⛰️ Final Meetings in Paraguay: This week marked the conclusion of the Aigine CRC team’s working trip to Paraguay. On December 7, we visited a family of artists from the indigenous Ishir community, who practice traditional crafts such as creating rare baskets and drawings. During our conversation, we learned their story and gained insight into the life of the Ishir community, which has long been neglected by the government. These people preserve their traditional rituals only in the northern regions of Paraguay, from where they were forced to move to the capital, Asunción, in search of a livelihood. Such meetings remind us of the importance of preserving cultural heritage and supporting indigenous peoples. Their cultural legacy is a unique part of the world’s heritage. Additionally, we visited the Barro Museum in Asunción and had a discussion with its director and staff. The meeting covered topics such as the creativity of indigenous peoples and issues related to petroglyphs.

📒 Project Steering Committee Meeting: On December 10, a meeting of the Project Steering Committee (PSC) was held in Bishkek as part of a four-year program aimed at developing traditional crafts and strengthening the tourism industry in the Kyrgyz Republic through Official Development Assistance (ODA). Aigine CRC presented a report on the work done to create a database of artisans. The project is supported by the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (ICHCAP) under the auspices of UNESCO. The idea of creating the database sparked active discussions, addressing issues related to the project’s budget, planning, and the extent to which the database comprehensively covers all necessary aspects for each artisan.

📉 Database Creation Training: On December 12, a training session was held at the Aigine CRC office in Bishkek as part of the four-year ODA program aimed at developing traditional crafts and strengthening the tourism industry in the Kyrgyz Republic. The purpose of the training was to teach methods and rules for creating a database on traditional crafts. The training was attended by individuals interested in crafts or in collecting information.