The little village of Tastubek situated in the little Aral sea, (the north part of the Aral sea) which has been forever altered by the Soviet Union, is situated 90km from Aralsk, a former port on the Aral Sea. Since the completion of the Kokaral dam in 2005 financed by the world bank, and the installation of an electricity grid in 2009, the winds of change have reached Tastubek. Akerke and her husband Nurzhan moved to the village a few years ago, making a living fishing, an industry which seemed to have been wiped out in this region of Kazakstan until recently. More than 15 kinds of fish have reemerged, allowing fishing production to expand from 600 tons in 1996 to 7,200 tons today said Serik Dyussenbayev, a guide living in Aralsk.
Bracing the 45-degree heat in summer and the -25-degree winters, Nurzhan and his fishermen friends, work 7 days a week. And so in Tastubek, in the far-off Aral Sea, Akerke, Nurzhan and their daughter Dilnaz can now feel every hope for the future. It seems that time has changed now in the little Aral sea region, the ground is getting more green and birds sing along the reeds. The project of the second phase of the dam with 4 meters higher will bring the water to Aralsk and fully restore the North part says Serik. But at the moment, money is going to the Expo2017 in Astana and only the president Noursoultan Nazarbaïev will
decide when.

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