ONF experts studied the experience of creating a family homestead near Tula – Ringing Cedars • Family Homesteads in Australia

By Znamya staff

Activists of the All-Russian People’s Front in the Tula region visited family homesteads near Tula, met residents, studied the experience of creating a settlement, discussed development prospects and issues of concern to villagers. The settlement “Rodovoe” was formed here in the early 2000’s. Currently there are about 60 families who stay all year round on the territory of the settlement. These are people who decided to live away from large population centres and engage in agriculture.

“People are interested in life in the countryside, they see the possibilities here and want to develop eco-settlements. The crux of the family homestead idea is that each citizen of Russia should acquire a plot of land to build their own economy, where the family lives and grows. In essence, the family homestead is different from peasant farming, and therefore it needs its own legal framework,” said ONF expert from the Tula region, Lyudmila Belolipetskaya.

In the settlement, an excursion was organized for the guests. They inspected agricultural land, a nursery of ornamental and edible plants, the House of Creativity, children’s playgrounds and public areas. Economic issues were also discussed during the meeting, specifically about garbage removal and equipping an additional containment site in the village of Aleshnya. Activists of the Tula branch of the ONF will continue to work with the settlement in order to build a dialogue between the inhabitants and the authorities.

The ONF is currently collecting evidence of successful family homesteads. The regional branch believes this will help develop vast rural areas.

Following the results of the “ONF Action Forum” held in 2017, ONF authorities sent a proposal to the government to draft a bill that would define the goals and objectives of state policy in the sphere of sustainable development of rural areas, taking into account the experience of family homestead settlements, which arose by the citizens’ own initiative. The Chairman of the Government, Dmitry Medvedev, has already signed a list of instructions that provide for the possibility of erecting dwelling houses on agricultural land and obtaining a free plot of land for use, similar to the “Far Eastern hectare” program.

Also in a message to the Federal Assembly, the Russian president, the leader of the ONF, Vladimir Putin, directed all responsible persons towards the further development of agriculture and rural areas. The head of state noted “how important it is for a person, for each family to have his own house, his home.”