Kumtor Company To Help Issyk-Kul Farmers Produce Dried-Fruit Using New Technologies

Kumtor Company To Help Issyk-Kul Farmers Produce Dried-Fruit Using New Technologies

published: 21 August 2014

Issyk-Kul farmers will be taught to produce dried-fruit using innovative equipment under a pilot project launched by Kumtor Gold Company, an initiative thought to be translated into life in cooperation with local youth organizations and associations.

The dried-fruit production technology was developed by Swiss experts. Drying chambers will be combined with 20-tonne containers, which, after duly equipped, will process fruit, berries, medicinal herbs and even meat. These will be absolutely self-contained units. Their operation essentially cracks down to the air inside the container being heated by the light detector while air circulation is achieved by means of fans fed by photovoltaic panels.

Six such drying chambers are expected to be installed under this project. Three of them have already been commissioned in Ton and Jety-Oguz communities. In the villages of Ak-Terek and Kyzyl-Suu, Jety-Oguz district, the drying chambers were transferred to the balance sheet of the local communities while in the village of Kara-Talaa, Ton district, they were transferred to a municipal facility. One reequipped container costs approximately 450,000 soms, shipping, installation and assemblage included.

“It is a project that Kumtor Company is implementing under its Issyk-Kul sustainable development program. It is very important for us to contribute to regional economies and create new jobs. Although this region is rich in fruit and berries, it cannot process them in quantity. No increment in value is seen to happen. Our purpose is to enable the region’s farmers to get additional revenues from fruit and berries they have in abundance,” commented Douglas Grier, Sustainable Development Director, Kumtor Gold Company.