Ilaan Vasilievna, what is the “Running with Deer” project, what is its main idea?
Ilaan Kyndykan: It is about the creation of a reindeer farm, which will use innovative digital technologies. The project appeared in support of the idea of the entrepreneur Raisa Ilyinova. The young woman decided to carry out the precepts of her grandfather, the famous hereditary reindeer breeder of the Zhigansky Evenki national region of Yakutia, Apollon Konstantinovich Ilyinov. She wanted to revive this industry in its native places on a modern basis.
And in March, learning about Rai’s project and dream, the last reindeer herders from the village of Nelkan in the Khabarovsk Territory, the Karamzins, gave him a herd of 25 animals, which it was already difficult for them to keep. But exactly so many deer were planned by Grandpa Rai to implement his idea! As if the same fate united the heroes of the project.
Our startup will lay the foundation for “digital reindeer herding”. It is here, on the cattle farm of Raisa Ilyinova, that we use the latest technologies that will make the image of the reindeer herder fashionable and in demand and create all the conditions for attracting young people to the industry and promoting the culture of indigenous people. .
How did you manage to transport deer from the Khabarovsk Territory to Yakutia?
Ilaan Kyndykan: We receive the support of the Association of Indigenous Minorities of Yakutia, the regional ministries of transport and roads and agriculture, the United Russia party, various commercial companies, as well as the public. Thanks to such help, it was possible to bring deer to Yakutia and clear the territory of the camp.
We put the animals on a site near the Vilyuisky tract, now there is cleaning work here. We build a fence on our own, set up tents. First purchased reindeer moss.
By the way, the Karamzins themselves also arrived, who will help manage the herd at first.
How will the startup develop?
Ilaan Kyndykan: We will create a whole ethnic complex “Running with deer” – with digital installations, an educational environment, our own production and reproduction of the original way of life, the traditional way of the North.
Our project also involves testing the products of ASEZ residents of Yakutia. We will test stoves: analogues of pot-bellied stoves, drones and helicopters to track animals, collars with chips to accurately count cattle, reflectors on horns to scare away predators, etc.
It is planned to create an ethnocomplex “Running with deer” – with digital installations, an educational environment, its own production and reproduction of original life, the traditional way of the North
One of the key areas will be an educational program with the possibility of conducting special electives, organizing field camps, extracurricular activities with schoolchildren, including video communication with the Arctic territories.
It is planned to launch NFT tokens from the Arctic field: the dedication of the whole world to “digital reindeer herders”, in the long term, the emergence of a meta-universe of reindeer herders on the Roblox platform.
How can reindeer herding be digitized?
Ilaan Kyndykan: In September last year, a way to financially support reindeer herding communities was presented on the OpenSea site. A collection of eight digital reindeer NFT tokens was created in collaboration with 3D sculptor Nyurgun Ogotoev. Each figure is assigned to a real animal from the camp. The token holder gets access to our future metaverse as a backer, as well as the chance to view a live reindeer via a GPS tracker. The proceeds from the sale will be used to maintain the reindeer herd.
How is the profitable side of the “Running with Deer” project calculated?
Ilaan Kyndykan: It would be overly optimistic to expect a reindeer herding startup to break dividend records, especially early on. But the project’s financial model allows it to cover the cost of keeping deer and meeting its objectives.
It must be understood that reindeer herding, as the economic basis of the life of the indigenous ethnic groups of the Arctic, is an unprofitable and subsidized business a priori. The North is the integration of man in nature and a special primordial philosophy, far from a consumerist attitude towards nature.
In our project, we start from the formula for changing the type of activity: combining traditional occupation and modern technologies, thus creating a necessary product according to the laws of economic theory.
We demonstrate with actions, not with words, that all this is possible. We want to call attention to solving the problems of the indigenous peoples of the North. Ultimately, we seek to create mechanisms to develop the socio-economic potential of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic, which is one of the priorities of the national policy of the Russian Federation.
By the way
The “Kyndykan” association has experience in creating digital projects. Their pilot project “Digital Reindeer Breeder” in the Osikat camp was presented at WEF-2022. The owners of this camp are always in touch with the big world, they are actively involved in educational online courses. A youth internship base and online lessons for children will be arranged here. It is in this camp that Raisa Ilyinova will do an internship – initiation into the profession of a reindeer herder.
