Location: Dmitrenki settlement, Boguslav district, Kyiv region, Ukraine
Year of foundation: 2012

Current members: 13 adults and 10 children

Specialization: Growing products for sale, conducting seminars on permaculture

Languages spoken in the settlement: Ukrainian, Russian, English, French

Settlement description:

Ecovillage Zeleni Kruchi (Green Hills in Ukrainian) was founded in 2012 in an ordinary Ukrainian village. The members buy plots of land in the village and live in old houses or build new ones. We are a community of people of different ages who decided to move from cities to the countryside, to have an ecological way of live for our health and happiness. We are an active community who creates its own comfortable ecological space. We build our houses with natural materials, grow our own food, lead healthy lifestyle and spend our free time together. But also our members constantly develop themselves, organize different studies and build up our permaculture center.

Location. Kyiv region, Bohuslav district, Dmytrenky village. Kyiv, the capital, is 140 km far.

Members. The community is built up of 9 families. There are 23 members: 14 adults and 9 children. Four children were born after their parents moved to the ecovillage.

Territory. The settlement is situated in a picturesque hilly area. We have here clean air and water, forests full of mushrooms and wild garlic, slopes with medicinal plants. There is a big pond where we can swim and a number of small ponds. Wild animals live in the woods, swans come every year to the ponds and you can even meet turtles. The village has electricity, gas and good internet. We plan to build a common house to host different events and permaculture courses. There is a very comfortable house for tourists in the ecovillage, Lesnaya Skazka, where you can have rest and see the traditional Ukrainian way of life.

The permaculture center Green Hills is a member of the Ukrainian permaculture centers network and of the international permaculture centers network of Visegrad countries. The territory of the center is 4 ha of picturesque hills.

Center’s aims:

• to grow ecological food for our own needs and for selling;
• to hold ecological festivals and seminars;
• to develop green tourism and camps for children;
• to protect the environment, to increase the biodiversity;
• to spread the ideas of permaculture and sustainable development.

In 2018 the permaculture center successfully began to organize permaculture courses. We cooperate with the NGO “Permaculture in Ukraine”.

Goods and services. The members of the ecovillage grow and sell organic vegetables and cereals, make eco cosmetics, hold seminars and propose green tourism services.

Technologies. We build comfortable and safe houses with natural materials. You can see here a traditional for this area cob technology “zakydnia” and a house built with straw panels and hemp hurds. All the houses are heated with stoves.

The community aspires to self sufficiency as for food, energy and household goods.

In growing food we use organic, permaculture and biodynamic methods. We improve the soil and create sustainable ecosystems. We also aspire to protect the environment, support biodiversity, plant trees and minimize our ecological footprint.

Used technologies: permaculture, arboriculture, mulching, mixed planting, windbreak, forest garden, warm Rozum beds, hugel beds, keyhole beds, biodynamic agriculture, crafts, cob building

Culture. The community pays much attention to the spiritual development. Knowledge exchange and mutual respect in live philosophy questions are welcomed. Here we lead healthy lifestyle, tend to conscious nutrition, vegetarianism, eating natural organic food. We do not tolerate keeping animals for killing. Discussable questions concerning the ecovillage are resolved at general meetings. The community members regularly gather for celebrating, communication, art and music evenings.

Social activity. The community members collect garbage in the village, improve the infrastructure, take care of the common beach. Every spring and autumn we plant trees on the territory of the permaculture center and around the village. We organize events for it and invite volunteers from the cities.

Visit or join. The ecovillage is open for visiting only by invitation, during events and excursions. Volunteers are welcome by appointment. The community accepts new members. We expect from our new neighbors to share our life principles, to be easy to communicate with and understand each other. We have entrance and monthly fees which go to the common budget. On our internet site there is an application form to fill in for those who are interested in joining the ecovillage.

Site: https://zelenikruchi.in.ua

Phone: 0679678793

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Social networks pages: https://www.facebook.com/zelenikruchi/
www.instagram.com/zelenikruchi

Working with volunteers:
yes, with prior arrangement

Green tourism:

Eco hotel Lesnaya Skazka

https://www.facebook.com/LesnayaSkazka16/

+380986975855 Anastasiya Kurganskaya

Contact person: