Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Odontuya “Odno” Adiya and O’Neal Library director Lindsy Gardner display a Mongolian flag at the Mountain Brook library where Adiya is completing a monthlong U.S. State Department fellowship.
Librarian Lindsy Gardner and her staff are like ambassadors to the world for their patrons at O’Neal Library in Mountain Brook.
Youth and adults come to the library and can travel the world through the books and resources available.
But without realizing it, Gardner was an ambassador for Mountain Brook during her trip last year to Mongolia.
Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Gardner holds “The Secret History of the Mongol Queens,” a book she read during a trip to Mongolia that led to an unexpected connection with Adiya.
“Apparently, I was [a Mountain Brook ambassador] because Odno said that she really wanted to come here to learn more about community engagement,” the librarian said of Odontuya “Odno” Adiya, her 33-year-old intern from Mongolia. Adiya was so impressed by what she heard that she decided she needed to visit the city and library about which Gardner spoke.
“I don’t really remember talking much about the library, but I’m sure I did,” Gardner said. “We were together for 15 or 16 days, and apparently, I talked about how our library was part of the community tapestry. That made an impression on Odno. She was working in communities where she was trying to build community engagement for ecotourism. She felt that there were lessons to be learned here.
“It was not my intent, but I think that it was an unintended consequence that I was an ambassador for what’s so special about Mountain Brook.”
Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Adiya plans to return home and run a four-day summer camp for students about developing sustainable tourism.
Gardner was such a good ambassador for the city that Adiya sought and was awarded a fellowship through the U.S. State Department to come to the United States and stay for a month through mid-May. Her mission is to return home and run a project that’s based on the experience and knowledge she gained during her visit.
“That project must serve the community and also community development or engagement,” the Mongolian visitor said. “Before coming here, I already proposed a project to Lindsy and the State Department, but I can do a little adjustment. That project is actually running a summer camp.”
Adiya established her own consulting company in the tourism industry. She is working on developing sustainable tourism in eastern Mongolia.
Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Adiya assembles a model of a ger, the traditional dwelling of Mongolian nomads and a centerpiece of the rural communities where Adiya is working to develop sustainable tourism.
“There’s this specific small village where I [am] working with the herder cooperatives,” she said. “Together last year, we established a small bed and breakfast. Now the bed and breakfast is run by the herders. I consulted on the operation of the bed and breakfast, and I also brought international tourists there.”
Adiya developed itineraries for touring the surrounding areas.
“Now my project is focused on the youth [and] young adults of this community,” she said. “I’ll just run a four-day immersive summer camp for 10 students and also two teachers from the secondary schools of that community so that the participants will get equipped with this scientific knowledge and sustainable tourism practices.”
The aim is to also boost their local pride.
Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Adiya, wearing traditional Mongolian dress, points to her home country on a globe at O’Neal Library.
“There is this big rural and urban divide in Mongolia,” Adiya said. “Young people tend to leave their small village to [go to] the city, of course, for better education, the better income. Still, they need this local pride, and I want them to understand that there is still opportunity at your hometown. I also [want to] inspire the next Mongolian environmental leaders. That’s a big ambition.”
During summers in Mongolia, Adiya works as a tour guide, contracting with four tour operators. Her tours included Nadaam, the biggest summer festival in Mongolia, as well as reindeer, snow leopards and a paleontology tour.
“It’s a special interest travel tour,” the intern said. “I’m also learning to become the bird-watching tour director. Mongolian tourism is basically based on the natural resources, so I had to learn things like that.”
Adiya said directing tours in Mongolia has been a two-way street as tourists learn from her.
Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Odontuya “Odno” Adiya displays materials from her May 7 presentation at O’Neal Library, including a model of a traditional Mongolian nomadic ger.
“I also learn a lot from them,” she said. “Also, we exchange lots of cultural experience and lots of things. That’s why I came here because I was really inspired by Lindsy last year. We were talking about all these events and activities at this Mountain Brook library to engage the communities.
“I was really inspired by this,” Adiya said. “I was thinking, ‘I wish I could visit that library and get the hands-on experience of what she’s doing here.’”
Gardner said she’s tried to make Adiya’s learning experience as robust as possible.
“She’s very interested in conservation, so I’m working with some of the local conservation organizations for her to have time to learn more about the biodiversity of Birmingham and Jefferson County and how conservation efforts work here,” the librarian said. “It’s been a joy for me just to introduce Southern culture to Odno and all the different foods. It’s just been delightful to play the tour guide to her.”
