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Regional Partnerships 2025 – Part III: Little Earth and renewable energy for resilient mountain communities

This is the third story in Central Asia Solidarity Groups’ 2025 series about our partnerships across Central Asia. Together with ISDS and El-Too, Little Earth’s work shows how local organizations translate knowledge, cooperation, and sustainability into tangible results that improve lives and protect fragile environments. While the earlier stories focused on biodiversity, youth engagement, and cultural environmental action in Kyrgyzstan, this final post takes us to the high mountain villages of Tajikistan, where clean energy and women’s leadership have reshaped everyday life. In the remote Yagnob Valley of Tajikistan, surrounded by steep mountains and scattered high altitude villages, the...

Regional Partnerships 2025 – Part II: El-Too and sustainable livelihoods through knowledge and culture

As part of Central Asia Solidarity Groups’ 2025 series highlighting our partnerships across Central Asia, this story continues from our previous post about ISDS’s work in strengthening community resilience and biodiversity protection. While ISDS focused on wetlands and environmental education, El-Too’s initiatives show how the same regional cooperation has inspired new forms of local action, creativity, and community participation in Kyrgyzstan. In the mountains and semi-desert plains of Kyrgyzstan, the organization El-Too has spent the past three years working with farmers, students, and local authorities to turn ecological awareness into everyday practice. What began as a project to promote...

Regional Partnerships 2025 – Part I: ISDS and community-led biodiversity action

Throughout 2025, Central Asia Solidarity Groups worked closely with local civil society organizations across Central Asia to strengthen community resilience, environmental protection, and women’s and youth empowerment. This blog post is part of a three-part series highlighting stories from our partners ISDS, El-Too, and Little Earth each showing how collaboration and local knowledge continue to shape sustainable change beyond the project’s initial three years. Centralasiengrupperna works together with local civil society organizations across Central Asia, promoting gender equality, protecting the environment, and building stronger, more resilient communities. One of our partners is the Institute for Sustainable Development Strategy (ISDS)...

Story of Zhenishbek Shuguraliev – participant of the initiative with El-Too

Featured image: Zhenishbek Shuguraliev  Centralasiengrupperna’s project with El-Too targets rural communities of Naryn and Issyk-Kul regions in Kyrgyzstan. By promoting permaculture principles, we support farmers in finding innovative ways to adapt to climate change, create sustainable livelihoods, achieve food sovereignty, and enjoy healthier, more varied diets.  Zhenishbek Shuguraliev shares his experiences of being part of the initiative, highlighting how permaculture has impacted his life and garden. Zhenishbek, from the village of Uchkun in the Naryn region, is someone who actively applies permaculture principles in agriculture. He is an inspiring example of how dedication and permaculture can transform a garden,...

Stories of Jamilya Mambetkerimova and Burul Mayrambek kyzy – participants in one initiative

Featured image: Burul Mayrambek kyzy is making a presentation during a study tour in Bokonbaev village CAG’s partnership with ISDS focuses on local communities and decision-makers in Son-Kul to build their capacity with respect to effective use, management, and preservation of natural resources. Burul Mayrambek kyzy and Jamilya Mambetkerimova, participants in the project, shared their experiences with us, providing insights into how this initiative has sparked positive changes within their communities and illustrating the importance of collective action in tackling environmental challenges. Jamilya Mambetkerimova is 47 years old, has six children, and is a deputy of the local council...

Protecting biodiversity and encouraging sustainable livelihoods in Son-Kul Lake in the Kyrgyz mountains – part 2

Centralasiengrupperna works with the Institute for Sustainable Development Strategy (ISDS), our partner organization in Kyrgyzstan, to protect and restore the biodiversity and encourage sustainable livelihoods in Son-Kul lake in the Kyrgyz mountains. Within this collaboration, we aim to empower local communities, with a focus on women and youth, to exercise their rights for a healthy environment and participate in decision-making processes. This blog post is the second part of our series dedicated to the key activities within our collaboration during 2023. Read the first part for a more comprehensive insight into our partnership.  ‘Son-Kul birds: Protect the Mountain Goose’...

Securing wetland ecosystems of Son-Kul Lake in the Kyrgyz Mountains – part 2

From March until December 2022, CAG in partnership with the Institute for Sustainable Development Strategy (ISDS) had been implementing a project “Securing wetland ecosystems of Lake Son-Kul in the Kyrgyz mountains”. Together with Cholpon rural municipality, ISDS focused on supporting the rights of  local communities to protect and manage wetlands and natural resources of the Son-Kul basin of Naryn region. You can read the first blog post about this project via this link. Son-Kul Lake performs a number of important environmental functions, such as maintaining the stability of the region’s climate, accumulation and storage of fresh water, maintaining the...

Being an intern in Kyrgyzstan

While writing my master thesis during the spring semester, I saw an interesting advertisement for a summer internship. As I already have conducted two internships and my second master degree was coming to an end, I mainly searched for permanent positions. However, I could not resist looking closer into the internship advert. The ad mentioned working with projects related to biodiversity and climate adaptation which I have studied, worked with, and have a passion for. I became more and more intrigued. As I scrolled down the text I saw that the internship would be based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. “Kyrgyzstan!?”....

Securing wetland ecosystems of Son-Kul Lake in the Kyrgyz Mountains

Since March 2022, CAG together with the Institute for Sustainable Development Strategy (ISDS), our partner organization in Kyrgyzstan, is implementing a project “Securing wetland ecosystems of Son-Kul Lake in the Kyrgyz mountains”.  The main goal of the project is 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. Context: Son-Kul Lake is an alpine freshwater lake located at an altitude of 3016 m above sea level in the Inner Tien Shan. Since 2011, the lake has been included in the International...

Sustainable management and conservation of biodiversity of wetlands of Son-Kul Lake by the local community

Back in 2020, Central Asia Solidarity Groups have launched “Strategic Resource Fund” to support civil society actors in Central Asia. It aims to provide resources for civil society actors for strategic interventions in their respective contexts. The fund primarily focuses on financial resources, but can also provide various forms of capacity building, international networks, and partnerships, long-term funding schemes, etc. Over the course of the past year, we have supported three projects in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. All three of our partners within this funding scheme are grassroots and are closely tied to local communities – something that CAG...