For 25 years, during the existence of the Soviet Union, Kanymgul worked in various fields: she was a warehouse manager, a combine operator, a cook, and worked in the fields.
In an interview with a Turmush correspondent, she shared that she participated in the harvest with her husband. Born in 1946 in the village of Boz-Uchuk in the Ak-Suu district, she was raised by her maternal grandmother, Zuur, who instilled in her a love for handicrafts.
Kanymgul graduated from school in Karakol, where at that time the education included 10 grades. She then enrolled in an agricultural technical school in Tyup, now known as vocational college No. 2, where she studied the operation of technical equipment.
In 1969, Kanymgul got married and continued to work in various jobs in Kurmenty. “After getting married, I worked at the warehouse of a company that produced equipment for seven years. My husband was a driver of agricultural machinery, and in the 1970s and 1980s, when there was a shortage of staff, I also drove the combine. We left home at 4 a.m. and returned at 10-11 p.m. One time, a party official, Turdakun Usubaliev, came to us, and I got scared when I was called to him. At that moment, a stone got into the combine,” she recalls.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, when she was 47 years old, Kanymgul decided to engage in handicrafts, which she had mastered thanks to her grandmother. In the 1990s, her family began processing felt and creating shyrdaks with bright patterns. “At that time, handmade products were not highly valued. My husband crossed the gorge to the village of Shaty and met with the Kazakhs. He exchanged two shyrdaks for 'kunazhyn' (cattle) for the first time. News of our products spread quickly, and soon we began receiving orders. Every year we made more than 10 shyrdaks, some of which were exchanged for livestock, allowing us to educate our children,” she recounts.
Kanymgul continues to engage in handicrafts to this day. She gifts her children with products in the national style. “The sizes of the shyrdak are 3 by 2 meters, or 2 meters in length and 80 centimeters in width. Every year I make products for my daughters and sons so they do not forget about the 'world of felt products.' Felt is an eco-friendly product that is good for health. Last year, our compatriots living in the USA ordered soft toys made of felt. In addition, we earned money from souvenir products in the form of guitars and balls. Everything I have done for the past 30 years has borne fruit. Sometimes I embroider shawls or carpets on my hand-made loom. My felt products participate in exhibitions held at the state level,” she adds.
Kanymgul Abitova has lived in a happy marriage with her husband for 50 years and raised six children — three sons and three daughters. She currently has 26 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
