In Ashgabat, you can take a book for 21 days absolutely for free. And these are not old library books, but the latest novelties from popular authors. World bestsellers, non-fiction, exciting novels and much more. All this is in Kitaphana21 (address and contacts at the end of the article).

The project was conceived and implemented by Batyr Rejepov, a 24-year-old entrepreneur, founder and director of the Ak Nesil Educational Center.

"The idea of the project came to mind at the moment when I needed to buy a book by Jordan Peterson [the author of best-selling books on psychology, ed.], and I found it in a bookstore in Ashgabat. When buying, I realized that the cost of books in this store is very overpriced. This limits the ability of people to read such publications. Since I am a lover of reading myself, I wanted to make books more accessible to other lovers of literature," the Batyr said.

Initially, Kitaphana21 was mainly available for business literature, books on psychology and self-development in Russian, Turkish and English. Mostly these were the personal books of Batyr himself. He acquired one part in Turkmenistan, and the other — abroad, while studying in Switzerland and Russia.

As the project progressed, books of other genres began to appear in the library, including fiction — fantasy, detective stories, etc. Basically, they were voluntarily given by those who borrowed books themselves and wanted to share something useful and exciting with others.

To pick up a book, you just need to fill out a new participant's questionnaire and pick it up at the library. The only limitation is that you can take no more than one book at a time. You can also order delivery around the city for 20 manats.

Most often, readers take books on self-development and psychology to Kitaphana21. The main audience of the project is schoolchildren and students for whom these topics are most relevant. About 200 people regularly use the library.

The author of the project is inspired by the opportunity to share with people what will stimulate their personal growth and self-development. "One day I was taking a book home myself, and a man asked me to go up to his apartment," Batyr said. — While handing over the book, I met a person with disabilities. Such meetings motivate me even more to develop the project so that everyone has access to useful literature and can achieve their goals."

Contact information:

Address: Ashgabat, the intersection of Oguz han Street and Bitaraplyk Avenue (ex. Aytakov-Podvoysky), Belent building, 3rd floor. Point on Google maps.

Phone: +993 63 89-39-56.

Instagram: @kitaphana.21

ORIENT