Swiss help transform Kyrgyzstan’s ski industry

Just like in Alpine Switzerland, there is also a ski industry in the high mountains of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, and it’s getting some help from the Swiss.

Eight years ago, a dedicated ski instructor from the eastern Swiss canton of Graubünden started a winter tourism project in Kyrgyzstan to create jobs in the cold season. Edda Hergarten took fellow instructors with her to teach the Kyrgyz people how to ski. Now about 40 of the locals are instructors themselves.

At first the visiting Swiss instructors paid all their own expenses and worked for free, but in 2019 the programme became part of an official aid project of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), in partnership with the Swiss development organisation Helvetas. From 2019 to 2023, the Helvetas Sustainable Winter Tourism Development ProjectExternal link paid the ski instructors’ expenses, but they still worked for free.

In all, 100 Kyrgyz students have received instruction since 2019. This is Edda Hergarten’s story.