Incredible village Nevytske (update!)

Report of previous visit in September

On September 14 the agricultural team of the embassy and the honorary consul of the Netherlands visited Nevytske in Zakarpattia region to see the future location of the flowerbed and discover the potential of this village. Head of the city council, mr Mykhailo Laba, informed us about the different initiatives in Nevytske to stimulate rural development in and around Nevytske. Social cohesion is an important aspect in a region with more than 100 nationalities.

The city council is very active in promoting green tourism; new plans are being developed in a strategy for 2030 which include a bicycle route and different art objects. Central in this development is the ancient Nevytske castle.

Legend of the castle

According to the legend, ancient Nevytske castle was build to protect the beautiful women of the village from outsiders. The castle was first mentioned in 1274 belonging to the then King of Hungary. In 1644 the castle was ruined but the remote site of the castle prevented it from complete demolition.

We want to thank the city council and her team for a warm welcome. We were very impressed by the professional approach of the whole team to stimulate both social and tourism development in the incredible village Nevytske.

Location tulip flowerbed

The Dutch tulip flowerbed, provided by the embassy of the Netherlands and the company Stokolex will be located at the entrance sign of Nevytske. The city council is planning to improve the entrance to the village with a bicycle rent point as well. In autumn we will together with the inhabitants of Nevytske plant the tulip bulbs. We hope to open the flowerbed in spring 2019!

Mercy farm

Mercy Farm, also located in Nevytske, is an Agricultural Social Enterprise that pursues poverty alleviation goals in Ukraine and is being supported by Norway and different companies. The idea of setting up the farm appeared in 2015 in order to provide ecologically safe food for poor and needy families, lonely elderly, homeless and Roma people, orphans and people with disabilities. It became a pilot project and officially started in August, 2016.

Mercy Farm tends to specialize in the crops best suited to the Western Ukraine such as potatoes, carrots, kohlrabi, celery, beet-roots, onions, sweet (bell) pepper and cucumbers. Out of these vegetables 500-600 hot dinner plates with Lapskaus (healthy Norwegian dish) are being prepared, vacuum-sealed and taken to the target groups. Any surplus products are being sold in the local market or in the grocery stand.

The farm holds 25 hectares of land, a farmhouse and agricultural buildings, a kitchen with a dining hall, a bakery and a coffee and pastry shop.

Even though Mercy Farms is highly mechanized it gives work to 30 - 50 agricultural workers depending on the season. Read more about this initiative here: https://www.houseofmercy.com.ua/mercy-farm.html