Habitat for Humanity Kyrgyzstan

Contact information HFH Kyrgyzstan Apartment 2, Building 184 Moskovskaya Street 720010 Bishkek Kyrgyzstan Phone: +996 312651003 Fax: +996 312651003 E-mail: Noffice@habitat.elcat.kg         Web site www.habitat.elcat.kg				Habitat's Work in Kyrgyzstan New families served this year*: 359 Total homes constructed/rehabilitated: 382 House sponsorship cost: US$17,100         Kyrgyzstan News and Stories Become Habitat’s ambassador Building hope in Kyrgyzstan Working on improving sanitation in rural Kyrgyz communities
Country profile

Housing Need
Located in Central Asia on the historic Silk Road, Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country famous for its natural features such as high peaks, glaciers, lakes and snow leopards. The Kyrgyz Republic gained its independence in 1991 and embarked on a transition to a democratic government and a market economy.

Today, the country of 5.3 million is host to a growing private sector and a vibrant civil society. The economy has grown at an average rate of 4.4 percent since 2000, and the percentage of the population living in poverty has slipped from 52 percent in 2000 to 39.9 percent in 2006.

After the collapse of Soviet communism, Kyrgyzstan cut a variety of social benefits, leaving families with fewer resources to pay for housing. Access to basic services such as water and sewage is limited in Kyrgyzstan, especially for impoverished people and those living in rural areas. It is estimated that less than 20 percent of rural households have access to running water in their homes. Seeking relief from rural poverty, many people have moved to informal settlements on the fringes of Bishkek and other large cities, where they lack secure tenure and decent housing. Some settlements are built in areas where severe flooding can occur.

Nearly 70 percent of Kyrgyzstan’s population lives in substandard housing or is homeless. It is not unusual for three generations to be crowded into a single room with no heating or water supply.


Habitat for Humanity in Kyrgyzstan
Habitat for Humanity Kyrgyzstan was established in 1999. To date, more than 900 housing interventions have been completed, ranging from new house builds, completion of half-built homes, renovations to condominium block buildings, and the installation of ecologically friendly toilets. Habitat Kyrgyzstan has also partnered with the Open Society Institute to provide decent homes to families where one or more members have a mental health illness – some of the most vulnerable people in society.

In 2004, HFH Kyrgyzstan started an innovative building method incorporating cane reed. Houses are built using a local grown cane reed, which is environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, seismically stable, affordable and easy for volunteers to use in construction. Using this technology, families save about 40 percent on construction costs.

Habitat also works with condominium associations to identify and repair their buildings’ most serious problems, usually the result of a lack of maintenance of common areas. Renovations, such as fixing a roof, allow Habitat to serve scores of families in a single building for one, low cost.

In rural areas of Kyrgyzstan, many communities have no access to central water and sewage systems. In response to this need, Habitat developed in partnership with another NGO an ecologically friendly toilet. The eco-toilet is an innovative, low-cost solution that provides clean, sanitary conditions and also prevents pollution of soil and water from waste products. The design is simple and can be constructed using local materials.


Global Village
HFH Kyrgyzstan hosts every year up to 15 international teams of volunteers from the United States, Great Britain, Ireland and Japan. The fabulous nature along the ancient Silk Road and the tremendous need of the people are two constants that capture visitors’ hearts and help them commit to become long-term partners of Habitat for Humanity.

Habitat Highlights
• Habitat Kyrgyzstan’s innovative cane reed project was recognized at the prestigious World Bank Development Marketplace competition in Washington, D.C., in 2006. The project was among 30 winners chosen from 2,500 applicants from 55 countries.

• So far, three condominiums towers – all in Bishkek – housing 529 families have been served.

• A microfinance partnership for home improvements has served 23 families to date.

• Three eco-toilets were built in 2007, with another 25 set for 2008.

• Six apartments for mentally ill people and their families were renovated in 2007, with 12 more planned in 2008.