This is life in the village of Tash-Bashat in the Naryn region of Kyrgyzstan, some 345 km southwest of the capital Bishkek.
During the harsh winter months work on the farms is in short supply, so the farm hands turn their sights to gold.
Gold is the main mineral mined in Kyrgyzstan. The Kutmor mine in the Issyk-Kul region produces up to 18 tonnes of gold per year and makes up eight percent of Kyrgyzstan’s gross domestic product.
But there is no mine here on the outskirts of Tash-Bashat. The source for gold is the freezing waters of the Naryn river.
The part of the river that flows through the village is rich with gold, but only villagers are allowed to pan for it. No other people are welcome. There are two more such spots on this particular river.
Every day from December to late February people wade through the freezing water, braving temperatures of minus 40C to pan for gold.
“With friends, with schoolmates, I come here to rinse gold. They (friends) set up the fire, to dry our instruments. Since it is winter, the average temperature is around -40 degrees Celsius, so we need to defrost our instruments. We are preparing for the work,” says Sanarbek Atabayev.
Once in the water, the men need to dig into the frozen river bed before they can start looking for gold.
“We do not come here during the summer, because during the summer, all the snow melts, and there is a lot of water. The river Naryn becomes wide and unpredictable. Not only can you not go into the water, but it is just also dangerous to walk along the river bank, as a man can be carried away by the flow. During the winter, there is less water, the banks freeze and only then can we enter the water,” Atabayev says.
“Today it is warmer: -25 degrees Celsius, in the evening it is -30. The water temperature is around -35, -40. It is cold, very cold. The water is much colder during the winter than air,” says Kutman Kasmakunov.
“I began to do this, because there is no work in the village over winter. It is better to do something, than dawdle. You can rinse the gold and earn money. These guys have families and everything is good. Since we can’t do this in summer we have to work now in winter,” he adds.
After hours of searching they finally see a tiny glimmer of gold. It’s only a small amount today – just half a gram, but some days they find nothing at all.
Today 1 gram of gold is selling for 1800 Soms (26 dollars), but this figure varies according to global prices.
“Today we went for gold. Only half of a gram. In the village there is no place to sell gold. With the help of God, we will go for more gold tomorrow, we will add a bit more and then all together will go to the city of Naryn to sell it,” says Atabayev.
Throughout the season the men make around $1000 US dollars which they divide between the three of them.
It is hard earned cash and there will be no retreat from the ice and snow for many more weeks.
(AP)
