ULGU
Sustainable development of agriculture in Kyrgyzstan through organic farming
| Country: | Kryrgyzstan |
| City: | 715700 Jalalabat oblast, Kerben town, Asky region |
| Address: | Niyazaly street, Cultural Center |
| Email: |
01.02.2008
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Ulgu was established in 1996 and registered in 1997 to help vulnerable groups in Aksy district (Jalalabad province) to overcome the growing poverty. Ulgu first focused on Aksy district only, later it expanded its work to Ala-Buka, Nooken and Chatkal districts, all in Jalalabad. Ulgu has become the strongest and most stable NGO in Aksy district. While initially working in many sectors including health and legal issues, in 2003 the founders of the organisation decided to change the mission of the organisation.
Currently the mission of ULGU is "to contribute to sustainable development of agriculture in Kyrgyzstan through organic farming". This mission is based on the realisation of ULGU 's founders of the importance of sustainable development of agriculture, rural socio-economic development and conservation of Kyrgyzstan's environment. Ulgu is organised around 5 types of services it provides: the mass media services at ULGU press centre, mobilisation and gender services, rural development services, marketing and planning services and bio advisory services. At the moment ULGU has 10 staff members and works with a large pool of more than hundred volunteers. Since 1996 ULGU has been supporting the population of Aksy district in many ways such as providing legal support for farmers to make sure that they received legal land titles, having provided seminars on organic farming to about 500 farmers and since 2003 having published 18 issues of their own newspaper on organic farming which is well received by the farmers. Finally, since July 2003 they have established nine bio farms which serve as a model and source of information for farmers in the nearby surrounding on organic farming.
Hivos supports this organisation because Ulgu has developed a very relevant programme for a remote area very much in line with the Hivos sustainable production policy. They have shown to be a learning organisation and they will continue to increase the capacity of their staff in the coming years. They will do so by continuing their co-operation with the Dutch organisation Avalon specialised in organic farming. Ulgu has built a good reputation in their working area not only among farming households but also among youngsters and the local and regional administration. Finally, Ulgu has been investing a lot of time in extending their network and partners both nationally and internally (they are a member of IFOAM) during the last year.
