VOGUE: “When Roza and I first started Tumar, we just wanted to blend into the world. To survive. But now, as Kyrgyz people, we are trying to stand out,” Chinara told me one afternoon after showing me around one of the Tumar factories. “We are trying to celebrate what makes us different in this world. And the felting process gives us the strength to do that — because it connects us to our roots. It helps us feel proud to be from here. This is our culture. It is part of us. It is part of who we are.”

Kyrgyz people spent centuries largely as nomadic sheep herders. Back then, their lifestyle was inherently sustainable, as they relied on what the land and animals provided, wasted nothing, and crafted much of what they needed using felt, which is made without any chemicals or synthetic additives. “Nomadic Kyrgyz people used this all-natural material to line the floors and walls of their yurts (i.e. their portable, dome-shaped homes), make their clothing, and craft everyday items like rugs, saddlebags, and seat covers. There’s even an expression in Kyrgyzstan that Kyrgyz people are “born on the felt and die on the felt,” rooted in the idea that their entire lives — from birth to death — once unfolded on felt-covered yurt floors."