Stories from the field

1.      Riverbank improvement – Nyzhniy Bystryi

In the small mountainous village of Nyzhniy Bystryi seasonal floods often cause major damage to riverbanks, threatening nearby roads and private buildings. The local people identified this problem in their Community natural resource development plan. FORZA supported a technical assessment of the situation which recommended the reinforcement of particularly vulnerable stretches of the riverbank.

As a first step, FORZA supported construction of 170 meters of riverbank works done by subcontractors according to the Swiss method, which uses less timber than the local practice. This was combined with a practical training for local people.  

Seven families whose houses were in danger decided to take action. The project helped to negotiate with the lishosp to provide timber at a subsidized rate. These people then constructed 255 meters of riverbank walls entirely with their own hands.

The method used is readily replicable and is four times cheaper than if done through subcontractors.

Quote

Maria Stanko, owner of rural guesthouse, villager of Nyzhniy Bystryi: “We were glad that our need to protect houses from floods was supported. And the quality of works was completely our responsibility. Riverbank wall, which my husband constructed, had survived from flood that happened in December 2010”.

2.      Kostylivka successes

Kostylivka is a small village lying not far from the rayon center Rakhiv. It faced many typical problems of the area, such as lack of agricultural land and employment opportunities (after the collapse of the Soviet Union) - resulting in high migration.

The dynamic village council head, Olga Smetaniuk, contacted FORZA with a micro-project proposal. This outlined the creation of income generation opportunities through tourism focusing on traditional livelihood practices (e.g. transhumance and the production of traditional foods and crafts).

The project took up her proposal, which led to further activities such as creation of annual local festival “Berlybashskyi Banush” which now attracts some 500 tourists per year. Ten families have established home stays in the village, thus augmenting their income.

The successful early activities have resulted in other donor agencies being attracted to Kostylivka as a trusted development partner. WWF has supported the establishment of a Center of local crafts and a Community development center, UNDP has provided assistance to establish and equip a dental clinic, and Peace Corps has placed a community development volunteer in the village. 

Quote

During the village meeting, Kostylivka villager “Nobody would ever know about our village, if Berlybashskyi Banush festival was not happening”.

3.      A solution to the problem of plastic waste

All the model villages supported by FORZA identified waste disposal as a major problem. This was particularly true of plastic materials, which make up to 50 % of all waste.

The project organized a round table discussion between village representatives of Nyzhniy Bystryi, Bohdan and Kostylivka and director of the plastic recycling enterprise of Khust rayon. Various options were considered. The solution that eventually evolved was to construct a total 36 metal disposal containers, which were placed at key points in each village and have been widely used. They were first emptied on a regular basis by the Khust enterprise, which has now been joined by a Rakhiv enterprise (for Kostylivka and Bohdan). Plastic waste is much less seen lying around the villages.

The scheme was so successful, that Khust rayon administration decided to replicate it and allocate rayon budget funds for production of containers to be placed in all villages of the rayon. In all 120 containers have been installed. 

Quote

Berezovo village, Khust rayon, villager “It is good that we got a chance to clean our village and river from plastic bottles, tourists don’t like to see this waste and for villagers it also becomes bothering. Before, people didn’t have where to throw it, so they were throwing it into water or in the forest, but now, when we have special containers for plastic waste, of course, we will use them”