In the mid-2000s, no one could even imagine that in the village of Hryhorivka in the Chaplynka Rayon of the Kherson Oblast, more than 100 "green" estates would be able to work, with thousands of tourists vacationing every year. This became possible thanks to the Complex Programme of Territories Development, which was consistently implemented by the Hryhorivka Village Council, administrative centre of the Prysyvaska AH.

The www.decentralisation.gov.ua continues the series of materials about the Prysyvaska AH. The first part “Story about ruins, three “sevens” debts and Kalashnikov assault rifle” shall be read HERE.

Author: Dmytro Syniak

Yama (Pit)

 

On 26 August 1969, three Soviet bombers with full ammunition flew from the mainland to the Crimea. Suddenly one of them began to lose height very quickly, as there was a breakdown in the air. To take the plane away from human habitation, the pilot remained in the cockpit longer, than it was possible. When he catapulted, the ground was already too close, so the pilot died. His bomber crashed on the deserted shore of Syvash, causing a massive explosion and forming a huge funnel there.

The military people immediately appeared on the place of the explosion, closely surrounded it and collected the remains of the bomber for a few weeks. This case became a secret one, and none of the residents still do not know anything about the cause of the accident with the the plane or the pilot’s name who saved the village by his own life. Getting the remains of the bomber, military people deepened a funnel up to 18 meters, hitting at the same time deep water-bearing horizons. Some years later, the funnel began to fill with water, much saltier than in Syvash, and for some reason of the pink colour.

The unpretentious residents of the neighboring villages, such as Hryhorivka, Strohanivka, Pavliky, Ivanivka, Pershokostyantynivka and Kayirka, began to call this new lake as Yama (Pit). People said, "Let us go swimming to Yama (the Pit)!"

At first people went to the lake just for fun. It was possible to read a newspaper laid down in the dense salt water, and it was both funny and interesting. But over time people noticed that the pink water had a good impact on their skin and even cured a variety of ailments.

“There is a young man in our village, who has been cured a gangrene in Yama,” says Serhii Klishchevskyi, head of the Prysyvaska AH.

 

Vyhovskyi

 

Another case of miraculous healing, a witness of which became Serhii, was a recovery of Volodymyr Vyhovskyi, an entrepreneur from Poltava, which had "a bunch of diseases”. In 2006, doctors gave up of him, and none wanted to cure him for any money. Yama was the last means. Friends and relatives brought Mr. Volodymyr to the lake and took him down to the water on a blanket. After three days of intensive bathing, he began to walk, and within a year and a half he was virtually cured of his illnesses.

Then Volodymyr Vyhovskyi sold everything and invested funds in studying medicinal properties of the lake, which saved him. At the request of Volodymyr Vyhovskyi, specialists of the Odesa Institute of Medical Rehabilitation and Balneology conducted microbiological studies of lake mud for about seven years. This mud turned out to be a powerful immunostimulant. Volodymyr also achieved certification of healing mud in the European Union, and now in Germany the saline lake mineral mud treatment near the village of Hryhorivka is paid by insurance companies. Scientists have also shown that the mud and salt of this lake help in the treatment of diseases of the respiratory tract and urogenital system, arthritis, arthrosis, osteochondrosis, skin diseases, especially psoriasis.

Besides, the water of the Hryhoriyka's lake has many different minerals, nitrogenous compounds and salts, especially salts of chloride of magnesium and potassium, iodine, sodium, and methyl magnesium. The salinity of the lake is 350%, that is in some months even higher than the salinity of the famous Dead Sea in Israel.

Scientists have found that the unusual pink colour of the lake is due to unicellular algae with a romantic name - Dunaliella brackish water. They are the only that can survive in salt water, as they do not have enemies in it and can actively reproduce. Under the influence of the sun, these algae produce beta-carotene, which can rejuvenate the human body. It is this carotene that colours the water in an exotic pink colour.

 

Unusual pink colour of the lake is due to unicellular algae.

 

Illogical way

 

- When I became a head of the village council (it was in 2006), I somehow accidentally heard a teacher saying to pupils at the lesson, “Kids! Run away from this clogged, unnecessary village! You should think now about where you could better go, because it would never be well here!” I later called on that teacher and told her, “Is it necessary to educate children in unrespect to their native land? Tell whether they will protect their village if you teach them that good things will never happen here? Who will grow up of these children tomorrow? Will they be vandals that hit the club windows and paint the walls? As it is pointless to keep what has no sense.

“We went the illogical way, even a little crazy way,” continues Serhii. “We started convincing the residents, "Our village, our hromada is the best!”

“We started calling journalists, rayon and oblast officials to our places and telling them all about our extraordinary village,” Serhii said.

 

Dancing with guests

 

The first tourist was a woman who brought a son with cerebral palsy to the village of Hryhorivka.

It turned out that one house received tourists, then another. Subsequently, friends and acquaintances of these first holidaymakers, to whom they recommended the village, went to Hryhorivka. And then the tourists were no longer hung up.

The creation in 2016 of the Prysyvaska AH provided another impetus for the development of Hryhorivka and the nearby villages that are part of the hromada.

“We thought for a long time, argued a lot, discussed many options, and eventually settled on the Lemurian Lake for Yama”, added Serhii.

 

Lemurian Lake

 

Golden pink lake

 

“This is a 2.3 MW Syvash wind farm,” says Serhii Klishchevskyi, carefully moving his car to the lake. – “It has 16 wind generators with 100 kW and 2 ones with 600 kW. All of them are of Ukrainian production and all are in concession of “SyvashEnergoProm”. It is probably no longer a business, but a museum of Ukrainian alternative energy, as technologies used here are out of date.

 

Museum of wind energy. All wind generators are made in Ukraine

16 wind generators with 100 kW – not enough for modern wind generators

 

Milky Way

 

- And do you know which road is this one we are going on now? asks me Serhii. - This is the ancient Milky Way. The Ukrainian chumaks went to the Crimea by this road, and I made considerable efforts it not to be plowed by farmers. Because it is also one of our tourist attractions. To increase their numbers, we initiated the signing of the first agreement on cooperation of AHs in the Kherson Oblast. The agreement is called "Creation of tourist and health cluster in hromadas of Askania-Nova and Prysyvaska AH".

 

Milky Way

 

- Together with Pavlo Yarmiy, founder and chairman of the board of the "Agency for Regional Development of the Tavriya Association of Territorial Communities" NGO, we developed a tourist project called "Salt Road". It covers a route of a total length of 378 km and includes 53 locations. In fact, these are all potentially interesting tourist sites of the Kherson Oblast marked on special maps that we distribute in the form of booklets.

 

In the Museum of Antiquities

- This is our museum, - says Serhii Klishchevskyi. - For many years, Hryhorivka’s resident Pavlo Robak has been collecting various antiquities - from old coins and weapons to rare photographs. The locals know that the museum is willing to buy everything related to the history of our region, so they bring what is needed and not needed here.

 

In the Museum of Antiquities

 

- This museum is not just a trifle. For us it is part of the tourist product, a way to keep the tourist as long as possible. And we do not spare money for this. So, come back in a year and then see what our exposition will look like!

 

 

 

 

 

On taxes, which nobody requires 

The Prysyvaska AH is the first one among other AHs in Ukraine that started its own advertising and inviting tourists from Europe. A promotion movie was made with the support of the DOBRE Programme, which also paid for a two-month broadcast of the movie in Intercity trains and international trains. Free stories about the lake were made by TV channels "1 + 1", "Ukraine", ICTV, "Inter" and many regional channels.

At the end of this year, the prevoius Minister of Culture Yevhen Nyshchuk visited Hryhorivka.

At the Ivan Kupala Annual Holiday. This year it attracted more than 4 thousand guests despite the fact that Hryhorivka has only 1600 inhabitants

 

The prices for real estate in Hryhorivtsi and nearby villages grew 6 (!) times due to the tourist boom. The house, which cost UAH 20 thousand in March, can be bought now for UAH 120 thousand.

 

In the "green" estate

 

Swans and cranes are living in the backyard of Olena’s green estate... And peacocks are flying around, even though they are spending nights in cages
 

I am leaving the Prysyvaska AH with the desire to return here again. It seems that these steppes, Syvash and the miraculous Lemurian lake have told me not everything. I think that is probably what Serhii Klishchevskyi is trying to achieve. Because if a guest goes home with a desire to return, he or she will share such wishes with others. And this becomes the best advertisement for the hromada.

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