Two Stops Past Siberia

Well, Farmer Dan and I have been as busy this week as one could imagine.

From the cold and snowy mountains of Naryn, we headed into the dramatically warmer Chui valley. This is the land of Bishkek, where there is more money, and much more will grow. Dan was surprised to see how prolific the small plastic tunnels are that cover many of the vegetable fields in Chui. Like mini green houses, these cheaply extend the local growing season. Back in Naryn, we only even heard mention of locals using them once.

We went down to Chui on the request of a volunteer named Kristian, as well as Kojo, his organization. They run farmer schools, and were eager to hear the words of wisdom that an organic farmer from America might bring. Here, in this land of relative wealth, instead of crowds of drunks around cars, or intimate sessions inside people’s homes, we conducted our training in a proper classroom.

The room had pictures on the walls of livestock, highlighting relevant parts, like birthing canals. We came in to a group of nearly 30 students, ages 18 to 60, from two different schools, some even ethnic Russians. In this setting, rather than use index cards with plant pictures to play the crop rotation game, we had everyone draw out sample rotations, draw them on the white board so Farmer Dan could comment on them, with his excellent farmer experience. While he may have caught people off guard with his yellow beanie and colorful backpack, once he started getting into detail, the students hung on his every word.

Our lodging there in Chui was different too. Rather than holing up with a host-family, we stayed with Kristian and his wife, in their plush Bishkek apartment. Their problems included showers that were sometimes too hot, and wireless internet that occassionally went out. It was like being in America, but with the most hospitable hosts around. Dan and I decided that the best way to repay them, besides with our excellent company, was with a house plant:Farmer Dan, making the world greener, every step of the way.

Since then, we have traveled up to Talas, where people seem to need a little more pushing. We had a meeting this morning with Corey’s organization, the local farmers union. Perhaps, we imagine, they figured we were too good to be true, and didn’t have venues for us prepared. So we went in to their office, and after a long, jovial conversation regarding bean processing and Kyrgyz-American farmer pen pals, we got to talking compost. Now, I am happy to report, we have two sessions, drawing on four schools, starting tomorrow.

And also, folks, last but not least, I am proud to say that with 36 donors, Trees for the Kyrgyz 2011 is nearly 90% funded. Folks, that means we have only 50 more trees to funded before the project has its official green light. At $17.50, or 5 trees a person, we need just ten more generous donors. Get yourselves to clicking on the box on the top right corner of this site before it’s too late!