More than 35,000 plastic bottles were consumed by Horseback Mongolia clients and teams during the 2018 season. A shocking figure that brings us face to face with our direct impact on the environment. To limit this and act more responsibly, we developed a solution: eliminate plastic water bottles and use 10L Katadyn filters to provide drinking water throughout our tours. A solution that will first be tested during the 2019 season and rolled out across all tours from 2020 onward.

Over 35,000 plastic bottles used in 2018

Summer 2018, Horseback Mongolia continued its growth, welcoming over 2,000 clients for the first time. As a consequence, plastic water bottle consumption during tours kept climbing. The math is straightforward: 2,000 clients and 1,000 local team members each consuming a 1.5-liter bottle daily over an average 12-day tour. We arrive at 36,000 plastic bottles. The figure is staggering, and it prompted us this winter to consider more sustainable solutions to reduce, or even eliminate, bottled water consumption.

The challenge in Mongolie is complex. Outside the capital, it's extremely difficult to find water supplies. Only small shops along the tour routes stock bottled water. Even the water at ger camps is unfiltered and unsuitable for drinking as-is.

Discovering the Katadyn Filter

Our research led us to the Katadyn Base Camp Pro 10L filter, which stood out as one of the best options available. The results were compelling, and during tours, we have no shortage of water sources: wells, rivers and lakes, water from ger camps. We would simply need to filter the water at our own scale and provide it to travelers, whom we'd gift with a metal water bottle branded with the Horseback Mongolia logo upon arrival.

First Tests of the Katadyn Filter

Initial tests proved promising, and during our annual guide training, teams were receptive to the issue of waste in Mongolie. Some seemed hesitant about the proposed solution, though: Does it really work? Are there zero risks of contamination? These were the most common questions we encountered.

We reassured them about the quality of this Swiss brand, which is a reference in water filtration technology, and decided that for this first year, we'd offer the solution to volunteer team members (guides and drivers). After discussion, most were enthusiastic, and we ordered a total of 38 filters from Switzerland.

Now it's their role to educate travelers about this issue and explain why we've changed our approach. Bottled water may offer peace of mind, but it's no better than the water we filter, and we all must adopt a more responsible approach to consumption, and therefore to travel. We're eager for positive feedback from travelers this summer before we roll out the system to all our teams in 2020. Of course, we'll continue to offer bottled water to travelers who prefer it.

Horseback Mongolia is truly proud to be a pioneer in Mongolie in scaling the use of water filters across all our tours, and, for once, we'd be delighted if our peers followed our lead to reduce tourism's overall impact on our endangered environment.

To learn more about the Katadyn water filter, click here.