In the Land of Mountains and Construction Cranes

Kazakhstan might look a bit different than expected if your only context is Borat. The city is ringed by the Tian Shan mountains and is packed with upscale stores. When you have a plethora of natural resources like oil and gas, you can borrow against it at cheap rates (about 6%) and re-lend at much higher ones (upwards of 12%), providing plenty of cash to finance development. This is exactly what has been going on in Kazakhstan for the last several years and the result is a city under the siege of construction cranes. There are shiny new malls, an area called the “financial center”, a soon to be constructed subway (despite a propensity for earthquakes in the region), and the piece de resistance, an under renovation ski resort and winter sports park playground called Medeu at the base of the Chimbulak Ski Resort that will be host to an upcoming Asian Winter Games—and maybe someday the Olympics. Almaty is definitely booming and makes Bishkek seem like a quaint small town.

There has, however, been a slowdown of sorts as the US mortgage crisis has caused many banks to call in loans and there is little ability/desire to restructure Kazakh debt. It appears the banks here are handling the pressure, but investors have slowed a bit as they wait to see how things shake out. And Almaty is not the only city sprouting buildings like mushrooms after a spring rain, the capital, Astana, has so much development going on that my host has commented that if she visits every three months she feels like she’s going to a different city each time with new buildings and roads sprouting up all over. It’s amazing what a preponderance of natural resources and an insatiable global demand can do for a country that is now free to make its own growth and development decisions.

As for my key purpose of this trip, sourcing products that could be sold as part of our fair trade collection of goods, the Kyrgyz seem to have an upper hand on their Kazakh neighbors. While there are certainly skilled artisans who draw from their traditions, I have yet to see the level of production and consistent quality in the handcraft sector that I saw in Bishkek. Perhaps I haven’t met the right person to show me this market, but from what I have observed, there are some very talented individuals, but they don’t quite fit our fair trade model. Another challenge in this market is that some of the best crafts come from wood, silver, fur pelts and leather – all items that are basically forbidden in environmental circles.

While the handcraft sector may be limited, the cultural choices are not as I was able to attend both the ballet and a classical music concert. The city is also sprinkled with painted camels which are auctioned off for charity. Here I am with my host Dana with one such camel located at the top of a cable car ride that provides a great view of the (smoggy) city of Almaty.