The products they offer include kumys, clarified butter, and honey, which they obtain from mountainous regions or acquaintances. In addition, the couple makes assorted kuruts, which include sea buckthorn, currants, raspberries, and apricots, all grown in their own garden. They also make kurut with the addition of chöbögö.
With the increasing number of clients, they pay special attention to the cleanliness of their products. On weekends, they work at the local market, while on weekdays they welcome customers at their home. Their residence is located at the entrance to At-Bashy, near the bus station, making it a convenient stop for those heading to the city or abroad who want to purchase natural products.
Muratbek recalls how they started their business: “In the beginning, I brought one or two bottles of kumys and sold them. Later, I started bringing more and trading near the bus station. The number of clients kept growing. Today we meet modern requirements. We prepare kumys in traditional wooden vessels — sabaa, chanač, and chelek. In the evening, we pour milk and kumys into an electric chelek, which churns them all night. In the morning, we pour them back into sabaa or chanač and churn by hand.”
According to him, the vessels are thoroughly washed every 2-3 days and treated with smoke. The chanač and sabaa are smoked every 10 days; however, clients often demand to receive their products on the same day, which indicates a high level of trust in them and imposes a great responsibility.
Kumys, as Muratbek specifies, mainly comes from the Ak-Sai valley. In spring, they visit the internal jailoos, collecting kumys, and if some herders migrate, they bring kumys to their home themselves. Currently, a liter of kumys costs 120 soms, and the selling season is coming to an end. “We offer classic kumys, saamal kumys, and smoked kumys. Everyone chooses according to their taste. At the height of the season, one person could buy over 100 liters,” he adds.
Aichurok, in turn, shared that she manually makes kuruts with various flavors and chöbögö from clarified butter. “After I got married, my husband and I started this business. He brings kumys and prepares it for sale, while I produce kuruts. Initially, these were small volumes, but now we have started producing vacuum-packed and modernly packaged kuruts,” she shared.
According to Ilichbek kyzy, assorted kuruts are especially popular, often ordered by tourists from the USA, Russia, and other countries. “We also produce chöbögö, for which people come specifically. We have pure clarified butter from Sary-Tala and honey from the village of Özgörüş,” she added.
The prices for their products are as follows:
- Clarified butter: 1 kg — 900 soms
- Honey: 1 kg — 500 soms
- Kurut: 1 kg — 600–700 soms
- Kumys: 1 l — 120 soms.
The Jumabekov family received 100,000 soms as part of the "Social Contract" project, which was directed towards the development of dairy product processing, including the purchase of necessary equipment and expansion of production.
