Permaculture communities — teaching economic diversity and climate adaptation to families in Issyk-Kul and Naryn (El-Too, Kyrgyzstan, 2022)

Central Asia Solidarity Groups in partnership with El-Too had been spreading permaculture initiatives among rural communities in Kyrgyzstan as an intervention to deal with the problems of food insecurity, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss as well as gender inequality and community health.
We collaborated on a project to address the issue of land degradation caused by unrestricted use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture, and overgrazing at the level of Naryn and Issyk-Kul regions. By focusing on climate change adaptation, youth employment promotion, sustainable livelihoods, food sovereignty, and diversified diets among farmers through permaculture, both organizations are moving closer to our goals.

Read more about our work with El-Too via this link.

Securing wetland ecosystems of Son-Kul Lake in the Kyrgyz Mountains (ISDS, Kyrgyzstan, 2022)

Central Asia Solidarity Groups together with the Institute for Sustainable Development Strategy (ISDS) implemented a project focused on enabling the sustainable use of natural resources, including wetlands, in the Son-Kul area.

The project aimed to support the rights and strengthen the capacities of local communities to protect and manage wetlands and natural resources of the Son-Kul basin of the Naryn region. Another goal was to raise awareness of local community members on the economic and environmental importance of preserving these unique territories.

You can read more about the project via this link.

Stepping up the work against gender based violence and discrimination in southern part of Kyrgyzstan (Novi Ritm, Kyrgyzstan, 2022)

Central Asia Solidarity Groups, in partnership with our longtime friend Novi Ritm – a youth-based organization in Osh, had a long-term project targeted at young people aged 14-28 aiming to raise awareness and problematize the existence of gender-based violence and discrimination. One of the core goals was to provide young people with tools on how to take actions through civil-courage intervention, passing knowledge to others and keeping duty-bearers accountable.

Similar initiatives were carried out over the course of the nine-year partnership between CAG and Novi Ritm, and they proved their efficiency. Projects implemented within the partnership enabled Novi Ritm to function as a sustainable organization and a platform for democratic youth initiatives, reach out to more than 10,000 people around Kyrgyzstan, and bring changes in attitudes of young people.

Read more about Novi Ritm and our collaboration here.

Sustainable use of natural resources and women's participation in mountain communities of Yagnob (Little Earth, Tajikistan, 2022-2023)

Together with Little Earth, Central Asia Solidarity Groups implements a project focused on sustainable use of natural resources and women’s participation in mountain communities of Yagnob.
It is our common belief that the most vulnerable groups to environmental degradation are women and children. Women manage natural resources on a daily basis at the family and community levels, yet they have very little say in decision-making. It goes without saying that decisions made without equal representation of women will be inefficient and unsustainable. Therefore, paying special attention to these issues is of a high importance.

Breaking silence around sexual violence by promoting public debate in Uzbekistan (NeMolchi.UZ, Uzbekistan, 2022)

The project “Breaking silence around sexual violence by promoting public debate in Uzbekistan” was jointly implemented by Central Asia Solidarity Groups and NeMolchi.UZ. It was implemented mainly in Tashkent, but also with some exceptions in the three regions in Uzbekistan and has a wider outreach online within the whole country.

The change that this project aimed to bring was to break silence around sexual violence in the country and stimulate adequate address of cases of sexual violence by the duty-bearers. This was done by raising awareness and promoting public debate around sexual violence and by building the capacities of NeMolchi.UZ, local feminist community, activists, journalists to work with the topic of sexual violence without revictimization and intensifying the “taboo” attitude among the public.

Residencies and exchanges (2014-)

CAG has been organizing long-term residencies and short-term exchanges that target young people, activists and youth leaders from Central Asia, Sweden, Russia, and Poland. The thematic focus areas of the exchanges are broad concepts such as anti-discrimination, democracy, human rights, democratic forms of leadership and youth organizing, gender equality, climate and environment, and more. The goal is to provide tools, skills, platforms, and networks for youth leaders working with these themes. The exchanges also enhance the partnership between CAG and local organizations in Central Asia, leading to the development of new projects, initiatives, and collaborations.

Internships (2016, 2017, 2022)

Central Asia Solidarity Groups has been arranging internships for young people from Sweden at our partner organization in Kyrgyzstan, Novi Ritm. The goal is to sustain and deepen our cooperation with Novi Ritm, increase the potential of youth leaders both in Sweden and Central Asia, and develop knowledge and skills of participants in topics related to development cooperation, democratic youth organizing, and gender equality. The internships consisted of workshops, study visits, mini-projects and general involvement of the interns in the work of the hosting organization. By utilizing the skills and expertise of the interns, we have been able to contribute to the capacity building processes of both Novi Ritm and CAG.