GerHub is a nonprofit social innovation firm founded in 2016 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, with the goal of offering uncommon solutions to common problems in the city’s ger (semi-formal peri urban tent dwelling) districts.
Vision: a vibrant and inclusive hub where creativity, collaboration, and innovation converge to address urbanization challenges in Mongolia.
Mission: Empowering sustainable urban transformation in Mongolia, with a dedicated focus on ger area communities.
GerHub works with global and local academic, design, engineering, and community partners to create radical, locally grounded solutions—emphasizing community engagement, policy advocacy, social innovation, education, climate adaptation, and placemaking.
Ulaanbaatar houses almost half of Mongolia’s 3.3 million population, with over 60% living in ger areas—unplanned neighborhoods lacking central heating, water, and sanitation. The city is the coldest capital in the world, with extremely cold winters reaching below –40C. Ger residents rely on raw coal stoves, which produce poor indoor and outdoor air quality and account for around 80% of winter air pollution in the city. Given these climatic, infrastructural, social and environmental pressures, GerHub’s integrated approach seeks to empower communities with tools, data, skills, and design solutions to improve livelihoods and sustainability.
GerHub’s programming is organized into four pillars.
Education – nurturing creative problem solvers and youth leadership.
Social Innovation – supporting community-driven entrepreneurship and behavior.
Climate – reducing pollution through energy efficiency and renewable solutions.
Placemaking – improving public space access, safety, and inclusivity.
Our community engagement is often through workshops, design studios, qualitative research, and empowerment of ger-area residents as change makers rather than passive “beneficiaries”.
GerHub also hosts international researchers and student teams, supporting studies on urban settlement, migration, mobility, environment, health and ger area life. GerHub has participated in global exhibitions to tell the stories of nomadic lifestyle, urban challenges, and unique features of ger areas of Mongolia: Venice Biennale, 2016, London Design Museum, 2016, The Gift, Munich, 2024.
The website has the full information about our projects under the above pillars: https://www.gerhub.org/our-work
We plan to continue the social innovation programs by piloting income generating models for participating community members under the Ger Doctor (Dulaan Ger) and Felt City, community based tourism projects.
