In a country like Tajikistan – landlocked, post-conflict, few natural resources, 93% mountainous, crumbling infrastructure and a questionably corrupt government – investors are hard to come by.  Some recent discoveries and actions, however, may be changing Tajikistan’s luck.  Whether this will be positive or detrimental to the country’s future development remains to be seen. Last [...]

“бутсы! бутсы!,” they yell as they run down the narrow unpaved street toward me with arms waving in the air.  Skidding to a stop in front of me, the group of six boys proceed to ask for money, phones, cameras . . . and the ever-popular бутсы (soccer cleats).  When I decline, the boys proceed [...]

“For the last three years, my yields have been 30 percent of what they were before,” says Sabur Kumischev, as he makes a sweeping motion with his hand indicating the land where his crops are grown.  “All I could grow was corn.  The other farmers could only grow corn.  We had nothing to sell to [...]

Clay Westrope is a M.A. Candidate in Sustainable International Development at the Heller School for Social Policy & Management. “Parranda,” he says, pointing to the gray and white dove hopping from branch to branch of the grape trellis above. “Bird,” I say, with a confident nod of affirmation. “Gul,” he says, plucking a brightly colored [...]

This guest post is from Clay Westrope, a M.A. Candidate in Sustainable International Development at the Heller School for Social Policy & Management.  He is the TSEP Agricultural Value Chain Intern in Tajikistan. It was 5:30am and I awoke from a fitful sleep between two large Russian men on an AirBaltic flight from Riga.  Despite [...]