The Film
The Project
Hayat Tarikov
The Inspiration
Community Based Tourism in Arslanbob
Arslanbob is a beautiful mountain village in Kyrgyzstan where
there is a lot of snow, but not many skiers ... and even fewer skis.
Community Based Tourism (CBT) is an organization in Kyrgyzstan that is working to develop conscious tourism -- where locals have substantial control over the involvement, development and management of tourism and where a majority of the benefits remain within the community.
Hayat Tarikov is the head of CBT in Arslanbob. He and his team hope to encourage the development of youth skiing and winter backcountry and cross country ski tourism.
About Hayat
Hayat Tarikov was born in Arslanbob, Kyrgyzstan. He left to study forestry in Uzbekistan, but after living away from his hometown for several years, he returned and began working as a guide and coordinator for CBT.
In 2005, still working with CBT, he moved to the outskirts of Arslanbob, which made it challenging to commute to town in the winter months.
He remembered seeing hunters on wooden skis as a child, and decided to find himself some skis to help him get to town.
What started off as a simple method to get from point A to point B, quickly became a passion, and Hayat began to dream of much bigger possibilities for his skis.
He imagined a whole new ski tourism industry in Kyrgyzstan that would bring jobs to his village during the cold winter months.
So he began planting the seeds to make his dream a reality.
He taught his fellow CBT guides to ski using rental ski equipment left over from USSR supplies.
He hung photos of locals skiing in the CBT office so tourists could see them. In the winter of 2006, two tourist skiers came through the CBT office.
So he began planting the seeds to make his dream a reality.
He taught his fellow CBT guides to ski using rental ski equipment left over from USSR supplies.
He hung photos of locals skiing in the CBT office so tourists could see them. In the winter of 2006, two tourist skiers came through the CBT office.
In 2007, 15 skiers came.
In 2009, Ann Piersal, an American ski guide, helped Hayat map out a ski touring route, and the numbers continued to grow.
In 2014, 70 skiers passed through Arslanbob.
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During this time, Hayat also started a ski program for the village children.
The lack of adequate children's ski equipment did not deter him. He first started teaching his two sons, putting his four-year-old son on a pair of 157cm skis (huge for such a small kid!) and in boots that were three times too big. Now, there are almost 20 kids skiing in their village.
At the same time, because of his background in forestry and his immense respect for nature, he wants to make sure the snow tourism industry grows responsibly and sustainably.
In his words, “We have to first teach the community of Arslanbob to not make trash, to be polite to nature, and maybe in the future we can make decision to build chairlift.”
The lack of adequate children's ski equipment did not deter him. He first started teaching his two sons, putting his four-year-old son on a pair of 157cm skis (huge for such a small kid!) and in boots that were three times too big. Now, there are almost 20 kids skiing in their village.
At the same time, because of his background in forestry and his immense respect for nature, he wants to make sure the snow tourism industry grows responsibly and sustainably.
Hayat has had several offers to put in a chairlift, but he has respectfully refused. At least for now.
Hayat hopes to eventually put in a chairlift, but he wants to make sure progress happens in a way that stays true to his goal of developing an eco-friendly, sustainable tourism industry.
Hayat hopes his program will encourage other communities throughout Kyrgyzstan to follow suit, thus establishing a solid winter-based economy for this mountainous country that is filled with epic skiing opportunities.
