Birlik village, At-Bashy district, Naryn oblast, 71

Burulsun apa has worked with chiy for more than thirty years. For her, it is not only a traditional craft, but also labour, livelihood and part of everyday life.

During our conversation, she said a simple sentence that became one of the most important lines of this project: “Bul chiy meni bagyp jüröt”  “This chiy feeds me.”

Her knowledge lives not in written instructions, but in the movement of her hands, memory and decades of practice. Today, her grandson helps her and is learning the main stages of the craft. It is through moments like this that chiy still has a chance to continue into another generation.