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Kyrgyz mountain women train in milk processing

23.06.2017

A training on milk processing and cheese making was provided to a group of women from three remote mountain villages in the Issyk-Kul Region of Kyrgyzstan, as a result of a joint initiative between two Mountain Partnership member organizations, the Global and Local Information Partnership (GLIP) and the Agency of Development Initiatives (ADI). The village Akshyirak, a high-altitude settlement situated at 3 700 metres above sea level on the border with China, was selected as the training site. The training was conducted by Kanymbubu Orumbaeva, the Regional Coordinator of ADI and a certified trainer of dairy products and cheese making. The trainees included 17 women from the villages of Akshyirak, Uch-Koshkon, Karakolka and Saruu - pilot villages of GLIP projects, supported by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), aimed at conserving high mountain biodiversity in the Central Tien Shan and developing income-generating activities for communities living in the Sarychat-Ertash Nature Reserve, such as yak breeding, livestock breed improvement, and wool and felt processing.

Geographic remoteness and harsh climatic conditions limit livelihood activities for local mountain communities, with livestock being their main source of income. Transporting milk to lowland areas poses a problem: it can take hours to reach the nearest market. This situation is worsened during the long winter season when the only road is not accessible. One solution is to transform the milk into preserved dairy products and cheeses that can be sold on the market for needed extra income and can improve families’ nutrition during extended cold seasons when cows’ lactation almost stops. “Providing the necessary training and bringing new technologies for milk processing and cheese making into the villages opens up new possibilities for local residents,” explained Farida Balbakova, head of GLIP. The NGO mobilized resources for the training through the international WWF/USAID project ‘Conservation and adaptation of Asia mountain ecosystems and communities to climate change’.

During the two-day hands-on training, the women obtained new skills and knowledge on how to make ten different types of cheese, both soft and hard, as well as other dairy products, including a new recipe for preserving ‘ezme kurut’. Now, the women are planning to use these technologies for processing both cow’s milk and yak’s milk.

The training was a follow-up activity of a recent study tour by Kyrgyz women from GLIP and ADI pilot communities to Mongolia, hosted by the Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation, where the women visited yak breeding farms and cashmere factories to learn about yak wool processing technologies.

Such joint initiatives among regional mountain stakeholders are supported and promoted by the Mountain Partnership Central Asia Mountain Hub (CAMH). “Growing together for the prosperity of Central Asian mountain communities is what we aim to promote within our Hub. It always makes us happy to see more collaborations and partnerships forging between mountain stakeholders. We value greatly the expertise and experiences of our members in their specialized areas, and we regard each of them as lead experts and practitioners in their respective fields. We hope that there will be many more organizations that grow and evolve into the next step of their organizational development, that are open to leading this very rewarding process of shared growth,” said Elbegzaya Batjargal, Regional Coordinator of CAMH.

News by CAMH/Alma Uzbekova

Photos provided by GLIP and ADI

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