Tan-Biyke Felt Cooperative was initiated in At-Bashy by Torkun Baitikeyeva. Torkun has retained the stern countenance and military bearing that was required of Soviet school teachers. She was a physics teacher through the days of Brezhnev and Gorbachev and into the early years of Kyrgyzstan’s independence. Her white elecheck (head covering), embroidered velvet waistcoat and flower-print dress sets her apart just like her dedication to the craft of high quality shyrdak (a traditional Kyrgyz felt carpet) making.
Torkun has turned her backyard into a workshop where she gives women living nearby the opportunity to come and create shyrdaks. “I have been making shyrdaks since my childhood, but originally we just did it for ourselves. It’s only in the last few years that we have been marketing andselling them.” She took great pride in her heritage, “At-Bashy is considered as the birthplace of shyrdak. Each house has a shyrdak. Sleeping on a shyrdak actually has health benefits.”
Continuing the centuries old nomadic tradition, all the processes of felt- making in Tan-Biyke are still done by hand. Wool is purchased from local farmers, turned into felt, and dyed with natural pigments. The felt is then cut in the shape of various symbolic patterns, before they are stitched and felted together to form a finished product.
The women of Tan-Biyke Felt Cooperative started to create shyrdaks on a commercial basis after the end of the Soviet Union. Torkun explained, “after the collapse of the USSR people struggled. There were no jobs for us, there was poverty and inflation, and no customers in the bazaar. Women who made shyrdaks didn’t know where to sell them.” However things started to change in 1995 when the Swiss organisation Helvetas sent two volunteers, Susanne and Walter Schläppi to Kyrgyzstan as part of the Kyrgyz Swiss Agricultural Project. Apart from their involvement in various agricultural development projects, they also paid special attention to the conservation of traditional Kyrgyz crafts, especially shyrdaks. They arranged a shyrdak exhibition in Switzerland and invited Torkun, which attracted many clients who collectively “ordered 100 cushions, 20 round runners, several small size shyrdaks”. With the help of Susanne and Walter, business took off and they started sending shyrdaks regularly to Holland, Switzerland, America and Austria, among other countries, “we even sold yurts”, recalled Torkun. She also shares some of the negatives the cooperative has had with international customers who, “buy cheaply from us and sell it at a higher price elsewhere”.
The women of Tan-Biyke Felt cooperative support each other. If one of them has many orders, or a large shyrdak to complete, they share felt, yarn and other raw materials. If some women’s shyrdaks are out of stock, they refer customers to other members of the cooperative, “We receive orders, we create, and we help each other”. This collaborative spirit stems from a united approach inherent in making shyrdaks. The labour is divided between the women in the cooperative:
“It’s a group process. One woman will not be able to do it alone. One woman gives wool then we gather and make kiyiz (felt). Then one gives white felt, another one gives the black felt, then somebody makes zheeks (ornaments), one makes shoona (thick threads) and some know how to sew over the edges.”
Once a shyrdak is complete, they put them up for sale either directly in the market or in festivals, exhibitions and museums in Bishkek. They explained, “We advertise, and foreigners come and buy them.”
In creating the shyrdaks, the women are creating additional income for their families. They also jointly reinvest their earnings. For example, when the cooperative sold some of their products at an exhibition in Bishkek, the money they earned was used to buy new wool and felt. Through CBT, tourists have started to come to At-Bashy where Torkun also has her own guest house. The tourists provide additional motivation for the women since they stop in to view and purchase shyrdaks from them. The women of the cooperative have also been a source of moral support, reassuring each other during difficult times such as the pandemic and when they sometimes return disappointed from exhibitions having not made any sales. Tan-Biyke Felt Cooperative is an inspiration for strengthening the community through showing solidarity and