Vegetables are healthy products
A resident of the village of Kok-Moinok-1 Kenzhe Asylbekova is already harvesting the first crop from the beds: cucumbers, beets, spinach, green onions and some types of cabbage. She grows all these crops together with fifteen female farmers of the village as part of the project "Growing Vegetables". Many of them, as Kenzhe admits , she planted for the first time, gaining experience in the process.
"I didn't know how to grow cucumbers before, but now I've mastered the process. This year I planted spinach for the first time — and, apparently, we'll get a good harvest. We grow five varieties of cabbage, two of which I've already successfully mastered and now I share my experience with other women in the group. Our participants learn not only how to grow vegetables, but also how to properly care for them," says Kenzhe, the leader of the Green Growing group. Asylbekova .
The women from Kok-Moinok-1 joined the project in 2025. Although this is their first experience, they have already learned how to grow vegetables and process them in environmentally friendly ways.
" We use regular vinegar and soda against moths. We scatter wood ash, manure and chicken manure. We apply these mixtures every seven days, without waiting for the pests to appear. We shape the tomato and cucumber bushes so that the fruits are larger, thin out the rows and replant the plants," the farmer adds.
Now Kenzhe is preparing to make cucumber preserves for the winter. Previously, she had to buy them at a high price, but now she has started using spinach, beets and a lot of onions in cooking. She not only provides her family with fresh and environmentally friendly vegetables, but also plans to sell the surplus.
This project is financed by the Seed Program International (SPI) and is implemented by the public fund AVEP.