Gulbara was born in 1961 in the village of Kyzyl-Suu. After finishing high school, she enrolled in a medical college in Przhevalsk and graduated with honors in 1982. She worked as a nurse for 17 years.
In 1996, Gulbara and her husband returned to their native village of Jenish and engaged in agriculture. In the early 2000s, when guesthouses began to open in the village, she decided to try her hand in this field and soon started receiving tourists and conducting master classes for them.
According to Gulbara, her collaboration with tourists began thanks to a house built by an ethnic German who now lives in Switzerland. "He offered us to manage the guesthouse and receive tourists. Previously, he sent his friends and relatives here, and sometimes he himself came with foreign guests. Now many tourists know about us and come to relax. We have undergone training under a tourist reception program and are actively working on it," she shared.
Gulbara introduces her guests to Kyrgyz customs and traditions, showcasing handmade products and the features of national cuisine. "My grandmother taught me a lot in my childhood. I worked with felt from an early age, learned to make ornaments, sew shyrdaks, and weave mats from chia. Now I conduct master classes for tourists who show interest in Kyrgyz products and want to try creating something with their own hands," she said.
Tourists are also interested in the process of preparing traditional Kyrgyz dishes. "We show how to cook national food. Among the guests, there are also vegetarians — we cook according to their requests using local products. I personally love to cook," Gulbara added.
The woman is an active member of the local tourism community and, along with other artisans, participates in creating souvenirs and products for tourists. It is especially popular to demonstrate the process of setting up and dismantling a yurt, explaining its structure and the significance of each detail.
Felt products, such as panels, shyrdaks, and ala kiyiz, range in price from 200 soms to 50,000 soms depending on their complexity and size. Tourists choose various products: from natural to bright and ornamented ones.
“Our guests come from France, England, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Norway, Belgium, and India. The most tourists, of course, come from Germany,” she noted.
Additionally, foreigners show interest in national clothing. Gulbara eagerly demonstrates how to properly wrap an elechek and shares its history.
The artisans also take orders for decorating cafes and restaurants in Karakol, creating panels and decorative elements in an ethnic style with Kyrgyz ornamentation.
Gulbara and her husband raised three sons and one daughter, and they now take pride in their 17 grandchildren. "Kyrgyz craftsmanship is a valuable heritage passed down from mother to daughter. I want to pass all my knowledge to my younger daughter-in-law so that she continues my work. I am currently teaching her," Gulbara concluded.
