More than a stay – a story

The idea of opening a guesthouse came to Aiganysh Taalaibek kyzy during the tourist season of 2018, shortly after her family moved to Naryn. With hotels in short supply, visitors began staying in her home, sparking the vision for a business.

“I had a lot of doubts,” she recalls. “SPCE gave me practical skills in marketing, financial literacy and business planning. It helped me turn a dream into concrete steps.”

What began as a small guesthouse quickly grew into a cultural hub. Today, it is a place where visitors share meals, stories and traditions with local people. “Every detail is about our culture, making it less of a hotel and more of a home where each guest can live a small story,” says Aiganysh.

In recent years, tourism in Naryn has steadily improved, with new cafés, better roads and small services emerging. Aiganysh’s guesthouse has been part of this shift, welcoming visitors and showing how hospitality can connect them to local culture and community. 

Today, the guesthouse regularly hosts UCA students, faculty and researchers. For Aiganysh, its greatest success lies in the way it brings people together through culture.