Assel is a highly resourceful businesswoman, whose entrepreneurial
spirit supports those around her. Based in Arkhangelskiy village, Assel draws
upon a mix of tourism and farming in her business model. She describes
how she “serves 20 litres of kumis every day from her mare.” Assel’s freshly
milked, homemade kumis (fermented mare’s milk), has become a popular
Kyrgyz delicacy among Assel’s guests, tourists and locals alike.
Assel and her husband have three sons and three daughters to provide
for. Assel believes the income from summer tourists is important for her family,
contributing to their well-being and social standing, “I'm going to educate my
children. Right now, my 19-year-old daughter is studying at university and
my son just graduated from 11th grade and will enter university. My business
contributes to their education”. A role model for her children, Assel believes
that her hard work and business ethic set good examples for them, “I think my
kids will do the same. I tell them, keep busy, try hard.”
Assel’s family ‘work together’ and ‘earn money together’. If tourists
arrive while Assel is at work, one of her daughters greets them, shows them
the place and serves them food. Another stream of income Assel gathers is
from her work as a head teacher in the local school. However, rather than
going home to relax after school, she takes care of a piece of land near
the river which she, her husband and children have turned into a peaceful
sanctuary where they welcome their guests. Assel proudly explained, “Here,
we acquaint the tourists with the beautiful nature of Kyrgyzstan. They come,
sit near the river, enjoy the clean air and contemplate on the beauty that
Kyrgyzstan has to offer”.
The additional income from tourists provide an incentive and motivation
for Assel to continue with landscaping work. She and her husband, a builder,
have transformed the dry, rocky land into a beautiful orchard of apricot
and juniper trees. Assel and her husband built everything themselves, “My
husband is a master builder, he does everything himself. We made the
tapchans (gazebos) ourselves. We also made a place for fshing and a pool
for swimming.” Assel has ambitious plans for the future, including a fsh farm
for trout and to build a two-story winter cottage with heating facility so that
tourists can stay throughout the year.
Her picnic place is so popular that tourists frequently show up
unannounced and she sometimes fnds herself short of supplies. This is where
Assel’s business is saved by and also benefts her neighbours, “The tourists
will buy products from the neighbours’ shop because they will not go back all
the way to the village to the grocery store. In this way we all help each other”.
Assel’s advice to all aspiring women entrepreneurs is that, “there
is no work without difculties. If there are difculties, only then success
comes. You can't just sit at home, you have to try. If you keep trying, you
will achieve success.”
Assel Abylkasymova
