Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/572389
30 OCTOBER 2015 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com whatever the truckers think it's worth, Smith said. Some of the apples that go to Russia are put into cold storage and sold several months later at a higher price, increasing the profit for buyers, but not for producers. Sister regions A year ago, a party from Kyrgyzstan, including Emilbek Kaptagaev, the governor of Issyk-Kul, came to Lake Chelan to sign a memorandum of understanding between the two regions. The parties agreed to promote the exchange of experience and knowledge in agriculture and to deepen the mutual understanding of citizens through exchange of information and official visits. This spring, a group from Washington went to Kyrgyzstan to re-sign the document. Smith said the idea of a formal relationship emerged two years ago when a delegation from Kyrgyzstan visited Washington State. Smith hosted a dinner, at which guests included Washington State Senator and orchardist Linda Evans Parlette and Chelan County Commissioner and orchardist Keith Goehner. Speaking through an interpreter, Smith told Muktar Djumaliev, then the Kyrgyz ambassador to the United States, that it's often the custom in the United States to say a blessing before a meal. Recognizing that the Kyrgyz visitors were Muslim, he asked if they would like to offer a Muslim grace also. "It was like a seminal moment," Smith recalled. "A special feeling was created at that dinner and everybody around that table agreed we wanted to focus on creating a sister region relationship between Chelan County and Issyk-Kul oblast (state). Smith traces his interest in central Asia back to September 11, 2001. He happened to be in Washington, D.C., when al-Qaeda terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon and attempted to strike the White House, which was just four blocks from his hotel. "I didn't know it at that point in time, but the whole focus of my life was going to start to shift," he said. "I started thinking, 'Are there opportunities for us, as Americans, to build a closer relationship with Muslim people on a whole different level than we have currently experienced?'" Through a Russian acquaintance now living in Washington and other contacts, Smith began to learn about the former Soviet countries of central Asia, of which Kyrgyzstan is the poorest. "After a while, I realized this is the opportunity I'm looking for to build a relationship and, hopefully, have a positive impact on another country of Muslim faith and give it another avenue to turn to, rather than radicalism,'" he recalled. "This is a really, really big picture view." Tree fruit Smith first visited Kyrgyzstan five years ago along with Cashmere orchardist Jim Koempel and Dennis Bolz of Wenatchee. "We fell in love with their country," he said. "Jim and I focused on, 'How do you redevelop tree fruit in this region of the world?'" Like its northern neighbor Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan claims to be the genetic home of the apple. Smith said this disputed claim is not surprising, because the borders between the "-stan" countries were artificially created by the Soviet Union to separate people. The Kazakh and Kyrgyz languages, which are rooted in Turkic lan- guages, are very similar to each other but unlike Russian. Although most people spoke Russian during more than a century of Soviet domination, there's an effort to revive the local languages. During that first visit to Kyrgyzstan, Smith and Koempel met grower Raisa Tologonova, who owns 40 hectares (100 acres) of land on which she has an orchard, a germplasm repository of local apples, a breeding pro- gram, and a nursery. She is well connected, politically, and has a tree that was planted by former Russian presi- dent Boris Yeltsin. "She will be a key player in whatever type of agricul- tural development occurs in that region," Smith said. Smith and Koempel had brought a half-dozen copies of Good Fruit Grower. After a meeting at the governor's office with Tologonova and other Kyrgyz people, the two orchardists pulled out the magazines. Tologonova promptly grabbed three of them, put them on her chair, and sat on them so no one else would take them. On a later visit, Smith took her a gift of hand pruning shears, along with another half-dozen copies of Good Fruit Grower. PHOTOS COURTESY OF RANDY SMITH Above, children perform for the Washington guests at the nursery of Raisa Tologonova in Kyrgyzstan. At right, Tologonova discusses fruit growing in Kyrgyzstan with Cashmere, Washington orchardists Jim Koempel (crouching) and Randy Smith (standing). Interpreter Olga Kuticheva is on the right. The Washington State delegation was invited to dine in a yurt in Kyrgyzstan. From left, Jim Koempel, Randy Smith, Doug England, Governor of Issyk-Kul Emilbek Kaptagaev, and Ron Skagen. Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan, would be a good market for Kyrgyz fruit if it could be accessed more easily. It is only 60 miles from Issak-Kul but it takes seven hours to drive there. 1-800-421-4001 Phone: 503-538-2131 Fax: 503-538-7616 info@treeconnect.com • www.treeconnect.com 1-800-421-4001 Phone: 503-538-2131 Fax: 503-538-7616 info@treeconnect.com • www.treeconnect.com • Aztec Fuji® cv. DT2 • Firestorm®Honeycrisp™ USPP 7,197 • Wild re™ Gala USPP applied for • Buckeye™ Gala USPP 10,840 • Pink Lady® Brand cv. Cripps Pink • NEW pollenizers & more! 2017 TREES AVAILABLE Call Tree Connection today! RESERVE YOUR TREES!