The last few days...

Charlie with the board chair who proudly ownes approx 600 hectares of land where he produly grows wheat. 

So just as we expected, no internet, but plenty of reliable electricity out there so that was good.  We left UB on Sunday morning and travelled about 2.5 hours north to a village (soum) called Bonuur. Majestic green and pale yellow/brown coloured  mountains dotted the dusty landscape as our little Toyota "something" bounced and rattled along the roadways. It was a nice change to be out there. Fresh(er) air and tastier traditional Mongolian food than here in the big city. Everything cooked and served here is grown in the local area and of course its all home made. I have to admit when we arrived I was a little apprehensive about this next stay but boy was I wrong. It was a great credit union to work with, very well run and a very strong leader running it with along with a very proud and supportive Board and community behind it.

The chair and CEO of the Khasbanyan Ulziit credit union

My coaching partner and I along with our translator met with the CEO of the credit union and his staff for about 2 hours on Sunday after we settled in. We hit the ground running Monday morning with more discussions with the CEO, then a meeting with the Chair of the Supervisory Committee who also is on the Board of Representatives for the soum (like a city councillor). We met in his office. When it was over he presented us with honorary visitors medal and certificates. The medals commemorate the 20th anniversary of the soums existence. We spent some time travelling through the farm areas. This area is a huge producer of vegetables and wheat. Lots of potato farms. This is the P.E.I of Mongolia. Met some great people (cu members) and took lots of pictures.

Potato harvesting

The CEO asked us to zero in on his most pressing challenges which was getting his members to save more than they do now and coming up with ideas to help him grow membership. The credit union is only six years old and is profitable. But they need to grow. Working closely with the CEO and the Chair we manage to put together a number of possible strategies that could help.

Meeting with the Chair of the Supervisory Committee inside his office at soum hall

Back to UB Thursday morning. All of the other teams will be back too as we get ready for our Friday morning debrief with our Mongolian partners MCTCC. We head home Staurday. Its an early flight out.