Zamira Kanjaeva is 64 years old and lives in the village of Den-Aryk in the Chuy Valley, Kyrgyzstan. Her life revolves around her farm, where she rears sheep, cows, and chickens. She also cultivates crops such as maize, wheat, barley, and clover on her field.She has a large family, consisting of five children (three sons and two daughters), twelve grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Sadly, her husband passed away three years ago. Her children have been a great support to her. Her son works in the fields.
What has climate change done here?
When I was younger, the climate here in my village was predictable. The sun shone when it was supposed to, and the rains came on time. We could plan our planting and sowing with confidence. There was no worry about water; we had enough for drinking and for irrigating our fields.
But now the climate is erratic and unreliable. Last year, we faced a severe drought, and our clover crop failed because there wasn’t enough water for irrigation. This year, we had enough rain, but then there were unexpected spring frosts that damaged our fruit trees just as their buds were starting to swell. The apricots and cherries froze under the snow.
Due to the unpredictable weather, we have to closely monitor the weather forecast to decide the best times for planting and sowing.
What do you think world leaders have to do now to stop things from getting worse and to help us adapt?
Leaders must listen to us. They need to understand that our lives are directly affected by their decisions. We need more support for rural communities against climate change. We need financial assistance for crop failures.
The world must unite just like our village united to fix our water problem. When we faced severe drinking water shortages, our entire community came together. Each household contributed 2000 som (about 23 USD), and we pooled our resources to install a new water pipe. By coming together, we solved a common problem.
Life expectancy 2023
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