Sonynby lives with her son, two daughters, a son-in-law and two granddaughters in the small town of Isakaev. Currently, she is a pensioner and owns a bit of land land with room for a subsistance crop of potatoes and livestock. She loves making shyrdaks, and has made them since she was a small child. She says that the act of making shyrdaks helps her relax and that she enjoys giving them as presents. 

Sonynby moved to the Kochkor region from the village of Ges Toktogul (near Osh) when she was married.  She started selling shyrdaks for profit as a way to support her family after her husband died. Today, sonynby is fairly well-off economically. Currently, the shyrdak income supplements her pension and production of potatoes and livestock. As a whole, all of the money she makes goes to support her family. Specifically, she uses the extra income from shyrdak making to buy new items for the house, the most recent purchase having been an oven.