A Cyber Cafe for Dushanbe: Fundraising

PO Box 4864
Boulder, CO 80306
USA

BDSC Info: +1.303.544.0881
info@boulder-dushanbe.org

A Cyber Café for Dushanbe: Construction

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Hundreds of thousands have enjoyed the exotic beauty of the Teahouse that Dushanbe presented to the people of Boulder.

In 1987, Boulder Mayor Linda Jourgensen and Dushanbe Mayor Maksud Ikramov concluded an agreement which included the exchange of gifts: a Tajik teahouse for a Boulder-style café or restaurant. In 1989, Dushanbe gave the beautiful Boulder-Dushanbe Teahouse to the citizens of Boulder. It opened in May, 1998.

Boulder-Dushanbe Sister Cities made plans to present a Cyber Café to the people of Dushanbe, a place where both physical and technological access to the rest of the world is difficult. The Cyber Café would be a restaurant, an Internet portal, a learning center, and a place to have fun. Our gift to Dushanbe reflects the culture, style, sensibilities and resources of Boulder: its technology, Western openness, and education. The Cyber Café will provide a valuable resource to the people of Dushanbe.

Local architects helped kick off the process with a design brainstorming session. They were led by Boulder architect David Barrett who was hired to design the Cyber Café and produce the building you see here on the website. Barrett thought deeply about the purpose of this project and his work is a true reflection of our goals.

Where We are Today

Construction was started in Spring of 2007, but with a harsh winter in Dushanbe (2007-2008), there were delays. The gift was presented to the people of Dushanbe on September 23, 2008, with the opening pending final approvals of the City of Dushanbe.

To see the location of the Cyber Cafe on Google Maps click here.
(Note: the satellite image was taken prior to construction, so the cafe is not visible yet from Google)

At this time we are waiting for the City of Dushanbe to finish with all their necessary department approvals and for the selection of an operator for the Cyber-Cafe Friendship Center. We understand almost all signatures have been acquired and that there are several candidates for operator. While we wait, the monitoring system provided by “Fat Spaniel” is sending up-dates via the Internet indicating that the solar systems are all running nicely!

Boulder-Dushanbe Sister Cities to Receive Award for Cyber-Cafe Solar Energy Features

Boulder-Dushanbe Sister Cities has been selected to receive the “Innovation: Sustainable Development-Energy Award” for populations of 100,000 to 150,000 in Sister Cites International 2009 Awards program.” The award acknowledges the innovative use of solar energy in the Cyber-Cafe Friendship Center in Dushanbe. The Innovations Award... was sponsored by the US Department of Energy and will be accompanied by a $1,000 cash award.

Check back here for more details on this amazing gift!

Construction began in May of 2007 with the
Grand Presentation of the gift in September of 2008!
(most recent photos first)

Photos from September 23, 2008 Presentation Ceremony