In Mykolaiv region, Rokada helps people start their own seedling-growing business

At the “Heart of the Community” Resilience Hub, which Rokada built in Novyi Buh last year, professional courses in growing seedlings in greenhouses have started. The training aims to open up opportunities for residents to start their own business in the future.

The intensive course is designed for 96 hours and combines theory and practice. From the first classes, participants learn to work with equipment, choose quality seeds and care for seedlings properly, taking into account lighting, watering and temperature conditions. This approach helps them better understand growing processes and apply them confidently in everyday life.

“We have a very good greenhouse that is fully equipped for training. The students work with quality soil. We have already sown three varieties of sweet pepper, as well as cabbage. Now we are waiting for the first shoots,” say course trainers Liudmyla Tkachenko and Svitlana Bohomaz.

Ten residents of Novyi Buh and the surrounding area have joined the training. Among the participants is 26-year-old Yuliia. She says she came to the courses to improve her existing knowledge and gain new skills.

“It’s very interesting for me, and the teachers are good. It’s a chance to better understand the processes and see in practice how to work with seeds so that they sprout. For now, I plan to use the knowledge on my own plot,” she shares.

Rokada built the eight-by-twenty-metre greenhouse specifically for such programmes, as the hub was built as a platform to support the agricultural potential of the community.

“The Novyi Buh hub has an agricultural focus. It is a platform for developing farming initiatives, introducing sustainable agricultural technologies and expanding residents’ economic opportunities,” notes Kateryna Matsko, coordinator of Rokada’s regional office. “Training initiatives are an opportunity for community residents to improve their well-being – both on their own farms and through potential additional income.”

The project “Building Resilience and Assisting Vulnerable Individuals and Organisations in Southern Ukraine (BRAVE)” is implemented by the Rokada Charitable Foundation with the support of AWO International and funded by German Cooperation and Aktion Deutschland Hilft.