Getting ready for Seniors Day

We have started processing some of the apples .  Using some of the reclaimed lumber from last week,  They were able to build several drying racks, and have begun drying apples ... Something I could never pull off here in Canada, the squirrels and chipmunks would have the racks empty in a day . 

The dried apples are reconstituted with water and boiled , this makes a really nice apple compote .. like a mild juice . 

We have also started to collect stacking crates that we can use to put apples into the root cellar for the winter .  

Our friend Dave landed in Kyrgyzstan this morning .  Already he has been out to see Auxana and delivered her coal, and canning supplies for the winter .  She was very happy to see him as you can imagin 

We are quickly approaching Oct. 1st , other wise known as SENIORS DAY.  this is a big day for the elderly in Kyrgyzstan and something that we like to celebrate with them every year .  

 We are currently collecting donations towards this event.  This year we will provide food hampers for them, but add some sweets and special treats as well.  We are looking to raise $20 per senior. and would like to have at least 60 packages to deliver .   donations for this can be made at the top right side of the blog.  Just put seniors day in the memo line . 

Trusting the vision

 It has been 5 years since we planted 200 little twigs into the field and called it an apple orchard.  I have to tell you that nothing stretches your faith like farming .. 

The twigs were not much more then marshmallow sticks. 

Then a couple years ago they were rigorously pruned to look more like grape Vines ... Trusting the vision ... 

A branch growing on the horizontal will produce twice the fruit of a vertical one , and allowing light in will produce bigger fruit .. then having them in the chicken run is a organic way to keep the bugs down .. 

Well today we are seeing the end result 

The fruit is beautiful 

And they are so abundant 

We will make a storage seller to keep them fresh so that we can deliver them to the orphanages during the winter when fruit pric s are too high for them to normally include fruit in the diets 

We have plans now for two small projects if the funds come in .  We would like to purchase a fruit press to make juice along with the canning supplies ($200) 

And the other project is to build shelves and boxes and put in a fan in a root cellar to store apples at the right temperature and humidity. ($200) 

As I look at the pictures , I can't help but think what my grandson Aiden would say 

Aiperi brings HOPE to those around her.

Many of you will remember Angola's daughter Aiperi.

Aiperi left the farm a few years ago, but we chat with her regularly.  She told us that in her region things are very bad, and so many people are sick and starving.  She had helped us pack and deliver so many food hampers when she was on the farm.  She wanted to help those around her now, but could not raise the resources to do so .  We have decided to send her some money to start deliveries to those most impacted, and will try to send her more help as available.   

Today she received the money and started packing and delivering .. She had delivered 10 packages so far and tonight was on her way to one grandmother that was too weak to come to her.  

Thank you Aiperie for caring for your neighbours and thank you to all of you who have helped us so that we can do this. 

 

Doing what regular people do !

 When I look and see our boys on the farm experiencing things that so many others might take for granted .. fun, but not anything unbelievable , it sure makes me smile .  With out the support of so many of you, these kids would  most likely be homeless,  and the statistics say , in prison, prostitution or dead.  Instead they are enjoying a Late on their way to the beach .  

What is even more cool is that we helped to organize this event, but apart from the newest boys who have not been with us long enough to earn money, they each were able to pay their own way .    

We did send a little extra money to surprise them with a boat ride at the lake on us.  Because that's the type of thing that regular people do . 

I look at the boys here at the back of the boat.  4 of them have only just come to the farm .  I know their past, and what they have had to endure .. they were in our minds when the farm began so many years ago , and now we see those kids aging out of the system and coming to HOME that so many of you created .. ... That's what makes me smile. 

Right where he belongs

Every now and then I do a "Where are they now" post .  Today I wanted to share about Yura .. 

We have known Yura for about 15 years now.  He is such a sweet boy .  He was one of those boys that has an infectious smile.   Yura made an impression on every one he met.  

If there was fun to be had, Yura is there.  School was never easy for him , but he persevered and always did his best.   He is one of those kids that we had in mind when the farm began .

Today he is smiling a little bigger because he is our newest boy at the farm .. We are smiling too 

We are working now at getting him settled and finding the right fit for him as far as work is concerned.  We have a few things to take care of first , like we will need to make sure he is set with clothing, shampoo tooth brush etc.. 

Monday he will join the other boys on the farm on a camping trip to the shores of IsyKool , it will give him a chance to build some relationships with Vlad and the other boys .  

We will need to find a monthly sponsorship for him .  The cost to look after a boy on the farm including food , lodging and their salary is $150 a month, we are blessed to report that this was covered in just minutes of this posting  .. There are many other extra expenses that come along all the time like medical, dental, tuition and clothes ,any other funds that come in will go toward these things  .. 

Where is he now ?.... Right where he belongs 😀

Those in front of us

In case you thought it was over... the food deliveries continue daily from the farm.  

Sergey out on deliveries from the farm 

Now that we have produce from the gardens and honey from the bees, we are able to get a lot more bang for the buck with the food hampers. 

We will continue at this pace for some time yet before we turn our attention to the coal .  If we can get in early, and bag it on the farm  we can purchase coal for about $15 or $20 a ton cheaper . That could be a savings of over $2500.   If you would like to help with this, we are taking donations for this now .   This will be especially important this year as the drought conditions will likely impact the electricity this winter . The reservoirs are low and the ability to produce electricity will be effected. 

It just seems like the difficulties will never end, but if we can stay proactive rather the reactive,  we will be better able to serve those placed  in front of us. 
 

Praying for the bees .. BY NAME

This summer has been a very difficult one for the farmers in Kyrgyzstan .  There has been a very bad drought.  Water to the village homes is very intermittent and there has not been water for irrigation in the fields.   Our own hay and grain crops are down about 60% .. some have lost their crops completely. This has lead to exorbitantly high feed prices. 

The drought has hit the honey production hard as well.   For us , a regular year we get about 16 lt per hive which is a little higher then most .  

Our bees are in with an apiary of about 130 other hives .   Here is a break down of this years honey production .  Talbek has 75 hives and got 85 lt ,  Vlady has 40 hives and got 80 lt .. we have 15 hives, and we got 120 lt.   Talbek says that we must be praying for our bees ..BY NAME.. 

Yesterday Vlady sent me photos of three different orphanages that he delivered honey to. 

Back at the farm everyone was busy preparing food hampers. 

We feel blessed that each of the dry goods bags will include a bottle of honey.  

The packages of the dry goods are all set .  Now each day as the harvest from the gardens comes in they will put together produce packages to go with them and then deliver . 

Thank you everyone for your hard work 

 And a special thank you to all of you who donated to make this possible . 

A better tasting muffin

I sat at the breakfast table,with my coffee, a banana, and tried to decide which kind of muffin I would like.  Then decided"what the heck , I will have both."  That's when I got an email request from Vlad asking if they can please send out another 100 food hampers .  I the fourth wave, many are just too sick to be out working , nor should they ... 

 My first reaction was that we just don't have the funds for that right now and we are behind on the tuition fund .. then I took another bite of my muffin and felt the conviction .... 

This week we will begin another round of food hampers ..along with produce from the garden and honey from our bees , we need another $1000 for staple supplies .. please consider helping us with this .. I guarantee that your next muffin will taste better if you do. 

Ready for day camp

The last few days we have had a team from the farm working up at the Kashar getting ready for children's day camp for village kids.  There is such a high suicide rate right now that something needs to be done to bring hope to these kids .      

Before they come there are some repairs that are needed .  The couches are old leather and the leather has started to spit.  One day we may have them recovered, but for now Vlads mom and Alina have made fitting covers for them . 

The yurts needed a little work as well.  The winds are so strong on the side of the mountains that some storms they take a real beating .  The small yurt was fixed up, but the outer felt and canvas door will need to be replaced.  

The big yurt was taken down completely and then re instaled .  There were several spots that the felt needed to be repaired, but for the most part it is all back together and back in business .

The yurt has a canvas , or "winter coat " .  The top cover could not be saved so it too will need to be purchased new .  These further repairs will need to wait a bit, right now we have too many other pressing needs .  

Speaking of pressing needs, It is now time to start paying the tuitions, we need about $15000 for this and at this point we only have $3000 in, we can only cover a portion of this from our general fund so very soon we are going to have some very hard decisions to make.  If you were thinking about helping with the scholarship fund this year, now would be a good time to make a donation, or even a pledge so that we can know where we stand. 

We have started working on winterizing the automotive and paint shop.  The price of plywood has gone way up in Kyrgyzstan , like everwher , but we were able to find a mill that had wooden planks that we can use much cheaper .  Buy purchasing the boards and all the off cut lumber we are able to get a great deal .  

The planks are at moved to the village now, and we will work on the rest over the next few days .. We will be able to sort through the off cut to pick out pieces that could be used for building and for furniture, then the rest will be cut up and bagged for fire wood that we will be able to give out with the coal this year. 

Every year we buy about 1000 bags of fire wood , so this will go along way to meat those needs.  They will have to work very closely with the kids to make sure that no one looses any fingers in the process, but it will be a great skill for them to learn.   Looking forward to seeing some nice live edge coffee tables come out of the shop.