1On August 7, for the second year in a row, a fair of craft producers will be held in Khmelnytskyi, organized by the Regional Development Agency of the Khmelnytskyi Region, and supported by the Khmelnytskyi Regional Council, the Khmelnytskyi Regional Military Administration, and the Khmelnytskyi City Council.
The fair of craft producers takes place within the framework of the educational and grant project “Course for Independence”, which is implemented by the Astarta-Kyiv agro-industrial holding and the “Believe in Yourself” charitable foundation with the financial support of the German Government – the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Development Bank DEG .
As last year, the event will take place in Ivan Franko Park. During the fair, residents of Khmelnytskyi and guests of the city will be able not only to purchase craft products of local producers, but also to take part in various master classes, prize draws, entertain children at special locations, as the fair was conceived by the organizers as a real family holiday. In addition, last year the organizers collected funds for eye treatment for a local soldier, organized a raffle of gift baskets for those who donated more than 100 hryvnias.
“We had the idea to organize such a fair for a long time. And we were able to implement it precisely in partnership with Astarta-Kyiv Agropromholding and the “Believe in Yourself” charity fund, because they are supported by the German Government and the German Development Bank DEG, for the second year in a row, they are implementing the educational grant project “Course for Independence” for the development of regional entrepreneurship. That is, the goals have converged here,” says the director of the Regional Development Agencybof the Khmelnytskyi Region, Kateryna Savchuk.
Director of the Regional Development Agency of the Khmelnytskyi Region, Kateryna Savchuk
According to Ms. Kateryna, the project selects interesting ideas submitted to the competition, teaches grantees the intricacies of business, and buys equipment for them. One of the measures to support the winners of these competitions is the holding of a fair of craft producers. Here granters learn to package and advertise their products, sell them, present themselves, and attract customers. This is a kind of training and one of the sales markets for their products. Not only grantees who won the competition, but also other local producers take part in the fair. Last year, about 40 participants were represented at the fair, this year it is planned that there will be 50 of them.
“Last year, the craft fair was the first for us. We didn’t even have equipment – tables, refrigerators, but everything was provided to us. After that fair, we were invited to others more and more often, says Alyona Shibunko, the founder and owner of the Epiravlyk farm. It was at last year’s fair that I learned about the grant program for entrepreneurs. Already in the autumn, I took part with an application for equipment for the production process – a greenhouse, a ventilation system and heating – for a total amount of up to 20,000 euros. And won!Since then, my business has scaled – the area has doubled, 4 new employees have appeared, and this year Epiravlyk is entering the craft fair with new sauces for the snails known to Khmelnytskyi residents.
The Regional Development Agency of the Khmelnytskyi Region is a co-organizer of the fair together with reliable partners. At the same time, the Agency is constantly learning and developing in order to transform itself into a unique platform for the interaction of government, business and science and to fully master the role of a leader in the full disclosure of the potential of the Khmelnytskyi Region. It is assisted in this by the Swiss-Ukrainian UCORD project, which has been providing institutional support to the agency since July this year. The UCORD project supports the provision of operational needs of the Agency, for example, expansion of the team and office, but more importantly – the overall capacity and qualifications to reach a new level of quality and scale of the agency’s projects. This, in turn, has a positive effect on the agency’s implementation of such projects as a craft fair for entrepreneurs. Here, the RDA of the Khmelnytsky region invites participants, looks for and attracts partners, and prepares the location.
“This fair is an example of a fruitful partnership between business, civil society, local authorities, the community and the Regional Development Agency. Economic support, including support of craft producers, is exactly what our agency does, and that is why partners turned to us, because we know everyone here and cooperate with many,” says its director, Kateryna Savchuk.
“I heard about the regional development agency a few years ago and started following them because they periodically publish information about grants and competitive programs for entrepreneurs.ТI got to last year’s fair, found out about a grant opportunity for my business, repeatedly crossed paths with Ms. Kateryna at trainings, and now – at the second craft fair for us,” adds Alyona Shibunko.
As last year, this year the program of the fair is planned to be very rich, because in addition to the sale of products by fifty local producers, there is also a second part – educational. Entrepreneurs who come to the fair and sell their products have the opportunity to undergo various trainings: in marketing, taxation and other aspects related to their activities. This is also networking. Mrs. Kateryna said that last year they invited retailers and owners of various trade networks to the fair, who will eventually be able to form partnerships with crafters – sell their products in their trade networks.
There will also be master classes for visitors – on floristry and painting shoppers. There will also be children’s zones and an educational program for grantees. The organizers invite all residents of Khmelnytskyi and guests of the city to visit the fair, buy goodies, support local producers, and just have a good time.
This publication was created with the support of Switzerland within the framework of the Swiss-Ukrainian project “Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development”, UCORD, implemented by NIRAS Sweden AB. The author is solely responsible for the content of this publication. The author’s views do not necessarily reflect those of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation or NIRAS Sweden AB.
The UCORD project focuses on the transformation of the organizational structures of Regional Development Agencies in Ukraine, as well as building their capacities in order to establish their role as leaders and facilitators of recovery, capable of determining regional priorities and forming partnerships for the development and implementation of projects that fully realize the potential of regions.
