Tash-Kömür (Kyrgyz: Таш-Көмүр, Russian: Таш-Кумыр Tash-Kumyr)[1] is one of the five largest towns of Jalal-Abad Region in Southern Kyrgyzstan.

[4] It is located along the West bank of the river Naryn, opposite the main Osh - Bishkek road.

Located at the edge of the Tien Shan Mountains, when heading South from Bishkek, Tash-Kömür is the gateway to the Fergana valley.

Officially founded on December 17, 1943, Tash-Kömür,[5] meaning stone-coal, grew into one of the largest industrial centers of the Central Asian region of the Soviet Union.

The mountains surrounding the town are rich in minerals, not only in coal, which gave Tash-Kömür its fame.

There is no arable land in Tash-Kömür, although just a few kilometers south the Fergana Valley begins, and the cotton plantations are ubiquitous, alongside the melons and other crops.

These migrant workers are usually seasonal: they leave in the early spring and return in the fall, since the cold in the North makes for hard working conditions.

In recent years, many have used the money to renovate their homes, to buy DVD players and satellite dishes, or to open stores, and try to start a business.