Olkhon Raion in Siberia

Vladimir Markasaev of Yelantsi in the Olkhon Raion on the western shores of Lake Baikal was trained by his grandfather as a shaman. Here he is offering tribute to the gods of Lake Baikal at a holy site along the Angar river before a journey to the lake. Photo by Dan Tawczynski.

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Susan Witt and several staff members went to Olkhon Raion in the summer of 1995 as part of a larger USAID funded project to develop local institutions, land trusts, ecologically sound agricultural production, and economic self-sufficiency among the Buryat peoples. Read her report.

The work of the Olkhon center is also documented in Land: the Challenge and the Opportunity