The development of an eco-village in Orlovka, Siberia
In Orlovka, a village of 120 inhabitants, the local collective farm (sovkhoze) was disbanded with the fall of USSR. As a result the entire population lost their employment and the social services associated with their working status. For the last decade or so the village has been without drinking water and the road linking the village to the closest urban centre, Sargatskoye, is in a very bad state, causing a rapid deterioration of vehicles that use it. Covering the 45km to reach the town necessitates a journey of at least one hour.
In such conditions, the burden on enterprising families is harder still.
Our association, C.O.R.E.-France, has worked since 2002 to support these families by different means contributing to recreating the local social and economic fabric, in synergy with the natural characteristics of the local area and its potential. Ideally, we would like to turn the difficulties of the village and its isolation from urban centres, into an advantage: Orlovka could become an Eco village.
We need you !
A Fund- raiser: we need a person with an experience in fund-raising. A salary, as a percentage of the money raised, is to be discussed
A Webmaster: in order to inform the public, sponsors, volunteers and all interested persons of our project , we need to manage sites and blogs. We are looking for a volunteer for this work.
Translators: This project has been started in France but we are hoping to collaborate with German and English- speaking people – so we need some translators for our blogs (http://orlovkadeveloppement.blogspot.com)
Areas of action: sustainable development; integrated rural development and improvement in living conditions; supporting the local economy; enhancing local natural potential; creation of ‘value-added’ in traditional crafts qnd eco-tourism
Location:
Orlovka, Omsk province, Western Siberia, Russia. Omsk is located 2240km to the east of Moscow on the Trans-Siberian railway. The village of Orlovka lies 150km to the north of Omsk, in the district of Sargatskoye.
Proposed elements/areas of development on our agenda
-1Processing of Berries
Villagers traditionally harvest Berries in the forest and travel to Sargatskoye to sell them at the market. The development ofthis activity is one of the priorities of the Omsk Province in terms of rural development.
To this end, in 2006 C.OR.E. started planting berry-producing shrubs to produce herbal teas as well as dried and processed fruits.
Developing an activity of berry processing is an innovative addition to local agricultural activities fitting the local practice of fruit picking: villagers, especially women, sell berries but in a disorganised way. This plantation and the processing of berries will serve to lead the village towards sustainable development that will in turn help to preserve villagers’ life quality as well as the local ecosystem.
-2Eco-tourism :
The second project under consideration concerns the purchase, development, and management of a house for regional eco-tourists staying in the village.
-3Environmental awareness :
we have regularly invited groups of young people from the city of Omsk to the village, and this approach is also undertaken with every group of foreign volunteers coming to the village to work