We are coming to the end of our meeting here at the dairy group in Ak Muz. The group is called “Ak Adilet,” which I think translates to “White Equality.” This sounds kind of strange in translation. It stems from “ak” or ‘white’ have a number of meanings. The best I can explain is in terms of the blessing, “may you have a white road,” which is like saying ‘happy travels.’ Does this give a better explanation for white “White Equality,” would mean? Try “Glorious Equality.”
Anyway, here we are with the concrete questions having been answered. The group told us all about how they buy milk at one price, and then improve it. On top of this, they save their product to sell during the winter, when prices are higher. With the numbers out of the way, we have broken into what we’ve been calling the “Great Fattening Program.”
This refers to how, being guests, we are treated to food at just about every meeting. Here, right now, I’m before a table featuring watermellon, kurut balls, bread from a nearby bakery (also part of the KNZRT program), cookies, fresh cream, some chocolate candies, and a curious brown mixture of condensed milk and sugar, that has been described to me as Kyrgyz Halva. In order to present this little snack, the ladies of this group nicely removed the intestine and organ sack that was holding some of their fresh butter. (Of this butter, they told us it sells much better than butter stored in western-style containers, as the flavor isn’t as good, and the storage less convenient.)
From here, we’ll visit the bakery that produced the wonderful bread we’ve just had. Most likely, the first hour of that meeting will once again involved the nuts and bolts financial figures that make up their business, and the second hour will be a gigantic meal. Never fear lack of detail, for rest assured, I’ll keep you posted.
