Build an environmental training center in Moldova

Dear Friends,

As many of you may already know, Eco-Village Moldova is situated in a small village in the heart of Moldova called Rîscova. Rîscova, despite its small size, is well-known in Chisinau public markets for its potatoes. After the success of our first annual Rîscova Potato Festival in 2018, we founded Cartoful Rîscovean, a cooperative that grows potatoes without the use of insecticides, fungicides, or any chemical fertilizers. The cooperative is made up of Rîscova locals, and for today’s report, we interviewed one of the producers, Aurica.

Although originally from the village of Cocieri on the other side of the Dneister River, Aurica has been living in Rîscova for over three decades now. Aurica married a local from Rîscova and has two children who have since moved away after starting their own families. Prior to the project, Aurica could often be found tending to the fields and taking care of things at home.

“I joined Cartoful Rîscovean for a number of reasons, but from the top of my head, I’d started to become more interested in learning about ecological agriculture recently, especially after more and more interactions with Eco-Village [Moldova]. My primary motivation is for produce that goes to our children’s table to be healthier, so I wanted to learn how to grow more natural potatoes and other crops [to create that] healthier society.”

Aurica was one of our first producers and to this day, is one of our most enthusiastic producers. Prior to joining the collective, Aurica and her husband had been selling potatoes at a farmer’s market in the city; now, through Cartoful Rîscovean, they sell at an ecological farmer’s market. Growing potatoes more naturally has not always been easy for the local producers, and there have been some growing pains in the switch. In order to help guide them through the change, we brought in an expert in organic agriculture to help the producers.

“Producing natural potatoes is quite difficult, without the use of insecticides, it becomes a lot of work to deal with the [Colorado potato] beetles. Especially when everyone else uses insecticides, the beetles come to our land more often. Despite that, the expert and the coordinator [for Cartoful Rîscovean] have both given us a lot of encouragement and help. In fact, through the project, it has been significantly easier for us to find buyers and we have been able to sell our potatoes much more easily.”

Outside of the project, Aurica has expressed greater interest in learning about more ecological agriculture and permaculture, so she has recently joined us at the Eco-Village to help in our garden.

“I’ve learned a lot from working in the garden at Eco-Village Moldova as well. Mostly, I’ve learned about many different types of produce that I’d never seen before: sweet potatoes and different types of leafy greens, like kale. It has been great learning about different methods of growing vegetables and plants and how they interact with one another.”

Aurica and her husband have agreed to continue with the Cartoful Rîscovean project and at the Eco-Village. Although new, she has already made a great impression with her friendliness and diligence and we look forward to her company for years to come.

Dear Friends,

As Eco-Village Moldova has grown, our team too has expanded over the years. Today, we are happy to introduce our newest member of the Eco-Villlage Moldova team, Tatiana Cebotari. Originally from the capital city of Chisinau, Tatiana moved to our village with her family eight years ago. Tatiana officially began working for us in February and has truly come into her own in terms of project planning, coordination, and logistics. Following the example of our “Through the Eyes of a Volunteer” report from last year, we would like to share Tatiana’s perspective and impressions, as our newest team member here at the Eco-Village and as a local Moldovan.

“I did not know about the Eco-Village for a long time, largely because our village did not have a proper park or any sort of area for people to gather, or simply relax, so we often left to the city to visit relatives. I had only found out about Eco-Village Moldova when my sister-in-law called me mentioning that some people at an NGO in our village needed babysitting help. It was the first time I’d heard that there was such an organization in our village and was surprised to learn of its existence, but I decided to take the job.”

“My first impressions were that the people here were very simple and open. They were people with such interesting ideas on how to live. At the time, I didn’t know anything about the organization itself, but the people at the organization had a strong impression on me. It was fascinating seeing these people not only be working while caring for their children, but also be actively concerned about the wellbeing of others.”

“I became more involved in Eco-Village, funnily enough, when I was thinking of looking for a more stable job in Chisinau. During my time babysitting, I’d heard that Eco-Village was looking to expand their team. They offered me a role and after discussing it with my husband, I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to try it out. From then on, I was part of the team.”

“My first task was a big one! Wanting to be more involved with the community and create a greater sense of community spirt within the village itself, Eco-Village Moldova decided to work with the locals to start our first annual Potato Festival. My first task was to work alongside Liliana and co-coordinate the community event. It was a large responsibility, but I remember feeling excited that they had had enough trust in me to give me such an integral role in such a large event.”

“To say it in one word, my role nowadays is ‘logistics.’ I often work within the Eco-Training Center to help prepare the space for sessions and seminars. I ensure that everything is organized and that the facilitators have everything that they need for their sessions. I help purchase food for our sessions as well.
Working here, I have seen that there are some brave people here who left the city and started at zero to live here in a village. It is refreshing to meet people who aren’t only thinking about themselves, but also about the people around them. The people at the Eco-Village help the locals in the village and their mission of environmentalism and ecology helps every one of us. Working here at the Eco Training Center, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many different people from all around Moldova and from around the region.”