Okay, so, I've finally been able to get some footage together. This is from Kyzyl. I think the film talks for itself. Enjoy!
and here's a little bit of what the first prototype looks like.
here's some footage going into the garage:
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Where in the world...
If you've been following Colin's postings and video clips that he's been posting you may accidentally confuse Northern New York and Southern Ontario with Tuva. (We don't have any tuvan footage up yet, but I'm working on it) For anyone who's been to Tuva this would be a rather difficult thing to do, but considering Tuva is a little off the beaten path (except for PM Putin who's awesome macho topless fishing photos just so happen to be taken on the coasts of rivers in which i have swam,) it's understandable. First off, Tuva is not Tula, which is a small city, the capital of the "Tula Oblast", south east of Moscow. It's not Cuba, as my grandfather went to his grave being confused over (insert old grandfather voice: "Why is Scott going to Cuba again...?"). It's also not Tuvalu, which is a small island nation in the south pacific. No, Tuva is out there, but it's not one of these places.
Tuva, which in recent history has become a little better known to the outside world, mainly due to films like "Ghenghis Blues" (Can I just insert here that I have actually had the privilege of eating brain with Kangar-ol? And I'm serious, it was a privilege, he's an amazing Igilist and Throatsinger!) and back water fishing (thanks to Putin - I haven't met him) really has an amazing history.
The Republic of Tuva is located in Southern Siberia on the western part of the Mongolian border. Russia is made up of different regions that differ in levels of autonomy all within the Russian Federation. Tuva, being a Republic, has a relatively high level of autonomy. It has it's own Parliament and Prime Minister.
Tuva is the youngest member of the Russian Federation as it joined the now defunct Soviet Union in 1944. When it joined it went through rapid industrialization. This process of industrialization obviously brought about massive change; some positive and some negative.
Up until joining the USSR, Tuva had been a quasi independent state called "Tannu Tuva". Tannu Tuva was a point of interest for stamp collectors in the middle of the twentieth century. People were collecting stamps of a place that was hardly visible on most maps. Today, one can go to the Tuvan National Museum in Kyzyl and see a number of authentic stamps. I believe that exhibit is on the third floor if they haven't moved things around.
Anyway, Tuva received many benefits for becoming a part of the Soviet Union including a transportation infrastructure (including daily flights to Moscow as well as in the middle of nowhere communities), School system (and for that matter Soviet linguists also devised a good text for the Tuvan language.), Health care system, Jobs... On the less than positive side, we saw a gradual wearing away of a traditional central Asian culture and lifestyle. One of the more blatant examples of this was a law that was passed in the 1960s that mandated that all livestock (with the exception of one large animal ie. horse or yak, or two small animals ie. goat or sheep, be turned into the collectives as livestock was no longer private property but the wealth of the people.) This event, which I can't find recorded online, but have had a few different people confirm to me through stories, acted so as to make herding of livestock, the traditional occupation of Tuvans a bourgeois crime against the state (Stupid capitalist nomads raising livestock and selling meat - sarcasm). Anyway, for those who were in favor of the soviet era there were great advances in science and education and all those good things. They generally consider the era of the 70s and early 80s as the apex of Tuvan Soviet Society. For those who were not in favor of the soviet system, well they kinda ran off to the Western Sayan Mountains, which became a notoriously lawless part of the Republic. During soviet times it was the capitalists (read nomads) who had to go there. Today it's the drug dealers, which is also unfortunately one of the Republics major exports today. Regardless, the deeky deeky zapad (wild wild west), has never been tamed by anyone and hopefully never will be.
Glasnost and Perestroika were rough times for Tuva. Being isolated from the rest of the Soviet Union industries and collectives were falling apart right and left often simply because they could not get the necessary supplies from "za sayanami" or beyond the mountains. To this day, many people long for the stability of the Soviet Union. Wealth generated by the small upper class is generally looked upon with scepticism and many questions regarding the distribution of the "wealth of the people".
The post-perestroika generation, with whom I have the unique opportunity to study, at the Tuvan State University are an interesting bunch. Where as with most republics throughout Russia indigenous languages are dying and Russian is becoming more dominant, I get the feeling that it's the reverse in Tuva. While I, unfortunately do not speak Tuvan, (well I know meager survivor Tuvan and I am studying it - my funky little translation words are in Russian, which I do speak and functions as the language of business and education), my groupmates all speak Tuvan. They're also all ethnic Tuvan which is a reflection of the flight of ethnic Russians from Tuva to go back "za sayanami".
Being a member of the Russian Federation where around 80% of the population is of a minority ethnic group is creating a super unique atmosphere. We see a revitalization of traditional Tuvan music, language (now to be Tuvan is to speak Tuvan), traditions, and the herding of livestock; the real bogatstvo naroda "wealth of the people". It's an exciting time to live in this corner of the world.
If you've been following Tuvan's posts, you know I know how to make windmills. I've had really simple windmills made and tested that can produce upwards of .5Kw of power. With some fine tweaking on the same model I believe I could hit between .8-1.0Kw. In Tuva, I study at the Tuvan State University, and I also volunteer with a local not for profit organization as a transformational developer. I'm basically responsible for seeing business ideas through from their creation to the end. That means helping a person work through a business plan, create the business, and then help them to see it turn a profit before we take off the training wheels and let it run. One of my dreams has been to take my knowledge of windmill manufacturing and trying to make windmills for sale in Tuva. Tuva needs manufacturing jobs and these windmills are simple enough to be produced with the materials readily available. It's small, grass roots, kinda crazy, but we're going to run with this idea.
Now that you know a little about Tuva, you can follow this blog for updates on our progress. By the time that Collin and his team are able to make it over here we'd like to have a few prototypes ready to take out to the deeky deeky zapad, where the wind always blows, and give these things a try.
Tuva, which in recent history has become a little better known to the outside world, mainly due to films like "Ghenghis Blues" (Can I just insert here that I have actually had the privilege of eating brain with Kangar-ol? And I'm serious, it was a privilege, he's an amazing Igilist and Throatsinger!) and back water fishing (thanks to Putin - I haven't met him) really has an amazing history.
The Republic of Tuva is located in Southern Siberia on the western part of the Mongolian border. Russia is made up of different regions that differ in levels of autonomy all within the Russian Federation. Tuva, being a Republic, has a relatively high level of autonomy. It has it's own Parliament and Prime Minister.
Tuva is the youngest member of the Russian Federation as it joined the now defunct Soviet Union in 1944. When it joined it went through rapid industrialization. This process of industrialization obviously brought about massive change; some positive and some negative.
Up until joining the USSR, Tuva had been a quasi independent state called "Tannu Tuva". Tannu Tuva was a point of interest for stamp collectors in the middle of the twentieth century. People were collecting stamps of a place that was hardly visible on most maps. Today, one can go to the Tuvan National Museum in Kyzyl and see a number of authentic stamps. I believe that exhibit is on the third floor if they haven't moved things around.
Anyway, Tuva received many benefits for becoming a part of the Soviet Union including a transportation infrastructure (including daily flights to Moscow as well as in the middle of nowhere communities), School system (and for that matter Soviet linguists also devised a good text for the Tuvan language.), Health care system, Jobs... On the less than positive side, we saw a gradual wearing away of a traditional central Asian culture and lifestyle. One of the more blatant examples of this was a law that was passed in the 1960s that mandated that all livestock (with the exception of one large animal ie. horse or yak, or two small animals ie. goat or sheep, be turned into the collectives as livestock was no longer private property but the wealth of the people.) This event, which I can't find recorded online, but have had a few different people confirm to me through stories, acted so as to make herding of livestock, the traditional occupation of Tuvans a bourgeois crime against the state (Stupid capitalist nomads raising livestock and selling meat - sarcasm). Anyway, for those who were in favor of the soviet era there were great advances in science and education and all those good things. They generally consider the era of the 70s and early 80s as the apex of Tuvan Soviet Society. For those who were not in favor of the soviet system, well they kinda ran off to the Western Sayan Mountains, which became a notoriously lawless part of the Republic. During soviet times it was the capitalists (read nomads) who had to go there. Today it's the drug dealers, which is also unfortunately one of the Republics major exports today. Regardless, the deeky deeky zapad (wild wild west), has never been tamed by anyone and hopefully never will be.
Glasnost and Perestroika were rough times for Tuva. Being isolated from the rest of the Soviet Union industries and collectives were falling apart right and left often simply because they could not get the necessary supplies from "za sayanami" or beyond the mountains. To this day, many people long for the stability of the Soviet Union. Wealth generated by the small upper class is generally looked upon with scepticism and many questions regarding the distribution of the "wealth of the people".
The post-perestroika generation, with whom I have the unique opportunity to study, at the Tuvan State University are an interesting bunch. Where as with most republics throughout Russia indigenous languages are dying and Russian is becoming more dominant, I get the feeling that it's the reverse in Tuva. While I, unfortunately do not speak Tuvan, (well I know meager survivor Tuvan and I am studying it - my funky little translation words are in Russian, which I do speak and functions as the language of business and education), my groupmates all speak Tuvan. They're also all ethnic Tuvan which is a reflection of the flight of ethnic Russians from Tuva to go back "za sayanami".
Being a member of the Russian Federation where around 80% of the population is of a minority ethnic group is creating a super unique atmosphere. We see a revitalization of traditional Tuvan music, language (now to be Tuvan is to speak Tuvan), traditions, and the herding of livestock; the real bogatstvo naroda "wealth of the people". It's an exciting time to live in this corner of the world.
If you've been following Tuvan's posts, you know I know how to make windmills. I've had really simple windmills made and tested that can produce upwards of .5Kw of power. With some fine tweaking on the same model I believe I could hit between .8-1.0Kw. In Tuva, I study at the Tuvan State University, and I also volunteer with a local not for profit organization as a transformational developer. I'm basically responsible for seeing business ideas through from their creation to the end. That means helping a person work through a business plan, create the business, and then help them to see it turn a profit before we take off the training wheels and let it run. One of my dreams has been to take my knowledge of windmill manufacturing and trying to make windmills for sale in Tuva. Tuva needs manufacturing jobs and these windmills are simple enough to be produced with the materials readily available. It's small, grass roots, kinda crazy, but we're going to run with this idea.
Now that you know a little about Tuva, you can follow this blog for updates on our progress. By the time that Collin and his team are able to make it over here we'd like to have a few prototypes ready to take out to the deeky deeky zapad, where the wind always blows, and give these things a try.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Welcome
Welcome to Tuva Scott's Blog. This is the spot where Scott will describe what is going on with his work in Tuva as it unfolds.
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