A couple steps closer to self sufficiency

Jengish and I were off early this morning to Bishkek to get the tractor. 

 We got a Kabota ZB1402 4X4 it is in good shape, everything works great on it and came with a rototiller that is about 1 1/2 meters wide . It has the mountings for a bucket, but does not have a bucket yet . They guys says that it is kind of light for a bucket . The container of tractors that we were expecting got caught up in customs and is not expected now until the end of the summer.  So we got this one for a great deal  . along with an agreement that if we like the new ones when they arrive, we will get a full credit of what we paid for this one toward anything else that we buy form them .. So all in all it is a great tractor and a great deal .  It will everything we want a tractor to do, but with much more precision and a manageable size .. Will be much safer for us to have around the farm then a full size tractor as well.

They had a truck that was going to deliver it for us, but their idea of a truck was a big dump truck, with no way of getting it in or out, so we called Jengish's guy and he arrived with a real car carrier .. much better .. They might of thought we were silly, but rather silly then pushing a tractor off the back of a dump truck .  

Although this is a small tractor, it is still large enough to be considered a vehicle for the regulations, and with it, the sale needed to be registered, and a new passport made for the Tractor, We even got a Licence plate for it so we are good to go.   The vehicle licence place is at the car bazaar on the opposite side of the city from us, so we took a bit of time to try to find a car for us, but the cars there were all way over priced, or did not have a price on them, and when you call for a price they all want to come and talk and will not discuss price on the phone .. They did not seem to understand why I did not what to stand around for an hour waiting for them to come and tell me they wanted $1000 more then I was willing to pay . So finally we gave up on that and headed home . |Enough for one day.

   While we were away, Emma and Julie continued to plant the trees .  They have planted about 1200 trees all together.  We brought with us little peat pots that are in little starter trays .. They are perfect for what we want, and fit nicely in the Windows of our balcony.  They will be there for the first 6 weeks then will be ready to transplant into starter beds.  
    They will spend the summer in the green house, and in the fall they will move outside, and be covered with straw for the winter.   In the fall we will start planting the tomatoes and cucumbers. we will time it so that they begin producing fruit by the time the regular crops are finished up for the winter . This will put us not only into year round production, but should also be in high demand and easy to sell in the winter.  This will be a big start to our 5 year plan of becoming self sufficient at the farm, not an easy chore when you consider that about 80% of the produce and about 25 % of the meat is for donations to those in need. The other challenge is the very high labour costs we will have as every person on the farm receives a salary as well as all their living expenses paid.  We do believe that self sustainability is possible, and that "The Farm" will continue to be blessed as it strives to be a blessing to others .  

   When I talk about a green house, I thought it might be good to give an idea of just the extent of the project.   This is a project that has been a dream of Jengished for a long time, and is becoming a reality because of friends at AP Church in Cincinatti who are sponsoring the build.  We are also blessed to have a friend Sydoola here that had owned and operated green houses for about 5 years before moving to northern Kyrgyzstan, and has agreed to take the point in this build. 

The green house will be two long rows, about 32 meters long and 5 meters wide.  this will maximise the sun light .  They will be built partially under ground with the south walls burmed with dirt for insulation.  At one end will be a service room that will connect the two sections with a work room, a thermostatically controlled water boiler heating system that will circulate threw water pipes wrapping the entire building.  and a water storage tank where the water will be pre heated for irrigation through timed  soaker hoses  that will be along the rows .   The planted rows will be  about six inches of soul above trenches that are filled with the animal waist that will give of heat as well as it decomposes ..   Along the back wall of each row and over the work area, there will be a walk way that will be used to walk on when raising and lowering the blankets that will be used to insulate at night , and shade if the sun gets two hot.  Along the walk way there will also be vent hatches that can be opened up to remove access heat as well . 

the entire structure is set along the East West line so that they face into the sun and are sheltered from the north.  To put the size into perspective, if this was a garage, it could hold about 26 average size SUV's ..