Business mushrooms for former nomadic herdsman

Karim Taharibek (left) has given up grazing to cultivate mushrooms under the instruction of a technician in a settlement in Haiyanzi township in Barkol. He earned more than 10,000 yuan ($1,600) in 2011 from his mushroom business, almost double his 2010 income when he sold sheep.[Photo/China Daily]

Early every morning, Karim Taharibek enjoys tea at his house in a settlement in Haiyanzi township, Barkol Kazak autonomous county. The former herdsman has no sheep to care for anymore, instead he has to ensure his mushrooms grow strong and healthy.

Taharibek, 50, decided to sell all his livestock earlier this year so he could concentrate on mushrooms. "The local government built greenhouses and taught the herdsmen in the settlement how to cultivate mushrooms last year. At first, I just did it for fun, but then I found out that I could earn much more money by growing mushrooms than grazing sheep," he said, carefully watering the button mushrooms in his greenhouse.

Taharibek earned more than 10,000 yuan ($1,600) last year from his mushroom business, almost double his 2010 income when he sold sheep. His greenhouse and mushroom spores are provided by the local government, all he needs to do is to cultivate the fungi.

"I used to walk miles and miles to graze my sheep but now I just need to walk 20 meters from my house to the greenhouses," he said. "The most difficult thing for me is to follow the strict schedule for watering and fertilizing. Herdsmen are not good timekeepers."

He admitted that he'd forgotten to water the mushrooms a couple of times, a lapse that almost killed off his entire crop. "That sort of thing would never happen with sheep."

Life at the settlement has provided a couple of other new experiences for Taharibek: He has had his first visit from a dentist and watched his first movie on a big screen. Barkol's mobile movie team visits the settlement every other week with a projector and big screen in their van. "The most interesting part is watching them setting it all up. They should film our lives - I would love to star in it for free," he laughed.

The decision to turn his back on the traditional lifestyle wasn't an easy one for Taharibek, whose family have been herders for generations. "There is no reason not to make the change when it is beneficial and I am still a herdsman inside."

When his longing for the grassland becomes overwhelming, Taharibek says he will visit his old friends and sing songs as loud as he likes, safe in the knowledge that no one will hear.