an implementation plan
  • developing a financial forecast, and set measurable milestones that helps ensure long-term sustainability
  • defining the financial targets will help guide resource allocation and fundraising efforts, that will ultimately reinforce the organization's structure.

What came out of this was a blueprint for real, lasting change, that will hopefully extend beyond Earth Company’s support.

 

Dialog with Oyuna and the Earth Company Team

(Oyuna shares the cultural, societal, and environmental challenges of sanitation in Mongolia, to the Earth Company team)

 

Oyuna led a powerful discussion on the realities of sanitation in Mongolia. Her presentation was eye-opening, revealing systemic challenges, cultural taboos, and the progress made so far. The Q&A session that followed sparked engaging and thought-provoking conversations, allowing the Earth Company team to not only strengthen the team’s awareness, but also refine how we can best support Oyuna’s efforts.

 

Expanding Opportunities: Networking with Sustainability Leaders

(Oyuna and Daagii meeting with sustainability experts working on similar sanitation issues in Bali)

 

We were also delighted to connect with members of *Green School Bali, a globally recognized leader in sustainability. Their firsthand experience in composting and eco-waste management offered invaluable insights into behavioral shifts, infrastructure development, and community engagement—all key components of making sanitation reform work in Mongolia.

Moreover, this exchange provided a valuable opportunity to explore innovative sanitation solutions and discuss potential collaborations for the future, strengthening Oyuna’s mission.

*Green School Bali: often referred to as the world's most sustainable school.

 

3) Workshop Outcomes

As Oyuna enters the final year of support with Earth Company, we hope this workshop helps prepare for her next phase of impact. Since launching the “Let’s Change Our Toilets” campaign in 2017, Oyuna has led the movement to break long standing taboos around sanitation in Mongolia—not just through infrastructure development but through grassroots, inclusive, and community-driven approaches.

Our workshop was able to achieve the following three outcomes:

  • Refined her project’s strategic roadmap,
  • Developed a clear actionable plan for more effective implementation which include tangible annual KPIs, and financial forecasting,
  • Expand networks and opportunities to ensure continued progress beyond 2025.

This final year will serve as a foundation-building phase for Oyuna’s next chapter. Earth Company remains committed to supporting her in strategy development, execution, and long-term sustainability, ensuring that this mission continues to grow beyond our support period.

 

 

Thank you for walking this journey with us.

Stay tuned for more life-changing updates from Oyuna, as we work more closely with her
to build a future where safe and dignified sanitation is accessible to all!