Our Founding Story
Tengri is the brainchild of Nancy Vong Johnston, an Asian-American social entrepreneur with a penchant for travel and mountain adventures.
Nancy was chasing a childhood dream when she spent time living with a nomadic yak herder family in Mongolia. Many of their animals had died because of land desertification and climate change. The family was trying to save money for their young daughter’s education and worried about what the future would bring.
The experience changed how Nancy saw the world and what sustainable living really meant. Seeing a way for indigenous communities to care for their animals and earn a living from sustainably sourced Noble Fibres, she wrote the original Tengri business plan on the only paper to hand – a chocolate wrapper.
Back in London, Nancy founded Tengri, a social enterprise developed in partnership with nomadic herders, where she built a dynamic network of highly experienced experts in fibre and yarn technology, fabric production and sustainability to bring to market the first community-inclusive supply chain with the highest standard of sustainable sourcing for the luxury market.
A humanitarian, environmentalist and wildlife activist, Nancy ensures every Tengri product is created to the highest standard, the ‘Tengri Way’, without compromising people, the environment or animals.
Under Nancy’s leadership, Tengri has received global recognition from Sustainia for the Top 100 Sustainable Business Solutions, supporting four UN Sustainable Development Goals. Tengri was the first UK company to take the UN Business for Biodiversity pledge.
Beyond Mongolia, Nancy continues to deepen her commitment through Source Mountain – an impact initiative and global movement created to advance the Tengri manifesto and support, honour, and empower women and children in mountain communities around the world.
