Two Stops Past Siberia

So, folks, this is special letter number 2. In the first one, I pitched to you all the Trees for the Khirgeez project. In this second letter, with 110% raised, I’m sending out a big thank you.

On the first day of the fund raising, we collected nearly half of the total requested money. The next day, brimming with confidence, I placed the order. What followed was an exciting, stimulating, and incredibly helpful week.

First, with faith that the whole $1,750 would come, I called my director and said, ‘I’d like 250 apple trees, 250 apricot trees.”

To which he responded, “Carl, how are you going to pay for this?”

“The money is coming from America,” I said.

“When?”

“Well,” and I stuttered, wondering this myself, “it needs to be transferred.”

“Is it definitely going to come?” He asked.

“Yes, definitely,” I said.

“Okay, then don’t rush.” That folks, means your one and only Kyrgy Carl was extended 500 fruit trees, on credit. As a good cash wage out here is $300, that means I was trusted with half a year’s salary.

Next, I went to Orto Nura. The people were afraid that the trees might not grow, but their fears were based on lack of experience, as the tree experts had assured me. Once I assured them, I dropped the bomb: “we’ll be here in three days. Get ready.”

Three days later, on May 3^rd (okay, I jumped the gun) with 75% of the money for the project raised, sure that you all wouldn’t let me down, I brought the trees to Orto Nura. In community development theory, giving things away leads to people not really caring about your program; you must ask them to invest. So we charged people around thirty American cents a tree. Even out here, this is a pittance.

We gathered crowds, and trained them. All the trees had a knot at the stump, and we showed them to have the knots just clear the ground, and to face east, towards the rising sun. We told them to put bits of old metal under the roots of the apple trees, and to add manure, and water them generously.

And the people came out in droves. They came in cars, by horse, and on foot. They sent their children, with small wads of crumpled bills, sometimes buying only 1 or two trees. The average was 6 per person. If these people had needed to pay full market rates, they wouldn’t have been able to afford a single one. Rachel, the Orto Nura volunteer who brought this project to her village, lives there, and knows the people. This allowed us to extend trees on credit.

At the end of the day, I walked around the village. People were building yards for their new gardens, and circling the trees with small rings of stones. I saw people digging huge rocks from their yards, preparing the ground for their trees, and inevitably, every knot faced east. And then, over the next two days it rained and rained, like a blessing from God.

Folks, you helped people who didn’t have ¢30 in their pockets build new sources of income and nutrition. My American side was disappointed there was no grand opening, or fancy gala. Instead, the moment was intimate, it was small scale, it was grass roots by definition. I’ve put up photos and a video of the work on KyrgyCarl.com, please, go check it out.

The next step now is trying to form a Tree Growers Association. As I do that, folks, rest assured, you’ll be with me every step of the way.