In far northern prefix = st1 /Mongolia, the living of the smallest ethnic group in the country--the Tsaatan community depends on a kind of animal reindeer. An American named Morgan Keay visited the Tsaatan community when she was studying in Mongoliain 2002. Local leaders told her that the animals were not healthy and the number of reindeer was. getting too small to support the community. Back in the United States, Morgan Keay and a friend who had also studied inMongoliastarted an organization. They named it Itgel the Mongolian word for "hope". The Itgel Foundation has helped bring foreign scientists to Mongoliato research and treat reindeer diseases. They also helped Tsaatan workers build a community and visitor center. The building includes guest rooms for tourists. The Tsaatan not only work as guides, they now provide services for travelers. The community works in partnership with international tour operators, who had formerly been in control of the services. People in the community designed the center, which they also own and manage. Before the visitor center was built, families earned an average of 100 dollars a year. Now Morgan Keay says the average is 3 to 4 times that. Money also goes into a community account. Four years ago the Tsaatan had fewer than 500 reindeer. Now the herd has already reached 900. Morgan Keay says the Tsaatan are becoming economically independent for the first time. The Mongolian government is now considering a development plan written by the community that deals with education, health, the environment and economics. With the help of Itgel, the Tsaatan did the following EXCEPT
building a community and visitor center providing services for travelers doing research treating reindeer diseases working as guides for tourists