The Gobi Women's Project, begun in 1992, was a distance education project for women implemented in the six Gobi provinces of Mongolia. The project's aim was to help the nomadic women of these areas cope with the life-altering changes of political transition, and equip them with the tools needed to enhance the quality of their lives. To achieve this goal, the project had to address the following issues:

• how to reach large numbers of learners scattered over vast distances;
  
• how to provide basic education despite having minimal resources available within the country;
  
• how to utilize a decentralized framework of education for a country used to centralization; and
  
• how to create a curriculum and materials appropriate to the lifestyle, customs, and culture of nomadic women.
  

The solution to these issues was nonformal distance education; specifically, print and radio lessons were used to communicate and renew a number of survival and income generating skills important to the nomadic women of the Gobi Desert.

After analyzing the women's needs, developing an infrastructure, learning system, and materials, and training people for certain roles, the pilot phase began in January of 1995. At a 3-day crash course, 1,500 nomadic women from 10 districts met at district centers, received learning materials, and met with visiting teachers. The project provided radios to those women who did not own one, as well as batteries and relevant booklets. The print materials addressed the specific needs of the women in the areas of health, survival and income generation, business, and literacy. The women used the materials for learning activities in their homes, and were visited by teachers once or twice a months for 5 months. Feedback and evaluation of all learning activities was used for making improvements in the structure and curriculum before the start of the next phase, and showed that the lessons were valued by the women learners.

The main phase, which began in January of 1996, involved 15,000 women in all 62 districts. Booklets were sent from the country's capital, Ulaanbaatar, and weekly radio programs were broadcast from three local stations and the capital. Learning materials were supplemented by newsletters, demonstration materials, and information sheets. Visiting teachers traveled to the women's homes, checked their progress, and helped them with any specific problems they encountered. The women also held occasional group meetings and attended demonstrations and teaching sessions. Overall, the districts saw a significant increase in local activity and the women were extremely active, satisfied, and productive. The main phase ended in December of 1996.

The activities of the project provided opportunities for the women to learn a number of urgent and valuable skills. The group activities and visiting teachers gave them a great deal of social and educational support, as well as a decreased sense of isolation. Communities benefited from local activity. The lessons and materials also had a beneficial impact on the families of the women, as husbands and children often involved themselves in the learning activities of their wives and mothers.

The Gobi Women's Project is included in the International Literacy Explorer for its use of nonformal distance education through radio and print materials to improve the lives of Mongolian women to provide desperately needed skills. The project's strategies and materials, discussed further under Program Activities, can be modified for use in numerous other rural areas.

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