Homestays and yurtstays

[OdysseusK]

Hello Caravanistan! I have read a lot in the different accommodation chapters all about the different homestays and yurt stays available in the different countries, mainly Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and think it all sounds very interesting. The bit that I am a little confused about is what is the best way to go about getting involved in this kind of thing? This is because I feel like most of the different things available on the internet to book are predominantly going to be overly touristy and often different private companies which obviously brings up its own questions. What is the standard way of getting involved with these types of stays without being too touristy/ involving concerning companies?

[Christian77]

At a less touristy level are the "Community-based Tourism Offices" in Kyrgyzstan. They can arrange homestays and yurt stays. Or you can just go hiking and people will run out of yurts and yell "homestay!" at you... Use the MAPS.ME app to see where the yurt and homestays are. You can walk up and knock on their door. Learn enough Russian to say "breakfast," "dinner" and enough numbers/counting to figure out a total price. If you go to them directly they don't need to give anyone a commission.