We want to develop agritourism in Ukraine

Oleg Oleinik is our client and founder of Berrywood organic farm, where raspberries, blueberries, garden strawberries and blackberries are grown. Oleg told us about the certification of products and about his plans for the development of agritourism in the picturesque places of the Kharkov region.

Seven years ago my friends and I arrived in the Karaykozovka village in the Kharkov region and fell in love with the stunningly beautiful pine forest with large glades. Since Soviet times, almost no one has lived here, there were only rickety houses. We bought several houses and began to think what can be done in this unique place where for 30 years nothing has been planted and no nitrates have been used.

 

WE HAVE DECIDED THAT WE WILL GROW AN ORGANIC BERRY

We don't understand how it is possible to fertilize the berries that you give to your children with chemistry, so from the beginning we decided that we would only deal with organic berries. For this we have certified the enterprise as an organic production, and now the "Organic Standard" comes to us every year, which is included in the official list of certification bodies recognized in the European Union and Switzerland. We bought the necessary equipment, installed the Israeli drip irrigation and fertigation system and find an experienced and competent agronomist in the Krasnokutsk region. Now he conducts all production. There is also a permanent team that lives nearby and maintains the farm. Now we have seven hectares of land where we grow organic raspberries, blueberries, garden strawberries and blackberries.

We have also developed and produced our own eco-friendly packaging made from 100% cellulose. Unfortunately, people in Ukraine still do not understand what organic products are. Any market seller calls her products organic, although there are clear criteria for the quality of certification standards, and the substances that Organic Standard allows to fertilize products are 30% more expensive than any chemicals. We sell berries at the regular market price, because, unfortunately, it is difficult for the consumer to explain and prove the difference between organic and non-organic berries.

In the future, when there are more consignments, we plan to supply the berries both to Ukraine and Europe. One of the local entrepreneurs of the village has been exporting to the EU for three years and we already have agreements on joint deliveries.

 

WE WANT TO MAKE OUR FARM A CENTER OF AGROTOURISM

We have a rest on the farm with our families and we want to make this place a center of agritourism - so that people from all over Ukraine can come here to relax and pick berries, swim in the lake and visit the Krasnokutsk arboretum founded by the Karazin brothers - one of the oldest arboretums Ukraine, which is more than 200 years old.

We promote our business on Facebook and we registered the Berrywood trademark to convey to the consumer what organic products are.