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Manevychi Territorial Community
Volyn`
Population:
The Manevychi Territorial Community is located in the territory of the Kamin-Kashyrskyi District of the Volyn Region.
The total area of the territory is 1,103.6 km2.
The population of the community amounts to 27,235 residents.
Women: 56% of residents.
Men: 44% of residents.
890 internally displaced persons have been registered in the territory of the Manevychi Territorial Community.
The Community includes 36 settlements. The administrative centre of the Community is located in the settlement of Manevychi.
History
According to historical data, the settlements in the territory of the Manevychi Community existed back in the 3rd – 4th centuries. And the hillforts emerged there even before the first chronicle mention of the village of Chertariiesk (now the village of Chartoryisk) in 1100 in the “Words about Ihor’s Regiment”.
The current town of Manevychi was founded in 1892. According to the archives, forest cutting was allowed there for the construction of the Kovel – Kyiv railway track. Therefore, the first and largest landmark is the railway station at the Manevychi station.
Sixty-one landmarks of cultural heritage of Ukraine have been registered in the territory of Manevychi Territorial Community. One of these architectural landmarks of national importance is the Dominican Church in the village of Chartoryisk.
More than 13,000 exhibits are displayed at the local history museum of the Community, each of which represents valuable material of the archaeology, history and culture of the Volyn Polissia area.
The Community has a unique museum with one exhibit: the Manevychi monoxyl boat. It is more than seven hundred years old; the length of the boat is more than 12 meters, and the weight is more than two tons. It is assumed that the monoxyl boat was used for walking on the water, and it was made of solid wood, which is why it is called a monoxyl boat. Researchers claim that there is no analogue of such a monoxyl boat in Europe.
Economy and Welfare
The main profitable branch of the Manevychi Community is agriculture. The forestry and woodworking industry is also actively developing.
Forel Research and Production Centre LLC also operates in the territory of the Community. The company does not just breed fish, but also conducts numerous scientific studies. This is aquaculture using water from the underground springs of the Okonski Springs National Park. Their capacity during the year permits to get up to two million salmon fry and up to one million sturgeon fry.
In the Community, they strive to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, so they create resource-saving production, organize zero-waste processing, use alternative resources and preserve biodiversity. The company has approved a gender equality plan, and women make up 35% of the staff. Almost half of the company’s staff are young people. The company’s priority plans include the creation of its own fodder and processing production facilities.
HIGHBERRY agro-production complex was founded in 2011. 417 hectares of its own agricultural land with natural fertility yield fruit and berry, vegetable and grain crops on an industrial scale. Every year, during the harvest period, the agro-industrial complex employs hundreds of workers in its fields.
HIGHBERRY is one of the largest producers of strawberries in Ukraine. The plant has modern equipment and adjacent warehouses for storing frozen and fresh products. Freezing is carried out using IQF (individual quick freezing) technology.
Community and War
The Manevychi Territorial Community is located 77 km from the border with Belarus, from the territory of which russian troops invaded Ukraine. Realizing that the enemy is very close, the Community responded clearly and coherently to the new challenge.
The team of counsellors, the executive committee members, the employees of the Settlement Council, the entrepreneurs and residents of the Community all united for the common goal by participating in volunteer activities. At the Manevychi Centre for Creativity of Children and Youth, the Manevychi Volunteer Centre began to work.
Defensive structures and checkpoints were set up in each settlement. The Settlement Council has established fruitful cooperation with volunteers, entrepreneurs, foreign partners and friends, with the military to support them in performing the tasks assigned to them under martial law.
Since the first days of the full-scale invasion, charity events have been regularly held there. As a result of the joint efforts of the community residents, they bought a minibus, four SUVs, six trucks, thirteen tons of nets, tablets, laptops, StarLink devices and other equipment for the Ukrainian military. Dozens of vehicles have been repaired and will continue to perform combat missions.
The Manevychi Community also supports the regions of Ukraine most affected by the war. More than 100 tons of food and non-food supplies, medicines and clothes have been sent to the residents of the town of Okhtyrka in the Sumy Region, to the Chernihiv Region, the Kyiv Region, the Zaporizhia Region, and other regions of Ukraine.
The residents of the Starosta-headed districts, the teams of educational institutions, culture centres, organizations, religious communities, the Ukrainian diaspora from Poland, Italy, France, the friends from Lithuania and the USA have actively joined the volunteering activities.
Great attention has been paid by the Settlement Council to internally displaced persons. In total, about 2,000 people have been hosted by the community. Everyone has been accommodated in comfortable living conditions, provided with things, food, and medical assistance.
People of the Community
Oleksandr Havryliuk is the head of the Manevychi Community. Before the full-scale invasion, many different projects were implemented under the chairmanship of Oleksandr Havryliuk; in particular, in Manevychi there is a wonderful dendrological park with unique trees, an original photo area, an open-air classroom, flower beds, and paths.
A modern renovation of the main square in the community centre was carried out, street lighting was organized, a pond was cleaned and arranged for the recreation of the residents of Manevychi, and children’s playgrounds were organized. A young Lithuanian-Ukrainian park is growing in the territory of the Community having been carefully planted along with the friends and partners from the Republic of Lithuania.
Before the full-scale invasion, festivals, cultural and artistic events, and sports competitions were held there. One of the traditional ones is the Polissia Vodohrai folklore festival held in the village of Troianivka. During several days, guests of the Community learn about the Community’s history, culture, folk traditions, and rituals.
There are many beekeepers in the Community, so there is another traditional event – the Bees and Honey event. It is held every year at the beginning of autumn. Anyone can buy beekeeping products, and the funds raised from sales goes to support the Army.
In 2023, a charity bike ride “One World – One Dream!” was organized on the Youth Day. The participants of the bike ride covered a distance of 35 km, competed in archery and took part in a bicycle quest. The participants made charms for the defenders of Ukraine with their own hands and raised funds to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
One way or another, at the moment, any Community event is dedicated to supporting the Army and bringing Ukraine closer to victory.
Development Strategy
The Community has drafted a development strategy until 2027 and is currently at the stage of approving the document. According to it, it is planned to strengthen security measures due to the proximity to the border, military operations in the territory of Ukraine and other specifics associated with the location of the Community; development of recreation, tourism and recovery treatment. The Manevychi Community strives to become a community of comfortable living conditions because it is characterised by the greatest backwardness in all the areas, which leads to negative social and demographic consequences.
As part of the VidNOVA:UA youth involvement program for the recovery of Ukraine, a youth space has been created in the settlement of Manevychi. Along with young people, they are developing a plan for implementing youth policy and involving young people in the active life of the Community.
The Manevychi Community is open to new partnerships. Today, the Community has sister towns: Varash (Rivne Region), Zgierz (Poland), Kupiskis (Lithuania), Solow (Poland), Daszyna (Poland), Okhtyrka (Sumy Region), Velykyi Bychkiv (Transcarpathian Region), Nikopol (Dnipropetrovsk Region), Slobozhanske Territorial Community (Dnipropetrovsk Region).
List of Source
- Official website of the Manevychi Settlement Territorial Community
- Official Facebook page
- Raion Manevychi news
- Nova Doba official website of the Manevychi district social and political newspaper
- 12 Channel report
- Rest-Guru online publication
- Wikipedia
- Lubart Chronicles online resource
- Highberry website
- Manevychi Forest Husbandry state company
- KonkurentUA online publication