{"id":212876,"date":"2024-07-30T22:27:21","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T22:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/?page_id=212876"},"modified":"2025-08-27T19:09:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T19:09:39","slug":"a-village-in-kyrgyzstan-is-using-the-internet-to-fight-for-their-rights","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/issues\/community-networks\/success-stories\/zardaly-kyrgyzstan\/","title":{"rendered":"A Village in Kyrgyzstan Is Using the Internet to Fight for Their Rights\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>
\n
<\/div>\n

A Village in
Kyrgyzstan Is Using
the Internet to
Fight for Their Rights <\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\"A<\/figure>
\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A decade ago, living in villages like Zardaly in the small, landlocked nation of Kyrgyzstan was akin to being truly isolated from the rest of the world. With over 88 major mountain ranges<\/a>, the country is sometimes called \u201cthe Switzerland of Central Asia.\u201d Mountainous terrain covers 94 percent<\/a> of its territory, offering majestic views from nearly any vantage point. But such topography makes it difficult to build and maintain infrastructure and services like roads, electricity, and the Internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zardaly and other villages had been seeking improvements for decades. But the government said they were too hard to reach, and the private sector saw little profit potential. Frustration among the residents grew as their requests went unheeded, and they were left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, in 2014, Talant Sultanov\u2014at the time working as the director of a government think tank\u2014attended the Internet Society\u2019s first Central Asian Internet Symposium in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan\u2019s capital. The topics discussed there inspired him to focus on their nation\u2019s digital development, and things started to change.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Kyrgyzstan\u2019s Natural Resource: Its People <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere in Kyrgyzstan, we don\u2019t have oil or natural gas like our neighbors,\u201d Talant said. \u201cOur natural resource is people, so we thought human capital was what we should develop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year after attending the event, together with Aziz Soltobaev he co-founded the Internet Society\u2019s Kyrgyzstan Chapter and began serving as its chair. The chapter\u2019s priorities included connecting the remote mountain villages, which presented numerous challenges. These communities were tough to reach, and some had no electricity. How could it be done?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe roads are so narrow there that untrained horses or donkeys can\u2019t take it. Some of them fall off,\u201d Talant said.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Three<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Two<\/figure>
\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Internet in a Box Comes to Kyrgyzstan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

At the 2016 Internet Governance Forum in Guadalajara, Talant found an initial solution developed by the youth of the Internet Society Mexico Chapter: the Internet in a Box, a device developed to bring connectivity to remote parts of Mexico. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With support from various sources, including the Internet Society, using funds donated by individuals worldwide who care about connecting the unconnected, he and his team adapted this innovation for use at dozens of rural Kyrgyz schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They loaded each device with digital learning resources, including video and audio lessons, ebooks, and Wikipedia pages in Kyrgyz, Russian, and English. In doing so, they noticed the lack of local Kyrgyz content. In many rural communities, Kyrgyz is the only language spoken. Without content in their local language, students are cut off from learning opportunities that other children in bigger cities might access. Developing this content has become another goal for the team.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Grassroots Solutions in Communities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Next, they started supporting remote villages with their connectivity journeys, building solar-powered towers that could connect to the Internet. Within five years, Suusamyr, Zardaly, and Kyrchyn gained Internet access. Suusamyr, connected in 2018, is home to Central Asia\u2019s very first community network. With this self-sustaining system, the village owns and operates the network, paying a discounted service fee and receiving a portion back to maintain and improve the infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, these villages\u2019 connectivity needs became more urgent. In 2021, to show what determination could do and to motivate the government and private sector to connect rural areas, Talant and his team set their sights on Zardaly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considered the most difficult village to connect in Kyrgyzstan, it had no electricity or vehicle access. Still today, it can only be reached by foot along a perilous cliffside trail\u2014a journey that takes five hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>
We knew that if we succeeded with Zardaly, the government and private companies would have no excuse not to connect the others.\u201d<\/div>