The Novomiska Amalgamated Territorial Community is an example of
fantastic results even with modest opportunities.
Today the #AASuccessStories section is about Ukrainian “COWBOYKY” -
Western Ukrainian ethnic group of boyky, who’ve decided to become
cowboys and change the lives of people throughout the region.
#AASuccessStories is a column about Ukrainians, who benefit from the
Association Agreement with the EU and enjoy opportunities for
cooperation with the European Union.
Nove Misto is a small village in Lviv region, with a population of less
than a thousand people. In 2015 it became the center of the Novomiska
amalgamanted territorial community, amalgamating Bolozivska,
Hrushatytska, Konivska and Novomiska village councils. Today the
community is a home to about six thousand people and it has already
become known throughout the region, thanks to the idea to turn ordinary
border villages into a tourist cluster that would combine the culture
of boyky and cowboys. The project “Cowboyky: Ukrainian Wild West” is
implemented under the support of the EU initiative “Mayors for Economic
Growth”. For its implementation, the EU has allocated a grant of 900
thousand euros.
Today “COWBOYKY” is a registered trademark, as well as a tourist
center. Not only residents of four villages of Novomiska community, but
also people from 14 neighbouring settlements take part in the
development of the project. “Cowboyky: Ukrainian Wild West” has the
ambitious plans to attract tourists from all over the country and even
from neighbouring ones.
With the assistance of the EU “COWBOYKY” project helps locals to open
and run their own businesses to make their common initiative attractive
to the visitors. A dairy “Milk Ranch” currently operates in the
community. It organizes excursions and quests for the guests. At the
cheese factory you can see how cheese is made, as well as take part in
“gold” mining. The owner of the cheese factory, farmer Vasyl
Medvedyukh, says that he studied cheese-making in Kyiv and also gained
experience at the cheese factories in Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia and
Lviv regions. He repaired the premises where the cheese factory is
located at his own expense. With European funds he bought the equipment
— a cooler, a pasteurizer and cans. From the very beginning it was a
family business. The farmer's wife and children work on the farm. Now
as the production is expanding, three employees have been hired. The
range of cheese is small at the moment— it's cottage cheese, butter and
cream. But the “Milk Ranch” plans to start production of the cheese,
cheeses with herbs and mozzarella soon.
The greenhouse farm “Strawberry Hills” also operates on the territory
of “COWBOYKY” tourist cluster. Its owner Svitlana says that before
starting this small business, she had worked as a civil servant and
even had went abroad to earn money. Everything changed when she studied
at a local school of economic development. The school was also created
with the assistance of the EU, within the project “Cowboyky: Ukrainian
Wild West”. Now “Strawberry Hills” includes three greenhouses in which
Svitlana with her husband and kids grow four varieties of Italian
strawberries. During the season, visitors can not just buy
strawberries, but also pick the one they like best. And in the
off-season, Svitlana’s family makes pastilles - sweets made from dried
fruit or berry puree.
The school of local economic development was opened under the project
in June last year. Here, locals can take courses for entrepreneurs, as
well as specialized courses for craft businesses. With the help of the
school, the community hopes to keep young people from earning money
abroad and encourage them to start their own small businesses in the
community.
Ukrainian cowboys are not going to stop. The community plans to build a
modern hotel for a large number of tourists and equip in a cowboy-style
train route that will take guests to “COWBOYKY”. The community
believes, that the secret of their success is that they managed to turn
disadvantages of the region - its remoteness from major roads and the
regional center, lack of historical monuments, poor condition of roads
and other infrastructure, - into advantages. They believe that the idea
of the American Wild West period is perfect for creating a unique
tourism product and combining it with the local boyky culture.