Climate Action Moldova, Republic of Project #22402

Build an environmental training center in Moldova

by 'EcoVisio' Public Association

Build an environmental training center in Moldova

Project Report | Sep 8, 2023
From crisis to capacity building

By Liliana Botnaru | Project Leader

Discovering organic gardening in a temporary home

Dear friends,

Since March of 2022 until 2023 we put most of our activities on hold in order to focus on hosting and supporting Ukrainian refugees. Over 200 people, mostly women and children, found shelter and a sense of community at EcoVillage Moldova in Riscova last year and even more were hosted in our 5 partner villages throughout Moldova. Some stayed for weeks, some stayed for months. Some for over a year.

We are so grateful to all the host families who opened their doors to allow us hosting over 50 people per day just in Riscova! We are also grateful to each person, organization, company who chipped in with funds, food, blankets, toys, etc. that allowed a timely and appropriate response to people’s needs. But most of all we are grateful for the sense of community this experience has brought: Ukranians taking turns cooking and cleaning together with our staff, people with cars delivering supplies, a Ukranian educator offering to start a kindergarten group for toddlers allowing them to continue developing skills and giving their moms a break, local hosts sharing vegetables, volunteers offering English courses, legal advice and so on.

Although the biggest wave of refugees has past, there are still many who can’t return to their homes because of the war. In 2023 we shifted our focus in supporting refugees from initial crisis response to building longer term capacities by adding training components. Together we explored topics of physical, emotional health and managing stress, non-violent communication, adaptation to climate change, organic gardening and more.

All these activities would not be possible without the support from each of you and the wider GlobalGiving Community. With this support we can look with more hope into the future and take steps for re-building stronger, healthier, more eco-mindful and resilient communities in Moldova and Ukraine!

Improvised kindergarten with Montessori approach

Ukranian women sharing healthy lifestyle practices

Art therapy

Reconnecting with own self, with others and nature

Feelings and non-violent communication training

Links:

Permalink

Mar 31, 2022
Raising up to the challenge

By Liliana Botnaru | Project Leader

First Ukrainian refugees arriving to Riscova

Dear friends,

Over the course of 2021, thanks to your continuous support, we’ve been planting seeds for building sustainable communities through various educational programs. Looking at ways to address climate change, energy efficiency, waste management, organic gardening, peace-building, we focused on training multipliers like school teachers and young activists. As they address these topics in their own communities, they start building local resiliency.

A friend of mine recently said: “Build communities in peaceful times to be able to face a crisis together”. As the war in Ukraine rages on, as more and more Ukrainian refugees come to Moldova, these words ring the bell more than ever.

I can not forget the morning of February 24 when all our family woke up from the sounds of explosions coming from the neighboring Ukraine. Since that day, along countless other initiatives around the country, our Training Center shifted its operation from organizing educational events to hosting Ukrainian families fleeing their homes. In less than a month over 130 people found a safe place at EcoVillage Moldova and multiple host families in our village. Over 360,000 Ukrainian refugees came to Moldova since the beginning of war, about 2/3 travelling further to Europe.

It has been a great test for all of us to see how strong are the partnerships, organizational capacity, community resilience in facing unexpected challenges like this war in our region. But It showed once again the importance of strong communities that allows for mobilization of resources on a short notice, exchange of vital information and timely support where needed.

Thank you for being part of this community and for your continuous engagement!

Learning how to start a school garden

Teachers sharing practices for eco-education

Techniques for DIY solar thermal heaters

Creativity helps Ukranian kids overcome stress

Permalink

Dec 6, 2020
School Garden initiative

By Liliana Botnaru | Project Leader

Planting medicinal herbs for tea +plant protection

Dear partners,

Current pandemic showed us clearer than ever the importance of health and community resilience. Our School Garden initiative aims at addressing both.

In partnership with the National Environmental Center we’ve turned an abandoned piece of land at the back of the school into a garden. After a series of educational workshops on soil protection, composting, garden planning and nutrition, students designed the school garden and started planting. Rows of currants, blackberries, gooseberries and raspberries filled up the garden. To protect the berries, beneficial companion plants were planted by students, such as thyme, lemon balm, calendula, mint and other. Part of the harvested berries and medicinal plants will be used by the school canteen, another part will be sold to provide additional income to the school.

Through this initiative about 90 students of the local school are learning in practice about organic agriculture, social entrepreneurship and healthy nutrition. Similar initiatives started in 7 other schools around Moldova and in June teachers from those schools came to our village for a practical workshop and exchange of experiences.

We invite you to partner with us in developing this initiative further by securing a drip irrigation system for the garden. Your 10$ donation would buy 50 m. of drip irrigation pipe, 40$ would get a simple pump and 75$ would cover the cost of a one ton water tank for rain water collection.

This year brought a lot of challenges in each of our lives, but together we can overcome many challenges and build resiliency. Just as small drops of water from drip irrigation nurture the plant during droughts, any contribution will nurture this initiative. Whether you are able to donate or spread a word about this initiative, we’ll sincerely appreciate it!

Designing the garden and planting berries

Mulch protecting from frosts, preserving humidity

Making compost for future fertilization

Sharing practices with teachers from other schools

Permalink

1 2 3 4 5 6 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.