Belzhan.org – my tagline

At Belzhan we give our guests an impression of authentic Kyrgyz life and at the same time we generate income for the local population.
Jacobiene – director

Meet the Belzhan team

Our philosophy

Social enterprise

Belzhan s a social enterprise, operating within the current economic system. Our objective is to make a social impact, rather than to make profit for our owners. All profit is reïnvested in the lodge, or used for community development. We want to contribute to the transition to a new inclusive and poverty free economy.

Community based

Our main goal is to generate income for the villagers. Our staff and service providers are inhabitants of Grigorievka or the neighboring villages. We buy our food locally, we offer dinner at the neighbors, we deploy local drivers, farmers, horse owners, etceteras.

Small scale

We are aware that tourism can destroy nature and culture. We do not intend to grow. We do want to stimulate and support small businesses in and around the village.

Environmental sustainability

Belzhan has a maximum focus on environmental sustainability. Some examples are:

Belzhan is partly solar powered
The water for the outdoor showers at Belzhan is heated by a solar boiler
We grow our vegetables in recycled a plastic bottle greenhouse
We stimulate small scale and nature friendly tourism
We initiated plastic bottle collection in the village

Spin-off

Belzhan wants to be a base from which multiple income-generating initiatives can be started. To name a few of these initiatives:

One of our volunteers has set up a yurt camp in the mountains near Belzhan.
The neighbor across the street has started a small shop where our guests can get drinks and snacks.
The plan for 2022 is to start making cheese in a former sovkhoz in the neighboring village.

Education

At Belzhan we have organised a summer school where we provide English lessons to the children of Grigorievka. During their three months school holidays they can our free English classes twice a week.

Bridging the gap

Belzhan bridges the gap between the villagers and our guests. With knowledge of local culture and history, and a solid network within Grigorievka and the surrounding villages, we link our guests to local families and service providers. We take pride in delivering customised services. Whether you like to connect with our neighbors, help to harvest fruits and make jams at Belzhan, join a shepherd to mark his sheep in the mountains, or visit the Sunday market – our staff tries to make your wishes come true.