This was the name of a two-day seminar for rural tourism organizers and guest houses owners conducted under Model River Mezen project in the Udora district of Komi.
The given seminar is not the first event devoted to the rural tourism development in the Udora district: Silver Taiga is supporting this activity under its projects. It should be noted, that the participants of the given seminar had an opportunity not only to exchange the information with each other and to discuss the urgent problems, but also to get acquainted with the experience of the rural tourism development in the neighboring Arkhangelsk region thanks to participation of the entrepreneur from Pinega district Tatjana Sedunova.
Tatiana is being engaged in the rural tourism organization for eighteen years already and, according to her, she has experienced a lot of this business, from the period of outright ridicule in her address to the active support of both the villagers and the authorities. Starting the business in cash-strapped nineties, like many, with trade, she invested her first serious profits in the construction of a children’s camp in the ancient village of Kuchkas… She was one of those who began to revive the famous Artemievo-Verkolsky monastery… Thanks to her initiative the following has been organized and is functioning: tourist rafting from Pinega river headwaters, buying-out of mushrooms and berries from the population and their processing, youth camps, etc. There are guest houses in Verkola and some other villages of the Pinega land and many local people are involved in rendering of services to tourists. The first tourist products and tourist routes spontaneously appeared in the district have been structured, Pinega district has been divided into four clusters, the four most visited areas. They are: the Wild Pinega (the head of the river), the Fairy Pinega (around Karpogory area), the Orthodox Sura (birthplace of John of Kronshtadt), the Blessed Verkola (motherland of many talented people of Pinega). About 2 thousand people visit the local tourist routes per year, 80% of the tourists are from Moscow, but, according to Tatiana, people from the Arkhangelsk region have also begun to come here in recent years.
Being a member of the Arkhangelsk regional Assembly and Deputy Head of the parliamentary Committee on culture and tourism, Tatiana also pays a lot of attention to development of other rural areas of the Arkhangelsk region including villages along Mezen river.
Thanks to Tatiana’s presentation of the rural tourist routes and her comments upon it, the participants of the seminar got acquainted with the directions of tourism development in the neighbouring districts of the Arkhangelsk region. It was interesting to listen to Tatiana’s experience in details. She spoke about her first steps in tourism development, revival of the northern villages, ways out of difficult situations, cooperation with the local population including cultural and educational workers, old residents, farmers, etc.
Tatiana paid special attention to the fact, that thanks to the rural tourism development local people have begun to care about their villages; they support the initiative and propose their own interesting and promising ideas; some people are coming back from towns and cities, restore their native houses and begin to deal with the guest tourism…
According to Tatiana “guest house – it is the whole industry of hospitality” and she gave an example of one of her guest houses in Verkola village, where not only traditional services are provided, but also there is a conference hall in order to conduct meetings, workshops, conferences, etc.
«Tourism – is a good business. But you should be patient as a lot of time and effort are needed to achieve a success!» – says Tatiana to the beginning entrepreneurs from Udora district of Komi. They have a great desire to develop tourism in their district, but have no support of both the villagers and the authorities.
However, Udora representatives have gained some experience in tourism business. Victoria Semenova, specialist of the economic development department of Udora district administration, presented in short the information about tourism development in the district. Alexander Morozov (Udora Necklace ltd.) and Nadezhda Morozova (Children’s Activity Centre) shared their experience of river resources recreational use. Dina Ivanovna Chuprova, a teacher and an organizer of the rural tours, told about the formation of tourist product variants on the basis of the guest houses of Udora district and about the results of research expeditions of children.
Anna Yurchenko, a representative of Tourism Agency of the Komi Republic, answered the questions about the state support of tourist projects. Besides, the participants of the seminar expressed their ideas and proposals towards the Agency including the annual republican exhibition «Rest in the North», which is not functioning nowadays.
During the second day of the seminar the participants visited Selyb village, the guest house of Bushenev’s family, where they were met by the village creative team. Olga Busheneva presented the tourist product step by step – the guest house, the village museum, the church, which is being set in order by the local population. The participants also got acquainted with the local icon painter Oksana Baklanova. They were impressed by her workroom, the story about her work secrets, peculiarities and technique of modern icon-painting, famous Mezen paintings, etc.
At the end of the second day the participants spoke about the benefits and drawbacks of Selyb tourist product and how it is possible to turn the tourism to the sector of the village economy.
According to the participants, the seminar was extremely useful and positive. Besides, the participants exchanged the contacts with each other and are ready to cooperate including exchange of tourist troops of schoolchildren, development of a joint tourist product and participation in the annual conferences of the guest houses owners in Pinega.
The first day of the seminar in Koslan. The Head of Udora district Administration Nikolai Zhilin is among the participants.
The first day of the seminar in Koslan. The Head of Udora district Administration Nikolai Zhilin is among the participants
Participants of the seminar
In Selyb village
Coffee-break with the local dishes
Village creative team
The guest house owner Olga Busheneva is conducting an excursion in the village museum
Tatiana Sedunova in her guest house in Vercola village
In the workroom of the painter
Valentina Semyashkina
Photo by Sergey Davydov and Nadezhda Morozova
“Forestry Intensification: Prospects and Limitations in the Komi Republic”
| News by silverThat was the name of the regular republican Forest dialogue, organized on April 23-24, 2015 by the Silver Taiga Foundation jointly with Mondi Syktyvkar.
The Forest dialog is a platform for discussing the topical issues related to the forest management and use, where each stakeholder has an equal opportunity to participate in a debate on problems. The meetings in this format have been held in the republic on the initiative of the Silver Taiga over the last five to six years. Over this period of time, the Forest dialog has become an efficient form of public participation, exchange of opinions, and joint search for the optimal ways to address the current problems by different stakeholders.
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Meeting of the Barents Region Experts in Uppsala (Sweden)
| News by silverSilver Taiga director Yuri Pautov and the member of the Working Group on Environment of the Barents Euro-Arctic Region (BEAR), the Chairman of the nature protection subgroup Tatiana Tyupenko (Syktyvkar State University) took part in the meeting of BEAR experts in the town of Uppsala.
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“New Tools for Barents Region Forests Conservation”
| News by silverThat was the name of one of the round tables, organized in the framework of the international conference “Ecological and economic cooperation in the Barents region: from problems towards search of joint solutions” held on March 12-13 in Arkhangelsk. The Silver Taiga Foundation Director Yury Pautov reported with a presentation “Development of the regional network of the Specially Protected Natural Areas (SPNA) as an opportunity for conservation of the Barents region valuable forests” at this round table.
Yury Anatolyevich has talked about the experience in the establishment of new specially protected natural areas based on the preserved intact forests. The Foundation has been carrying out this work jointly with its partners for a number of years now. Last year, a Strategic Plan for Development of the SPNA System in the Komi Republic (for the period up to 2030) was elaborated in the republic. This plan takes into account the Silver Taiga proposals on establishing the regional reserves in the intact forest massifs located on the border with the Arkhangelsk region. At the same time, the process of designing similar SPNA in the Arkhangelsk region is ongoing.
The most interesting fact is that the majority of these residual pristine forest massifs still preserved in the European North is already leased out to various logging companies. However, many of them are ready to cooperate with environmental organizations within the framework of the FSC certification development and voluntarily choose not to touch the most valuable parts of these forest landscapes. For instance, an agreement with OJSC “Mondi Syktyvkar” and OJSC “Karpogoryles” concerning the moratorium imposed on the logging and road infrastructure construction in the Karpogory and Pyssa pristine forest massifs has been reached (see the attached diagram). In 2013 Silver Taiga Foundation and WWF in Arkhangelsk signed an agreement with LLC “Lesozavod № 1” on the moratorium imposed on the logging in the Verkhne-Vashka intact forest area. In parallel, reservation of the same intact forest landscapes for establishing new SPNA on the territory of the Arkhangelsk region is ongoing. “As a result, we hope to protect these undisturbed areas of pristine European taiga against logging and industrial development, to ensure that not only the current, but also future generations of foresters and pristine nature lovers will have a chance not only to see it in pictures and presentations, but also explore it at first hand” – Yury Pautov says.
By the way, this summer Silver Taiga Foundation is planning to organize an expedition to the centre of the Verkhne-Vashka pristine forests massif aimed at scientific justification of the complex regional forest reserve establishment on this territory. The colleagues from Arkhangelsk are planning a similar expedition to the pristine forests area in Komi adjacent to the Arkhangelsk region and already having a status of a conservation area. This place, known as Korabelnaya Chashcha (Ship thicket), is described in the work of Mikhail Prishvin with the same name:
“Tell me what is so special about this Ship Thicket?
– What is so special about it? – Manuylo said. – I tell you what. People say that in a fir forest work needs to be done, in a birch forest – have fun, and in a pine forest – pray to the One.
– So what?
– This is all about the Ship Thicket, there the trees are so close to each other that even a pole couldn’t be felled. One tree is better than another – all seem to be covered with gold: not a single knot up to the very top, all upwards, and for some reason you also feel like being pulled upwards, just let you get ready for the journey – and off you would fly. And underneath – snow-white deer moss and absolute purity all around. Your hands are raising up and your knees are weak. And when you kneel on the white carpet – you feel total dryness! And the moss is even crispy. You are standing on knees and it feels like the earth is embracing you and lifting you up”.
Virgin Forests: How to Integrate the Interests of Ecologists and Timbermen?
| «High Conservation Value Forests» project by silverThis was the topic of the discussion at the round table “The development of the national requirements for conservation of virgin forest landscapes for the FSC National Forest Management Standard”, which was held on March 13 in Arkhangelsk and attracted representatives of environmental NGOs along with timber producers and officials.
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The Forest of the Future – a Question of Today
| News by silverThe Silver Taiga Foundation has taken part in the international forum «Forests for the Future” held in the Podporozhsky district of the Leningrad region. The forum was devoted to sustainable forest management, forest regeneration, preservation and development of the traditional multipurpose forest use.
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Meetings in Mezen
| «Model river «Mezen» project by silverSilver Taiga representatives have visited the Mezen district of the Arkhangelsk region under Model River Mezen project. The aim of the visit was to establish contacts with the most remote Mezen villages, to meet with the local people and to get acquainted with their history and everyday life.
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«Rural Tourism Development – Rural Area Development»
| «Model river «Mezen» project by silverThis was the name of a two-day seminar for rural tourism organizers and guest houses owners conducted under Model River Mezen project in the Udora district of Komi.
The given seminar is not the first event devoted to the rural tourism development in the Udora district: Silver Taiga is supporting this activity under its projects. It should be noted, that the participants of the given seminar had an opportunity not only to exchange the information with each other and to discuss the urgent problems, but also to get acquainted with the experience of the rural tourism development in the neighboring Arkhangelsk region thanks to participation of the entrepreneur from Pinega district Tatjana Sedunova.
Tatiana is being engaged in the rural tourism organization for eighteen years already and, according to her, she has experienced a lot of this business, from the period of outright ridicule in her address to the active support of both the villagers and the authorities. Starting the business in cash-strapped nineties, like many, with trade, she invested her first serious profits in the construction of a children’s camp in the ancient village of Kuchkas… She was one of those who began to revive the famous Artemievo-Verkolsky monastery… Thanks to her initiative the following has been organized and is functioning: tourist rafting from Pinega river headwaters, buying-out of mushrooms and berries from the population and their processing, youth camps, etc. There are guest houses in Verkola and some other villages of the Pinega land and many local people are involved in rendering of services to tourists. The first tourist products and tourist routes spontaneously appeared in the district have been structured, Pinega district has been divided into four clusters, the four most visited areas. They are: the Wild Pinega (the head of the river), the Fairy Pinega (around Karpogory area), the Orthodox Sura (birthplace of John of Kronshtadt), the Blessed Verkola (motherland of many talented people of Pinega). About 2 thousand people visit the local tourist routes per year, 80% of the tourists are from Moscow, but, according to Tatiana, people from the Arkhangelsk region have also begun to come here in recent years.
Being a member of the Arkhangelsk regional Assembly and Deputy Head of the parliamentary Committee on culture and tourism, Tatiana also pays a lot of attention to development of other rural areas of the Arkhangelsk region including villages along Mezen river.
Thanks to Tatiana’s presentation of the rural tourist routes and her comments upon it, the participants of the seminar got acquainted with the directions of tourism development in the neighbouring districts of the Arkhangelsk region. It was interesting to listen to Tatiana’s experience in details. She spoke about her first steps in tourism development, revival of the northern villages, ways out of difficult situations, cooperation with the local population including cultural and educational workers, old residents, farmers, etc.
Tatiana paid special attention to the fact, that thanks to the rural tourism development local people have begun to care about their villages; they support the initiative and propose their own interesting and promising ideas; some people are coming back from towns and cities, restore their native houses and begin to deal with the guest tourism…
According to Tatiana “guest house – it is the whole industry of hospitality” and she gave an example of one of her guest houses in Verkola village, where not only traditional services are provided, but also there is a conference hall in order to conduct meetings, workshops, conferences, etc.
«Tourism – is a good business. But you should be patient as a lot of time and effort are needed to achieve a success!» – says Tatiana to the beginning entrepreneurs from Udora district of Komi. They have a great desire to develop tourism in their district, but have no support of both the villagers and the authorities.
However, Udora representatives have gained some experience in tourism business. Victoria Semenova, specialist of the economic development department of Udora district administration, presented in short the information about tourism development in the district. Alexander Morozov (Udora Necklace ltd.) and Nadezhda Morozova (Children’s Activity Centre) shared their experience of river resources recreational use. Dina Ivanovna Chuprova, a teacher and an organizer of the rural tours, told about the formation of tourist product variants on the basis of the guest houses of Udora district and about the results of research expeditions of children.
Anna Yurchenko, a representative of Tourism Agency of the Komi Republic, answered the questions about the state support of tourist projects. Besides, the participants of the seminar expressed their ideas and proposals towards the Agency including the annual republican exhibition «Rest in the North», which is not functioning nowadays.
During the second day of the seminar the participants visited Selyb village, the guest house of Bushenev’s family, where they were met by the village creative team. Olga Busheneva presented the tourist product step by step – the guest house, the village museum, the church, which is being set in order by the local population. The participants also got acquainted with the local icon painter Oksana Baklanova. They were impressed by her workroom, the story about her work secrets, peculiarities and technique of modern icon-painting, famous Mezen paintings, etc.
At the end of the second day the participants spoke about the benefits and drawbacks of Selyb tourist product and how it is possible to turn the tourism to the sector of the village economy.
According to the participants, the seminar was extremely useful and positive. Besides, the participants exchanged the contacts with each other and are ready to cooperate including exchange of tourist troops of schoolchildren, development of a joint tourist product and participation in the annual conferences of the guest houses owners in Pinega.
The first day of the seminar in Koslan. The Head of Udora district Administration Nikolai Zhilin is among the participants.
The first day of the seminar in Koslan. The Head of Udora district Administration Nikolai Zhilin is among the participants
Participants of the seminar
In Selyb village
Coffee-break with the local dishes
Village creative team
The guest house owner Olga Busheneva is conducting an excursion in the village museum
Tatiana Sedunova in her guest house in Vercola village
In the workroom of the painter
Valentina Semyashkina
Photo by Sergey Davydov and Nadezhda Morozova
An Effective Platform for Introduction of GIS-technologies in the Forest Management
| News by silverSilver Taiga specialists together with Tekhkarta ltd. representatives have conducted two four-day training workshops for Mondi Syktyvkar forest managers devoted to the basics of geoinformational systems (GIS) and the earth remote sensing (ERS) data to meet the FSC-certification requirements during forest use planning and management.
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The Meeting of Silver Taiga Coordination Council
| News by silverDuring the Skype meeting of Silver Taiga Coordination Council held on 24 February the members of the Council approved Silver Taiga Progress Report for 2014 and Working Plan for 2015. You can find these documents on our web site in the sections devoted to Working Plans and Progress Reports.
Collaboration in the interests of nature
| News by silverKomi Regional Non-Profit Foundation “Silver Taiga” and Republican Operation Centre of the Protected Areas and Nature Management (“Center for SPNA”) have recently concluded an agreement on cooperation in the area of development of the specially protected natural areas network and promotion of ecological awareness.
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