Stina

The Sound of Silence

My Trip to the Small Sleepy Village of Stina 

  
The Eco Centre

When I first arrived in Vinnytsia everything was new and exciting. The people were new, the city was new, the project were new. Even the mysterious project of Stina, the rural development project run by Pangea Ultima, was new.During my introduction week. My new colleagues would express their feelings about how they experienced Stina. For some it was a rural get away, a chance to relax and unwind from the stress of living in a city can bring. For others it was a summer camping trip. Where outdoor actives ruled the day and almost always ended with a campfire, roasted marshmallows and scary stories. The final group expressed their feelings as if a great injustice had been committed. Their words filled with horror as they recounted their version of events. So, it was with these mixed reviews in my mind. I concluded that Stina would be like living in rural NZ with the same scenery and lifestyle as Alita, Siberia. My prediction turned out to be right.
 

The Finished Wall and Stairway

The Mission

Although the corona virus has slowed the Stina Eco Centre project, the vision remains for the works of Pangea Ulitma. The dream is to establish an Eco centre in the heart of Stina which will act like a magnate to attract new volunteers to come and partake in development projects in the committee. Last summer a lot of time and energy were spent in building the facilities of the eco centre so that it can function like a summer camp ground. During this construction period the centre also hosted summer camps and projects for different organisations. The camps ranged from youth camps to artistic getaways for artists who needed a quiet place to rejuvenate their creative spirit. The centre also has two of its own projects: rural tourism development and image mapping project.
 

Path walked During Cultural Mitosis

 

My Mission

Given my unexpectedly speedy journey to Ukraine in the midst of a lot of uncertainly and being tested negative for COVID-19 in about 9 hours of arriving in Ukraine. The original time allocated for Quarantining and introduction was significantly reduced. Meaning that gap opened up in my schedule to go to Stina before my own projects began. This gave me the chance to go and see Stina and get a sense of what projects would be possible in spring. My two goals while at Stina were to take photos for this Blog and other promotional material. Comment to manual labour for the construction and gathering of building materials for a wall. Lastly, to bond with my project manger over a campfire and brandy as we enjoy the sounds of the village life.
 

What happened in Stina stays in Stina

What happened in Stina was nothing extraordinary for someone who had spent a deal of their childhood in the outdoor of New Zealand. First we collected water form the local well and had a quick lunch. Next we worked until dark digging the foundation trench for the section of the wall we were going to build. As night fell, Me and Yaroslav, my project manger, went for a walk up the hill that overlooked the village. Upon our return we made buckwheat for dinner and cooked sausages on an open fire. The next day we awoke to the sounds of birds and sunlight. After a simple breakfast of salami, pate and bread. We began the day by riding a horse and cart collecting rocks for the wall. Grandpa Moykola, the neighbour helping us collect rocks. Told many jokes and stories the whole morning as he gave us the official tour of Stina. That afternoon Graandpa Mykola and other neighbour Valera helped build the wall, seen in photo 2. I went for a nature walk to take these pictures as I practices cultural mitosis to better understand my surroundings and find my own vision and ideas for Stina for the coming spring. On the final day we cleared and cut down tress to make way for the next wall and had meetings to discuses the next steps for next year's projects. 
 
 
 
Hillside
Central Village River

 
Getting ready for Helloween

Conclusion

To conclude, I really enjoyed my time in Stina and look forward to spending my summer there. Rural Ukraine was an interesting addition to my list of places I have seen in my life. It was also nice to get a taste of development in reality and not just in theory. For it helped me see what for impact your work can have on the people living in such a community. The second thing I took away was what living in a village like Stina can teach a city goer like myself about sustainable living. As Climate forces us to rethink city life. it may lay in places like Stina to teach us lost skills needed to live more eco friendly lives. Because the closest shop to Stina was so far away, anything you want you have to either make, cultivate or find in the forest. Skills that may become invaluable to urban city goers who wish to make living in a city more environmentally friendly. Therefore, the true treasury of Stina is as we develop Stina, Stina will in return develop us.
 

Useful Links


If you want to get involved check out the links below.
 
Tourism and how to get involved
http://pangeya.com.ua/index.php/ouractivities/ethno-tourism.html
 
 http://pangeya.com.ua/index.php/ouractivities/howtojoin.html
Image Mapping
https://www.facebook.com/groups/imagemapping
 
http://imagemapping.org/

Eco Centre
https://www.facebook.com/stinaecocenter/
 
https://www.slideshare.net/yaroslavgerashchenko/sustainable-development-platform-ecocenter-in-stina-230595790
 

 

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