Buda-online

At the farmstead of Buda, near Maksym Zalizniak’s millennial oak tree (which remembers the times of Yaroslav the Wise and the ancient woods of Kholodny Yar, and where plants from the preglacial period are still found), a new form of progressive Ukrainian thinking is being born. People there are returning to long-lost values, normal human relations, respect for the earth and all living things. It seems that the “new fire from Kholodny Yar,” which the classic wrote about, is not one of conflict but of purification? The Day talked to Nonna DMYTRYCHENKO, guide at the National Historical and Cultural Reserve of Kholodny Yar and the deputy of the local village council, about the need to protect Kholodny Yar, the old values, and how to revive the Ukrainian village.

“It is not politicians that give confidence about the future, but the earth!

“The flow of tourists to Kholodny Yar is steadily increasing. For example, if before last year some 20,000 people visited the reserve, in 2010 this number increased to 50,000,” says Dmytrychenko. “Here, in the midst of Kohlodny Yar’s forests, many elements of Ukrainian history are hidden. These places were witnesses to the Cossacks’ fights, Koliivshchyna and the World War II. Historians are trying to show that UPA detachments also operated here.”

The history of Kholodny Yar is a burning issue, addressed in Vasyl Shkliar’s novel The Black Crow, which describes how the “foresters” hid from the Reds, who feared even entering the forest. It seems the forest was a cathedral to the rebels, a place where they were protected from evil spirits. Kholodny Yar has managed to preserve this atmosphere…

“Yes, it has, regardless of the deforestation… During the last century the surface of the forest has significantly decreased. In general, during the last century they cut down more trees than during all previous ones. If you compare Kholodny Yar’s map, say, from the 19th century with the current one, you’ll be terrified. You can see evidence of the scale of deforestation if you observe Kholodny Yar’s ‘patches’ on Google Earth. In his famous book Kholodny Yar Yurii Horlis-Horsky wrote that the rebels walked through the forest along a path to Motronynsky monastery, and got lost as they couldn’t find their way in the thick brushwood. You wouldn’t get lost now. At the beginning of the 20th century there were about a thousand sources, now there are no more than twenty of them. Why? Because the fields are ploughed and the soil is mercilessly poisoned by chemicals. The situation with the fauna is also deplorable. The oldest inhabitants of Buda say that bears, wolves and wild boars used to invade their vegetable gardens. Now there isn’t a single bear or wolf left. This January they shot the last elks, and one of them was going to have a baby. Those poachers were arrested, but does it help the fact that there aren’t any elks left in the forest?

“Several years ago, next to the symbolic 1,100-year-old Maksym Zalizniak’s oak tree, a little oak tree appeared — its great grandson. We were incredibly happy. However, shortly after we found it pulled out of the ground. Apparently, it was done by the drunk clients of the cafe located several dozen meters from the oak tree and which is, in fact, illegally built on protected territory not far from the mass graves of villagers shot during the World War II.

“The felling was executed by the Kamiansky forestry on order of the State Forestry. It sounds paradoxical, but the State Forestry is the worst enemy of our forests. Certainly, they are against the creation of a National park and explain that the forest will become impassable, but they are insincere. However, the State Forestry also plants trees, but decades and even centuries are needed to grow an oak tree.”

That is why you initiated the creation of the national park…

“Yes, but the procedure is not that simple. Not only documents are needed, but also a lot of money. First of all, people will have to change their mentality. Unfortunately, the village of Melnyky, unlike the farmstead of Buda, is against the creation of a national park. The people say: ‘We won’t be able to freely cut the trees anymore.’ It’s typical materialist thinking: after us the deluge. Nobody wants to think over the fact that when we cut centennial oak trees, we borrow from our grandchildren not only those trees, but also pure air and water.

“As for firewood… This problem can be easily solved. There’s a lot of dead wood in the forest. All the villagers can get enough of it. Besides, there are alternative heating methods. One of the young families living in Melnyky (by the way, they are former Kyivans), first installed a solar battery and then the so-called Kuznetsov’s stove. It’s constructed so that one bundle of wood is enough to heat the house well.”

As far as I know, they have already tried to create a national park there.

“Yes, they have, but none of the attempts was successful. Last year one of the Cherkasy’s NGOs worked out a plan of development for the village of Melnyky. The plan provided for the development of green tourism and the creation of a national park. However, during the general meeting of the village the plan was turned down. I have a feeling that some people see life through a keyhole… Priorities and social values have to change. This is the only way to change everything. For example, by planting trees. Few people realize that by doing this they become involved in a great natural process, the eternal circle of life.”

You and your family left Nikopol and moved to the farmstead of Buda more than four years ago. What pushed you to such a dramatic decision?

“I come form Chyhyrynsky district. Previously, I had to move to Nikopol, where I spent 17 years. In 2007 we went to Melnyky as guests. When we went to the farmstead of Buda and met the young families that had been already living there, we realized that we won’t be able to bring up our children healthy in Nikopol. Shortly after we were already moving our stuff to the farmstead… When I was leaving my work, my former colleagues ironically asked me: Are you going to the backwoods to twist cows’ tails? We have lived at the farmstead for five years now and when we come to Cherkasy from time to time, we only see more evidence that we made the right choice. Our own piece of land is not just a means of subsistence. The earth gives us power and hope for a future. It is not the politicians that give confidence in the future, but the earth!

“To tell you the truth, I first had the desire to get back to the land at the end of the 1990s when I read about the idea of patrimonies in Volodymyr Megre’s books The Ringing Cedars. The idea revolves around people’s lives being in harmony with nature and world. There are such patrimonies in Canada, the US, Germany, Poland, Russia, Moldova and Belarus. For example, at the farmstead of Buda there are 11 young families that moved here from Nikopol, Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Odesa. By the way, we keep in touch with patrimonies in other Ukrainian regions, mainly via social networks. The farmstead of Buda is already connected to the Internet!”

During the last local elections you became the deputy of the village council. In your electoral program there’s an interesting point: “contribute to the creation of patrimonial eco-settlements at the farmstead of Buda with the aim of improving the environment, having healthy babies and returning to simple human values — fresh air, pure potable water, healthy natural food, relations of trust and love in families and confidence in the future.” How should such an idea be implemented?

“In my opinion, the most important thing for the village is to develop green tourism, plant trees and attract young people to the village. There are lots of abandoned farmsteads and villages in Ukraine. Back in 2000 they adopted the Law ‘On the private farms.’ The law isn’t bad, but the people are still afraid of moving to the villages. What can help the situation? I presented my ideas in the pilot project concerning the contribution to the creation of patrimonies, which I proposed to the local authorities. In Belgorod oblast in Russia there was a precedent of legitimizing such patrimonies. The law provides that the family first gets 4,000 square meters, then, if people start construction within a period of three to five years, they get a hectare (in order to prevent the illegal sale of land). Last year my husband Mykhailo went to the first patrimonies’ festival in Moscow. It turned out that after the law was adopted, the birth rate in the region augmented by 60 percent (it was the first time it exceeded the death rate in 16 years), agricultural production rates increased by 10 percent, and the number of new private houses doubled. Regarding all of this we count on the support of the district and regional authorities.

“The concept of the patrimony implies that a family gets at least one hectare of the land. This surface is enough for the creation of a renewable ecosystem, on which one can subsist (you shouldn’t confuse it with a vegetable garden!), for example, Sofiivsky Park is man-made, but it has been living for 300 years now. I will omit the details and will only say that this idea implies a change of attitude towards the earth, and respect for it. Both people and the earth have to be happy.

“Though the idea of patrimonies is focused on attracting young people to the villages, in the end it will support the elderly as well. They are mostly lonely, their children and grandchildren live in cities, and a lot of people are abroad. Who will help them if not the young families? Some of the local inhabitants first took us for a sect, but when they had to ask us for help (to take them somewhere or to help take care of the household) their attitude gradually changed.

“One more proof. Just as in many Ukrainian villages, ours had a dilapidated club. The young families thought over this issue, collected money, bought building materials and repaired it on their own. Now we have a library there, a women’s choir holds its rehearsals there; we are preparing a play for Christmas and hold fairs twice a year (the next will be on May 1). Notice that we didn’t ask the government for a single penny.

“That is why I think that the more young families live in the village the better. We have seen that a strong country cannot be based on strong oligarchs. A strong country implies, first of all, strong families.”

I think it doesn’t really matter where you live, in the city or in the village. It’s important that you and your family create your own space and take responsibility for your life. One can waste one’s life in a village just the same…

“Certainly. One can live uselessly even in the patrimony. The patrimony is only a way to assume responsibility for your life, your children’s life, and to create your own space.”

Well, what’s the situation with education? How do the inhabitants of the farmstead provide for their families?

“Of course, education is a burning issue for us. How can we give our children a high-quality education? Most of the modern schools (especially, the ones in villages) aren’t progressive, not to mention that they don’t teach many important things. For example, if you produce aggression, you’ll finally face it, only tripled. They don’t teach children that people have to create and not just consume. You know, I think that children can learn more about the world through nature and not just city life and television.

“As for ways to earn money, one of the families grows rare plants. The men mainly work in construction. Some of the families occupy different posts in our reserve.”

You communicate with like-minded people through social networks. The Day has previously advocated the creation of “online farmsteads,” a certain dream about “smart” farmsteads, where traditional values merge with the acquisitions of modernity.

“We do not cut ourselves off. Vice versa. We try to get the best from the world and live in harmony with it. Though there are those who prefer an ascetic way of life. This is their choice.”

The library and Internet…What might scare those who are thinking about changing their high-rise apartment for a farmstead?

“In fact, only your own personal fears can scare you. If one chooses such a way of life, they have to be ready that all their fears will crop up and they will have to fight them. Or run away to where they can be lulled…”