Wollken Design UG

Wollken Design UG is a Berlin company working with Mongolian natural fibres: yak khöövör, cashmere and sheep wool. It was founded in September 2025 and trades under the brand Wollken Studio. The fibre comes from herding families in Uyanga, in the province of Övörkhangai, in the Khangai mountains. It is sorted, spun and knitted in Mongolia, and the finished pieces are designed in Berlin.

The company was set up by two founders. Nandin, Co-Founder and Managing Director, grew up among the herding families in Uyanga before moving to Germany, and runs the brand, design and German operations. Zurgaadaibaatar Altantuya (Zuko), Co-Founder, runs the supply chain and Mongolia-side operations from Ulaanbaatar.

Designed in Berlin, made in Mongolia

Most Mongolian fibre leaves the country as a raw or semi-processed commodity and gains its value somewhere else, under someone else's name. Wollken keeps the processing in Mongolia. Raw fibre collected in Uyanga is graded and spun in Ulaanbaatar, knitted by partner workshops there, and flown to Berlin as finished product. Tsetsegmaa, the lead weaver in Ulaanbaatar, oversees the work.

The design happens in Berlin: silhouette, gauge, colour, the decision about what a yak cardigan should actually be for a customer in Hamburg or Copenhagen. The manufacturing stays where the fibre is.

Why yak

Yaks shed their soft undercoat once a year in spring, and the usable share is small, which makes the fibre naturally scarce. It is fine enough to wear against the skin and considerably more resistant to pilling and abrasion than cashmere of comparable fineness. Undyed, it carries the animal's own browns and greys. Yak herding also sits differently on the pasture than goat herding does, which matters in a country where overgrazing for cashmere has become a measurable problem.

The connection to Nogoon Nutag

Wollken Studio was built alongside Nogoon Nutag, a Mongolian conservation initiative working on pasture management, responsible production and keeping more of the value from Mongolian natural fibre inside Mongolia. The division is straightforward: Wollken Studio is the commercial side, Nogoon Nutag is the environmental work it supports.

The two are working toward one of the first complete supply-chain traceability standards for Mongolian natural fibre, with named producers at every stage. Every Wollken Studio product will carry a Digital Product Passport linking the finished piece back to its origin.

In Augest 2026, Wollken and Nogoon Nutag organised a side event at UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia, titled "Pasture land and sustainable production", bringing together researchers, herders and producers.

Where things stand

Wollken Studio sells direct to customers online, currently focused on Germany with expansion planned into Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and the Nordics. The range runs from accessories at around €80 to a yak cardigan at €259.

The argument underneath all of it is an economic one. Rangeland in the Khangai is under pressure, and conservation arguments alone have not changed what happens on it. If the fibre from that land is worth substantially more as a finished garment than as a raw export, and if that difference reaches the people grazing it, the pasture becomes worth protecting to the people standing on it.

From Mongolia's pastures to European wardrobes, with the record attached.