Koniatyn Community

History

The Koniatyn Community was formed on 27 January 2017, by merging the Dovhopillia, Koniatyn, and Yablunytsia village councils. It belongs to the historical and geographical part of Ukraine, the Hutsul region. The administrative centre is the village of Koniatyn, the first mention of the village dates back to 1774.

The community’s territory is rich in wooden architectural monuments, including ancient churches that reflect the traditional Hutsul style. The community’s architectural landmarks are ideal for ethnic tourism fans and photographers looking to capture the authenticity of the region.

In recent years, the community’s architecture has been renovated, but the tendency to use traditional elements in new buildings remains.

The community has great potential for tourism development. In particular, rural tourism offers opportunities for recreation in the countryside, including accommodation in hospitable estates, familiarization with local traditions and crafts. As well as skiing – thanks to the mountainous terrain, the region has the potential to develop winter sports such as ski tourism.

Economy and Welfare

There are business entities operating in the community, usually small enterprises. Most of them are engaged in construction, agriculture, woodworking, forestry, furniture, trade, catering, and travel services. Carpet weaving, embroidery, artistic wood carving, development of folk crafts and sheep breeding are widespread in the community.

The Koniatyn Community is actively working to improve its economic welfare by utilizing its natural potential and supporting local initiatives. High-quality economic and social development of the community is possible only if roads are repaired and modernized. This will ensure the community’s accessibility for tourists, transportation of products and raw materials. 

Unfortunately, under martial law, the community is experiencing a significant outflow of skilled professionals to large cities and abroad due to the lack of well-paid jobs.

There are 130 enterprises of various forms of ownership operating in the community. These are mostly micro businesses in the agricultural sector.

In the villages of Yablunytsia, Koniatyn, and Dovhopillia, entrepreneurs are engaged in trade. In the villages, the main focus is on private farming, mainly in the field of livestock, which includes cattle and sheep.

Analysing the business environment of the community, the following enterprises can be identified as the main budget contributors:

• “Forests of Ukraine” – logging;
• “LEGO” – logging and wood processing;
• “NOVOSVIT” – hydroelectric power plant.

The community’s land resources amount to 121.7 hectares, including 624 hectares of agricultural land, 543 hectares of residential and public buildings, 8202.50 hectares of forest land, and 7.513 hectares of industrial land. 

The education sector in the Koniatyn Community is working effectively. There are 4 pre-schools and 4 schools: 2 lyceums and 1 gymnasium and 1 branch.

With the support of the Chernivtsi Oblast Military Administration, the project ‘Weaving – a Brand of the Highland Village of Samakova’ was implemented, where products are made in a mini-weaving school operating at the Samakova secondary school.

The community is actively working to create new sports and recreational grounds.

The Koniatyn Community is striving to improve its medical infrastructure, following the example of other communities that have successfully implemented projects to build modern family medicine outpatient clinics.

A garbage truck was purchased with the support of the Chernivtsi Oblast Military Administration on the terms of co-financing from the local budget.

Since March 2021, the Community Police Officer project has been implemented in the Koniatyn Community

Thanks to the activities of the Youth Council, the youth of the Koniatyn Community have the opportunity to actively influence the development of their region and implement their own initiatives.

The community also launched the Ya-Hutsul local festival to preserve, restore, and popularize the local cultural heritage, as well as to increase the community’s tourism potential.

The Center for Culture, Leisure and Sports in the village of Dovhopillia and the Koniatyn Art School are important centres of cultural and sports life in the community. They organize various events aimed at developing the creative abilities of residents and supporting traditions.

The community has museums and an art studio called Pysanka, where master classes related to pysankarstvo (painting of Hutsul Easter eggs) are held.

The Community and the War

From the first days of the war, residents of the Koniatyn Community rushed to defend their homeland from Russian aggression. Today, over 100 men from the community serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. To date, 12 soldiers from the community have been killed, 6 are missing, and more than 4 are seriously injured. 

Many residents of the community work in various volunteer organizations and help the Ukrainian military by working in the rear. Men and boys raise money for military vehicles, drones and other ammunition. The community regularly holds charity fundraisers and other events to raise funds for the needs of the military.

Community People

Oleksii Skrypchuk, the head of Koniatyn village, is the current head of the Koniatyn Community. 

Under his leadership, the community actively attracts external resources for infrastructure development and social projects. In particular, cooperation with project organizations helps to find relevant competitions and funding mechanisms, and village council employees learn project thinking to effectively implement initiatives in their fields. 

Oleksii Skrypchuk also participates in experience exchange events for community leaders in Bukovyna, where he shares his experience in project management and international cooperation as key factors in successful community development.

The community is actively involved in the implementation of various projects. With the support of the Kateryna Biloruska Foundation, the Sports Mentor project was implemented, which provided funding (200,000) for the development of sports through the purchase of equipment, payment for coaches, and support for logistics for sports competitions and training.

Also, as a result of a joint project with ‘Connecting Communities for Sustainable Economic Growth (ConCom4EG), a professional and creative development centre with carpentry, locksmith, and sewing workshops was set up in one of the community’s schools. 

The Koniatyn Community has a number of partnerships with international organizations and communities from other countries, including the village of Ungry, Ocniţa district (Republic of Moldova).

Development Strategy

In December 2021, the Development Strategy of the Koniatyn Community for 2022-2027 was approved.

2 strategic goals have been defined:

1. Creating conditions for rational and environmentally friendly forest management and business development.
2. Ensuring the comfort of living in the community.

In line with the strategic goals, 6 operational goals have been set:

1. Rational use of the community’s natural resources.
2. Development of agriculture in the community.
3. Development of business cooperation and investment attraction.
4. Adaptation of the community to tourist needs.
5. Development of infrastructure in the community.
6. Improving the quality of municipal services in the community.

The community plans to implement a number of projects that would improve the lives of its residents and contribute to the development of villages. 

1. Establishment and development of an agricultural cooperative (mushrooms, wild plants). It is planned to create an agricultural cooperative for the collection, processing and sale of wild plants on the basis of residents who actually collect these products and sell them to wholesale buyers at a fairly low price. The community’s households will be able to receive additional funds for harvesting mushrooms, berries and medicinal plants, as well as agricultural products grown on private farms.
2. Tourism Development Programme: improving the tourist infrastructure, developing tourist routes in the community. The geographical location of the community in a mountainous area near rivers suitable for rafting, combined with preserved cultural traditions, partial availability of places for tourists to stay and rest, and the latest traditions, give rise to the development of green tourism. However, this requires the development of tourism infrastructure. The first steps, which are not too costly and which the village council sees as feasible, are the arrangement of campsites on the territory.
3. Development of the Community Map. This project is a logical continuation of the previous two. The map can be presented in printed form at economic and investment forums and provided to potential investors. The map will be posted in electronic form on the official website of the community, as well as on other thematic Internet resources (community page). The map is supposed to include information on potential business opportunities, existing businesses, tourist attractions, and locations.

Sources

• Official website of the Koniatyn Community konyatynska-gromada.gov.ua
• Official Facebook page of the Koniatyn Community facebook.com
• Official website of the Chernivtsi Oblast Military Administration bukoda.gov.ua
• Official website of the Center for Culture, Leisure and Sports of the village of Dovhopillia facebook.com
• Official website of the Dovhopillia Lyceum facebook.co
• Official website of the Koniatyn Lyceum facebook.com
• Official website of the Samakova Gymnasium Branch of the Koniatyn Lyceum facebook.com
• Official website of the Yablunytsia Gymnasium facebook.com
• Official website of the Dovhopillia pre-school educational institution facebook.com
• Official website of the Koniatyn Art School facebook.com
• Koniatyn of the Youth Council of Koniatyn Community facebook.com
• HERITAGE / Historical and ethnographic heritage as part of sustainable tourism development in Bukovyna – surl.li
• Bukovinian Carpathians – the surl.li
• Wooden Churches of Western Ukraine decerkva.org.ua
• Master Class “The pysanka rolled down to the valley from above, the pysanka rolled down to our house” surl.li
• Ya-Hutsul! Festival youtu.be
• ‘Weaving – a Brand of the Highland Village of Samakova’ – youtu.be