Posts Tagged "Farmer"
Kyrgyz Farmer, Last of USSR Conscripts
ISSYK–KUL: He was one of the last conscript soldiers of the USSR, serving in Moscow up to November 1991. I asked what happened and he said rather undramatically: "They said we could go home. Tajiks to Tajikistan, Uzbeks to Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz to Kyrgyzstan. I took the train home with a group of 30 Kyrgyz." Now 44, he works part-time in construction while tending his field near the mountains. His sons said they like to play games on their phone and I asked if they also use a computer to surf Internet at home. "I don't have money for a computer. I have to feed and cloth them. Construction work isn't steady," said their father.
Ramzan: Dungan Farmer
KYRGYZ COUNTRYSIDE: ''I took my child into the field with me from the age of 6 months because there was no one to leave him with. The baby would lie next to us as we worked,'' said Ramzan, 35, a father of three children. Like many Dungan people, Ramzan is a farmer. ''I wanted a higher education, but I was one of many children and our financial situation didn't allow it. I want to them [children] first a Muslim education and then a higher education. Even if they will work in the fields, if they have a higher education, they will think differently and work better in the fields.''
Timur: Dreaming of Farm, Restaurant
Timur, 20, works at a top Rostov restaurant that also separately sells high-quality produce, such as meats and cheeses. Describing himself as someone that loves to cook for friends, Timur said he dreams of opening a restaurant some day and supplying it with food from his own farm. ''There are no farmers in my family, but I still fell in love with produce because it is something that you need to care for to grow. I want to dedicate my life to this.'' Timur is probably the first person in Russia I have photographed for my project that wants to own and develop a farm. He couldn't have chosen a better time - Russia imported about $45 billion of food in 2013, most of which could have been produced in Russia where there the desire and investment. But the sharp drop in the ruble makes foreign food supplies twice as expensive and thus makes investment in Russian agriculture attractive now.
